Madre Terra - An OU Sandstorm Team

MADRE TERRA - AN SANDSTORM TEAM


Quick Glance





Introduction


Once exiled to distant lands by whom feared my power
Once forgotten by the world, forced to recreate my own destiny
Now retured, here I stand, I, mechanical menace
To wreak revenge on all fearing my eminent throne
For Madre Terra itself bolsters my claim
Followers of old, seeking new allegiance
For here I stand, once on the precipice of ruin
Power heightened; bells of beginning toll



Hey guys. Tabby here, otherwise known as BST, bringing my first RMT on the judging panel. I figured it would be best to begin my Generation 6 debut with a balance team. The main reason I’m posing this RMT is to emphasise Genesect as a metagame-breaking threat, now even more so than last generation. Though the “metal menace” wasn't included in the first row of bans, I sincerely believe that Genesect is far higher than OU material when used correctly. Though its old Scarf set continues to thrive, the set I’m taking up here is the Shift Gear variant. Though Rock Polish Genesect had already been a great sweeper, Shift Gear takes it up a notch by, with a correct Download boost, give it 2 Dragon Dances. Combined with Genesect’s natural bulk and power, it has the potential to run through many commonly seen teams. However, most teams I’ve seen in the RMT forum had been underusing Genesect’s sheer power (though I admit some were quite successful). I’ll like to remedy that by showcasing one of my most successful teams that has served me quite well on the ladder. On the other hand, I am well aware that there are many flaws in the team. Just to make it clear, my purpose isn't to brag. On the contrary, I seek to bring back ways to make this team better while (attempting to) create a constructive discussion for Genesect and how powerful it really is. This RMT isn’t one of the shorter ones (in fact, I do believe it exceeds 5000 words), and so I’ll understand if you don’t feel the motivation to read it all. However, please read the specific area carefully before posting criticism. Also, I’ve taken quite a lot of time to write up this RMT, so please respect that.




The Team






Tyranitar (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 216 HP / 72 Atk / 176 SDef / 44 Spd
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Roar

Tyranitar is the ideal lead for the team because it activates sandstorm and sets up Stealth Rocks. It’s ultimate function is to ensure that sandstorm is always available when Garchomp has a troublesome wall it needs to shut down. Though the weather nerf in generation 6 has taken its toll on the usability of field effects, sandstorm is still by far an extremely viable play style in the current metagame. However, its role has changes somewhat from BW; instead of solely using it to build residual damage on opponents and giving resistant types the upper hand, this team utilises it by different means. First and most importantly, sandstorm gives a 1.5 times boost to Garchomp’s main STAB and coverage moves. This allows me to break through troublesome walls, such as Gastrodon and Jellicent, that would otherwise completely wall this team. Combined with Mega Garchomp’s stellar attack, it has the potential to break open many sweeps.

Next, sandstorm allows me to counter opposing weather teams. Since this team lacks a sturdy water and fire resist outside of Rotom-W (and Tyranitar for the latter), opposing rain and sun team can easily bulldoze the game. By inducing sandstorm more tactically, it gives me a wild card to stop any weather rampage. It can also abuse sandstorm’s effect of lengthening Solar Beam by switching it into Charizard Y, and then switch out to a grass resist to force it out. Oftentimes, if I suspect the opponent will lead with Charizard, I’ll send in Rotom-W to force them to evolve and then send in Tyranitar to cancel the sun (and hopefully stop a Solar Beam). On the other hand, though it is quite risky to switch Tyranitar directly into Politoed, the lack of physical attacks and it’s garangutan Special Defence allows it to take at least one Scald comfortably and force it out with Roar or set up on it with Stealth Rock. However, a Specs Hydro Pump will cripple this Pokémon badly, if not outright KO it. Since often I need to preserve Rotom-W for late-game, it is usually necessary to play around carefully such powerful attacks.

Tyranitar also sets up Stealth Rock, which is a valuable asset to the team. With Defog’s popularity rising and new Rapid Spinners such as Avalugg (and old stars Excadrill), it is more important than ever to have a Stealth Rock user bulky enough to set it up multiple times a match. Because of the prevalence of metagame-defining threats such as Talonflame, Charizard and Volcarona, the damage Stealth Rock brings to the table is vital. Genesect can ExtremeSpeed most of these Pokémon to hell and back, but it gets taken out 1v1 without the half damage induced by Stealth Rocks. Furthermore, Rotom-W and Gliscor’s tendencies to cause switches can be abused even further with this move, allowing me to build up residual damage for an easier Genesect sweep.

Tyranitar also has a star place in this team as a premier special wall. Because of the physical metagame, special attackers are very sparse in numbers; but when they do come out, they often wreck teams just because of the lack of special sponges. Though lacking reliable recovery, Tyranitar usually lasts most of the match, keeping a leash on some of the most powerful special attackers in the metagame. Threats such as Latios and Noivern both gets hard countered by Tyranitar. Though the former’s Choice Specs Draco Meteor will hurt Tyranitar, it can easily avoid a 3HKO (Taking into account Leftovers and the Special Attack drop) and 2HKO back with a powerful Crunch. On the other hand, Noivern’s lacklustre Special Attack stat doesn’t do it any favours, and because Tyranitar resists most of its moves, it often becomes dead weight for the opponent’s team as long as Tyranitar is sitting at a comfortable range of health.

Finally, Tyranitar is the sole phaser in the team. Though it requires prediction, it allows me to phase any Mega Pinsir or Heracross that attempts to set up in Tyranitar’s face. A +2 Pinsir can 2HKO everything on my team (Adamant 252EV +2 Pinsir’s Quick Attack even 2HKO’es Gliscor after Stealth Rocks!), which means I’ll have to prioritise keeping Pinsir from setting up rather than trying to keep Tyranitar alive for later. Furthermore, two switch ins to Stealth Rock (one with a two times weakness, one with four) allows me to KO it easily with either Azumarill’s Aqua Jet or Genesect’s ExtremeSpeed. It also gives me a good option to use when I’ve hard countered a threat. A common example is Talonflame. As it U-Turns out, I can Roar something in, basically toppling over the opponent’s confidence and disrupting their strategy, as well as force Talonflame to take another batch of Stealth Rocks upon switch in, meaning a KO upon switch-in or one turn of Sandstorm to take it out. Though Dragon Tail would usually be the more appealing choice, Roar is necessary to stop things such as Cosmic Power Clefable; though Genesect can usually boost alongside it and break through, as well as Garchomp if it has not acquired enough boosts, the free turn Tyranitar gives it is detrimental to the success of the team. Roar gives me a chance to better respond when it switches in once again.





Genesect @ Leftovers
Trait: Download
EVs: 234 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Shift Gear
- Blaze Kick
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed


Genesect is the focal point of the team’s support because it is capable of doing the most damage. Shift Gear allows it to boost its Speed to terrifying levels, easily destroying most offensive Pokémon. In a generation where fast threats such as Talonflame run amok, speed is more important than ever. 46 Speed EVs and a boosting nature allow me to to outspeed Venusaur and neutral Gyarados without a boost, letting me KO with Blaze Kick and ExtremeSpeed, respectively. Furthermore, Shift Gear also grants Genesect a +1 boost in its attack. Combined with a timely Download boost, Genesect has the potential to easily sweep even defensive teams.

Though Genesect suffers from extreme four-moveslot syndrome, this moveset allows for maximum damage output, utility and coverage. Iron Head is a superior STAB compared to X-Scissor. The 30% filch rate, though should not be relied on, is a great way to escape clutch situations. It is vital to recognise how important weakening or taking out the opposing Pokémon is, and if it is worth it to try and get a flinch and perhaps, in the worst-case scenario, let Genesect die. This team is built to try and reduce the luck factor as much as possible. Though teams archetypes relying on luck on a larger scale have potential of running through other teams easily, they can as easily get swept if luck fails to favour them. In the name of consistency and balance, this team tries to reduce the chance factor as much as possible. The bonus chance of a flinch or a miss lets the game snowball into my favour.

Once you start using Genesect, you’ll realise how tempting it is just to attempt to set up early game on setup fodder. However, you must be aware of the omnipresent chance of a critical hit or paralysis (and even freeze). This team isn’t meant to rely on luck on a fundamental level, and attempting to sweep early-game is just asking for a hax-y loss. Oftentimes, I’ll let the opponent weaken my core players just to take out or cripple Genesect’s checks, and bring the game to a win from a 3-1 situation. This team isn’t about 6-0ing others. Conversely, it’s about tactically weakening the opponent’s players while giving the opponent a false sense of security, then sweeping after a single Shift Gear. However, it’s vital to adapt to the situation. If the opponent’s team consists of hard hitters and simply “weakening” them isn’t possible, you may want to change the game plan to a Download-boosted ExtremeSpeed sweep. Balance is the embodiment of versatility, and that’ the goal that every balance team should have; being able to respond to nearly any situation and come out on top.

Genesect also takes on a revenge-killing role early on in the game. ExtremeSpeed has a +2 priority bracket, indicating that it always goes before common priority moves, such as Shadow Sneak, Talonflame’s Brave Bird, and Aqua Jet. This is what’s stopping the team from being utterly swept by Swords Dance Talonflames and Belly Drum Azumarills. ExtremeSpeed, combined with a potential +1 boost from Download, has much more power behind it than one may expect. To put this into context, a boosted Extreme Speed will handily KO Volcarona, Talonflame and Charizard after Stealth Rocks, as well as KOing Mega Lucario after Gliscor’s Earthquake. Though in many teams a certain Pokémon is defined as the “glue” of the team, the situation is quite different in this case. For this team, the ability to easily stop rampaging sweepers is the element that keeps the team from falling apart.

With all that said, however, Genesect is extremely easy to set up. Just the Download boost can send opponents running for the hills, giving it a chance to boost up. Genesect’s good defensive typing doesn’t harm its prowess as well. 234 EVs and already decent defensive stats allow Genesect to tank almost all neutral attacks. However, keep in mind that Genesect doesn’t have any reliable recovery other than the minuscule amounts of health regained from Leftovers. Because of this, only attempt to set up in front of an incoming attack when a sweep is eminent.






Garchomp (M) @ Garchompite
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spd
Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge


Garchomp is a key player in the team in the sense that it is the only real member preventing this team from being demolished by stall. Tyranitar’s sandstorm boosts Garchomp’s STAB by 50%, allowing it to 2HKO almost every relevant threat in the metagame. Garchomp supports Tyranitar in turn by luring in and killing Tyranitar’s counters; mainly special walls. It’s one of the main reasons supporting this team’s success, and why this team just won’t function in the hands of a player not used to this kind of strategic playstyle. It is absolutely vital to use sandstorm tactically. Sandstorm cannot be “renewed” within its five turns of effectiveness, meaning you have to plan ahead and think carefully when to activate sandstorm, since that’ll greatly affect Garchomp’s wallbreaking prowess. Garchomp, however, still lacks the offensive coverage needed to finish off some walls. Skarmory, for example, greatly hampers Garchomp because it can easily take a Fire Fang at half health and Roost back to full health. There are two main strategies when dealing with Skarmory. The first is to wear it down with residual damage from Stealth Rock and smart switching, forcing it to relinquish Roosting to switch out by threatening it with a Volt Switch from Rotom-W. It also helps to bluff a mix or choice set with Genesect at the beginning of the match. The second is to use Fire Blast and Earthquake to put Skarmory in a checkmate position. If you manage to take Skarmory down to a level of HP where Fire Fang will 2HKO, you can Fire Blast followed by Earthquake (when it Roosts, its flying typing is negated), bringing it down to its Sturdy at worst, where you can KO the next turn, since Fire Blast's accuracy is sometimes unreliable.. Though I’ve gone on a somewhat long Skarmory tangent, this is how Garchomp deals with most walls.

A very important decision in every battle is the timing to mega evolve Garchomp. Since this team lacks speed outside of priority, Garchomp often takes the role of fast tank early-game. Though by evolving Garchomp gains more much-needed firepower and some bulk, it loses a large amount of speed, allowing it to be easily outsped by Base 100s and some Base 90s. Because of this, the correct timing is critical in ensuring a victory. Oftentimes, if I see bulky attackers weak to my STABs sitting around the aforementioned base speeds, I’ll usually hold off evolving until they’re gone or I’m absolutely sure that they can be taken care of without being outsped. Since I don’t usually bring in Garchomp to take hits, the fact that Garchomp’s mega evolution has more bulk doesn’t bother me that much. On the other hand, if my Gliscor/Rotom-W is gone or there’s the risk of Scizor Swords Dancing, I’ll mega evolve on the spot to take the potential Bullet Punch better and to ensure a KO on even the bulkiest variants with Fire Blast, since Mega Garchomp gains an exceptional boost to special attack.. Garchomp is great for weathering common priority attacks such as Talonflame’s Brave Bird, Aegislash’s Shadow Sneak, and Azumarill’s Aqua Jet, as Mega Garchomp’s extra bulk allows it to take these attacks comfortably and hit back with respective moves. However, since Garchomp doesn’t have reliable recovery, it is often better to force such opponents out and 2HKO the switch-in with a potentially boosted move.

Garchomp also has one of the best move-sets coverage wise in this team, and is often allocated the role of being sent out at double-switches or in turns where both pokemon have been taken out. Its versatility means that it can threaten most pokemon in the metagame (provided that they don’t outspeed. Also, it has a very large game presence. What I mean by that is that Garchomp is such a threatening pokemon that opponents usually are unwilling to “play the risk” and risk mispredicting and losing one of their key members. Because of this, it’s often a easy matter to switch another teammate in to sponge the opponent’s attacks. Garchomp also has several miscellaneous roles in the team. First and foremost, it takes most Knock Offs if Gliscor has not activated Toxic Orb yet. Though after Gliscor has been poisoned it’s the best switch-in to Knock Off, in the rare case that that hasn’t been done, Garchomp can take most easily with its bulk and inability to lose its item. Next, it’s this team’s prime candidate for dealing with Mega Manectric, since it resists most of its moves. Garchomp can even take the rare HP Ice, and KO back with Earthquake even after Intimidate and without sandstorm, a feat that makes it a better immediate check than Gliscor, which fails to bring it into KO range even after two switch-ins to Stealth Rocks. Finally, sometimes it comes down to a choice between sacking Gliscor or Garchomp to a runaway Mamoswine or Scarf Genesect for something else to revenge-kill in the end-game. In this case, it depends on what team members the opponent has left. Gliscor is a great stalling tool for physical attackers without recovery, and in such cases Garchomp, sadly, would be the one to bite the dust. Most of the time, however, Garchomp is a much more potent threat end-game where all the opposing pokemon slower than Garchomp is 1HKO’ed by its moveset.






Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic
- Taunt


Gliscor is the physically defensive juggernaut of the team. Its main role is to lock down game-breaking threats such as Garchomp, Excadrill and some physical Lucario. Poison Heal coupled with Toxic Orb allows Gliscor to recover 1/8th of its health every turn. This is twice as much as Leftovers and lets Gliscor heal off all Stealth Rock damage in one turn, as well as absorbing status. The key decision in using Gliscor successfully is the timing in which to activate Toxic Orb. Keeping Gliscor unToxic’ed too late in the game can really hurt when you need that 1/8th recovery after switching into a threat that can potentially 2HKO Gliscor, since Poison Heal doesn’t recover health the turn Toxic Orb is activated. This also goes for Knock Off. Gliscor makes for a great counter for Knock Off since it doesn’t lose anything by losing its item once it’s poisoned and can shut down most Knock Off users. However, if Gliscor is forced to take a Knock Off before its Orb can activate, it becomes useless for the remainder of the game. Because of this, it is optimal to activate poison as early as possible in the game. When I begin a new battle, I always look at the Team Preview to see any potential “set-up bait” for Gliscor, which is a pokemon that doesn’t have attacks that can seriously hurt Gliscor or one which Gliscor counters.

Gliscor also takes on a different role than the standard SubToxic variant commonly seen in Generation 5. It is designed to take on stall teams, while still being able to wall offensive ones unlike its more specific partner Reuniclus. Toxic Orb ensures that it can’t be worn down in any way (it also has an immunity to sandstorm and still recovers health in the rare Hail). Taunt stops many pokemon looking to wall Gliscor cold, and is great for shutting down annoying Leech Seeders like the omnipresent duo Trevenant and Gourgeist. It also works well against Smeargle leads, since they usually try to shut Gliscor down in turn by Sporing it before Toxic Orb activates. On the other hand, Knock Off is great for rendering useless many common switch-ins to Gliscor, such as Rotom-W and regular Venusaur. Its boost in power means that Gliscor can also comfortably wall almost all Aegislash variants, which is currently one of the most common pokemon in the metagame. Swords Dance variants can be Taunted, followed by a Knock Off which will harm any potential switch-ins while still dealing out a massive amount of hurt on Gliscor. Special variants can leave Gliscor at about half health, but can still be countered by the combination of Knock Off, making them lose firepower originally boosted due to Life Orb, followed by a fast Earthquake, since King’s Shield doesn’t deliver the attack drop on non-contact moves. When I suspect that a King’s Shield is coming first turn, I’ll usually Taunt anyway since it goes through the pseudo-Protect. It’s really about a game of prediction with Aegislash, but with the proper strategy you drastically increase your chance on coming through without any stat drops and near full health.

Gliscor, though very good at walling physical attackers, works best on slow, boosting tanks. For example, it’ll take a large amount of damage from a Swords Danced Mega Garchomp’s Dragon Claw. In such cases, it’s better to rely on resistances than pure bulk. It’s extremely easy to get Gliscor’s health back to full with smart switching. This also puts pressure on smart opponents to set up Stealth Rock as fast as possible, as double switches are common in high-level play and Gliscor can easily abuse that with its double recovery rate. Gliscor in, in a way, the commando of the team. Though it can’t hit as hard as Garchomp, or KO so many pokemon like Genesect, it has the versatility to deal with threats itself. The combination of Taunt, Earthquake and Knock Off gives it so many options, and combined with its fast recovery speed and bulk, it can take on a variety of metagame threats. For example, it is fully capable of shutting down the more common Psyshock Reuniclus with the combination of Taunt stopping it from recovering and Knock Off, to kill any passive recovery from Leftovers or attack boosts from Life Orb. Though Gliscor isn’t going to sweep anytime soon, it usually leaves any pokemon it switches into crippled, if not worse.






Rotom-W @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SAtk / 88 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick


Rotom-W is the current metagame’s definition of reliability and stability - with a twist. Choice Specs Rotom-W is an extremely unusual but excellent variation in the current metagame. Rotom-W’s claim to fame is its ability to switch in and take on most variants of Talonflame, Scizor and Azumarill, and leave them with a giant dent with either Volt Switch or Hydro Pump. This Rotom-W is specifically designed to outspeed opposing standard Scizor and cripple it with Will-O-Wisp as it attempts to U-Turn out. Though a Choice item may seem ungainly on a balance team, it works surprisingly well in this case. First of all, the most popular Rotom-W sets currently are the physically defensive variants. Because of this, combined with the fear of Will-O-Wisp, opposing players will more often than not bring in their special attackers, only to be met with a punishing Volt Switch to a counter. This easily cripples their main attackers. However, Rotom-W can, unlike other surprise Choice pokemon, can adapt to different situations as well. If the opponent is “trained” to fear a Volt Switch, they’ll usually change their plan to switching in their special wall. Trick cripples them heavily, and giving potential leeway for Genesect setting up if they attempt to still get some milage out of it. With heavy HP investment, and if it gains a Leftovers on Trick (which is highly likely against any typical wall or tank other than NFE Eviolite users), it can also serve as a typical defensive Rotom-W late game. Will-O-Wisp is quite unexpected on a TrickSpecs set, but can use that surprise to its advantage. Other than the aforementioned Scizor scenario, multiple other pokemon often stay in, such as Aegislash once Rotom-W’s Specs are gone, only to be irreversibly crippled. This Rotom-W needs to be played much more strategically than the standard defensive variant, but pays off hundredfold if used correctly.

Rotom-W has two main stages; one with holding Specs and the second after Tricking it away (preferably receiving a Leftovers or at least a Lum Berry / Rocky Helmet). Each plays significantly different than the other, which can often confuse many opponents. In the first stage, the main objective is to deal as much damage as possible while maintaining momentum with Volt Switch. With maximum investment, its STABs hit ridiculously hard. Its counterpart, Hydro Pump, is the typical “nuke” on the set. Though it doesn’t get the benefit of permanent rain, it still OHKO’es every bulky Ground type that isn’t immune courtesy of ability. It also does a large amount of damage against every potential switch-in. which makes it the best move when you're afraid of losing momentum against a bold ground-type. The intermediate stage, as I call it, is the timing of Tricking. The target should be preferably a physical wall that greatly hampers Genesect’s sweepability; Skarmory and Heatran come to mind. Furthermore, Rotom-W gains freedom of move choice afterwards, which means it can KO/deal heavy damage against both of those threats with respective STAB moves. This is, in my opinion, the ultimate method to take back momentum. Not only has the wall been crippled, it's also simultaneously challenged by a Rotom-W with freedom of move choice, meaning it's practically forced out. Again, Rotom-W loses nothing by going for the SE move, since it can just as easily Volt Switch out later.


The final stage is the playstyle of Rotom-W after Tricking. Rotom-W is a great check to most slow ground-types such as defensive Gliscor, non-Mold Breaker Excadrill and Hippowdon. Unfortunately, faster Toxic-stalling Gliscor can stall out Hydro Pump’s meagre 8PP (or even worse, bank for a miss) and render Rotom-W useless. It’s best to not get into the situation in the first place, because either way it’s a free Substitute for Gliscor. The optimal strategy to execute when you're forced into a stall war is to predict the Protects. If you’re lucky, Hydro Pump won’t miss just enough for the opponent to use Protect, and you can switch into Azumarill to force it out with the threat of super effective Aqua Jet. Indeed, ironically enough faster Gliscor is one of Rotom-W’s best checks, just because Rotom can’t Volt Switch out and break the Substitute simultaneously. On the other hand, grass-types such as Venusaur and Trevenant can still wall Rotom-W and hit hard with their STABs, making Rotom-W somewhat of a hindrance in such situations. However, Genesect can take advantage of resisted Grass attacks to set up, and unless the grass-type in question isn’t a dedicated Leech Seed staller with Protect or Substitute, Genesect can still come clean with over half health still left and several boosts under its belt. Genesect must be wary of Sleep Powder, however, as it can easily ruin any chance of a sweep. Rotom-W excels at creating momentum for the team. Since most members do not have reliable recovery, faster Volt-Turn teams can easily wear this team down. Rotom-W can sponge most momentum moves from faster pokemon (except the likes of Choice Band Genesect) and fire off its own Volt Switch, allowing me to get the momentum back. It’s also a great pokemon to bring in blind switches next to Gliscor, just because of the sheer number of pokemon Rotom-W can check. Volt Switch also allows me to bring in faster but frailer teammates such as Garchomp and Genesect in much easier.






Azumarill (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off


Azumarill’s spot was the one that could never be decided fully. Switching between Venusaur, Aegislash and a brief tangent in Gourgeist, its primary role was to revenge-kill and potentially wall fast powerhouses with so many powerful coverage moves that my overly slow team could not deal with it, common examples being Alakazam and Gengar. Azumarill, however, isn’t just limited to revenge-killing. A major aspect that differentiated it from Aegislash was its utility. Though King’s Shield is a great support move, it can easily be predicted and taken advantage of. Azumarill’s powerful Knock Off allows it to out damage Waterfall first turn in attacking bulky Ghost and Psychics such as Reuniclus. However, the true power of Knock Off lies in its context. The current metagame is dominated with slow, bulky, powerful tanks. Shredding their Leftovers and Lum Berries are critical in wearing them down successfully with the combination of Tyranitar’s sandstorm and Rotom-W’s repeated Volt Switches. It also gives me a catch-all move when I know the opponent will switch out, but it is unclear what to. The only pokemon that doesn’t mind losing their item is Gliscor and the Mega Evolutionary variants. However, Azumarill can 1HKO even the most defensive Gliscor with Waterfall, and can still do massive amounts of damage with Aqua Jet if Gliscor attempts a stall. On the other hand, even if opponent predict the Knock Off and switches in their Mega, I can use the information that the pokemon indeed is a mega. For example, for threats that can be used both with and without their mega form such as Garchomp, knowing which set they run can help greatly in planning out how to deal with them in the future.

Azumarill also is an excellent wallbreaker, going hand-to-hand at walls such as Skarmory and Gliscor. Garchomp has trouble breaking through those two commonly seen defensive threats, while Azumarill handily 2HKO’es, or even 1HKO for the latter, while Garchomp deals with water resists such as Jellicent and Vaporeon that Azumarill may have trouble getting past. Following my game plan, the main intent here is to batter the opponent’s physical walls so that they are weakened enough for a final Genesect sweep. The combination of Waterfall and Play Rough defeat most commonly seen tanks and walls, being able to power through even the likes of Mega Aggron when paired with Earthquake from Garchomp in Sandstorm. However, Azumarill’s selling points aren’t just in its offence. Its fairy typing gives the team a solid Dragon check outside the shaky Genesect (which shouldn’t be used to wall attacks anyway). Combined with a resistance to Fire and neutrality to Ground, Azumarill can take almost any hit from common physically-based dragon sweepers such as Dragonite, Garchomp and Salamence and strike back with a fatal Play Rough. Though special attackers such as Latios and Noivern are still a problem, Tyranitar reliably counters both in the sand and at worst 3HKO’es with Ice Beam.




Final Notes

If you have, thank you for reading this lengthy RMT. I hope something good will come out of it, or at the very least spark a meaningful discussion concerning the metal menace.

PS. If anybody has better size sprites for Rotom-W and Azumarill, please post a link. Thanks!

Major Contributions:

Epiconic, for giving me the original inspiration for the team and playtesting it extensively.
Indigo5, for also being a major playtester and helping this team advance through the beta stages (Where I was still unhappily using Trevenant; hats off to you!).
Ogami, for being one of the instrumental players to the growth and improvement of the team. You helped out a lot, thanks!
Calm_Mind_Latias, for a suggestion of Waterfall > Aqua Tail on Azumarill.


Importable

Code:
Tyranitar (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 216 HP / 72 Atk / 176 SDef / 44 Spd
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Roar

Genesect @ Leftovers
Trait: Download
EVs: 234 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Shift Gear
- Blaze Kick
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed

Garchomp (M) @ Garchompite
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spd
Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic
- Taunt

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SAtk / 88 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick

Azumarill (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
 
Last edited:
OMG this is a solid team. Haven't I fought this team before? I remember you thrashed me 6-3 or something... Welp, kudos to you.

Anyway, a slight modification I might make on your team is making Rotom-W a Leftovers Pain Split variant. The sandstorm, stealth rock, and the Volt Switches you'll usually be taking takes its toll on Rotom-W real fast. Here's the set;

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Bold
252 HP 152 Def 156 SAtk
Hydro pump
Volt Switch
Will o wisp
Pain Split

Hope I helped, and nice team!
 
Though by no means a good battler, I can wholeheartedly say this team definitely ranks in my top 5 XY RMTs. Brilliant job Tabby!

I would contradict Lampent here: I would say that a durable check to Talonflame is essential. You might want to consider switching Tyranitar so Rotom has an easier job.

Good luck with the team!
 
I'd say that sr and roar on T-Tar makes Talon sad enough if you manage to keep rocks up. That being said I'm a little skeptical of not having any stab on Tar. How has he been performing? Do you ever miss having firepower beyond moves meant for SE hits?

Let me start by saying this looks like an incredibly solid team. I've been thinking about a sand team myself for mega chomp so it's awesome to see this and is a good place to look for what works. I've been thinking about dual sandstarters with hippo being a good defensive pivot alongside t-tar as the specially defensive pivot. But maybe this is flawed. I can now see that one of Rotom's main draw is being able to sponge a hit meant for t-tar and then switch out with volt switch and get Garchomp in the sand early and free with enough time to destroy.

And I agree with you that shift gear genesect is criminally underplayed. I mean, we have a legal abuser of shift gear that isn't klinklang. Why isn't this everywhere??? Especially when download can turn one turn into two dd's. That's stupid. What's so scary to me is this things coverage. I could even see ice beam being awesome just to nail those ground/flying and ground/dragons that think they can tank one of your hits, but blaze kick is probably better coverage overall.

This isn't that much of a critique, but there are a couple things I would look to change. I think Fireblast is superior to Fire Fang on garchomp. My skarmory laughs at fire fang garchomp every time, but fireblast makes her a sad girl for sure.

252 Atk Mega Garchomp Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Skarmory: 102-120 (30.5 - 35.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

VS

0 SpA Mega Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 248-292 (74.2 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

That's huge. Mega Garchomp gets an insane boost to special attack making it the best chainchomp yet, if speed isn't an issue. Chainchomp is definitely my favorite chomp set, and Mega Garchomp amps it up a shit ton. Regular Garchomp barely 2HKO's after rocks with fire blast but this thing maims it. The fewer games you play with skarmory and the fewer opportunities you give it to roost the better. I'm not gonna bother posting calcs for Ferrothorn as their ev's vary a lot, but Fire Blast definitely gets the edge in damage and won't incur spiky barbs/ rocky helmet.

A smaller nitpick is Waterfall over Aqua Tail on Azumarill. I'm sorry if you mentioned some ohko's this causes that I missed but I think azu hits hard enough with the -10bp and the accuracy is much more appreciated.

One last thing that bothers me is the gliscor set. I think it may be trying to do too much. It's not going to toxic stall anything without sub or protect, making it a much worse defensive anchor. Without u-turn you can't even play the lando-t game that slow turns out to your check. I would make it a full toxic stall set, which would help against Rotom-W a lot, a pokemon I can see having it's way with this team. I could be completely wrong about this, but just my gut feeling.

Anyways, I hope any of this helped. Very solid team and a great write up. Thanks for putting so much time and thought into this. I'm really interested in this teams use of genesect and garchomp, and I'll probably start on my own team using at least chomp in the sand. This will be a great help to me, and I'd love to share/compare results.
 
This team is amazing, it honestly is, but one huge threat to your team is Life Orb Genesect, which, if it gets the correct boost, will plow down your team with Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Iron Head / Flamethrower (or U-Turn, which is more common). The only thing that can be a true stop to it is after Genesect has set up, or if Rotom-W is still alive. I think you should watch out for Genesect, but this team is great so I don't know if you want to change anything. But yeah, that's all I got for a truly great team!
 
Anyway, a slight modification I might make on your team is making Rotom-W a Leftovers Pain Split variant. The sandstorm, stealth rock, and the Volt Switches you'll usually be taking takes its toll on Rotom-W real fast. Here's the set;

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Bold
252 HP 152 Def 156 SAtk
Hydro pump
Volt Switch
Will o wisp
Pain Split
Actually, I had been using that set until quite a while ago; however, when dealing with opposing Rotom-Ws they often try to burn me before anything else, and I don't have anything that likes to take burns; thus Chesto-Rest. However, you are right in the sense that Rotom-W often doesn't get the initiative to recover against hyper offensive teams; I'm still debating between the two.


This isn't that much of a critique, but there are a couple things I would look to change. I think Fireblast is superior to Fire Fang on garchomp. My skarmory laughs at fire fang garchomp every time, but fireblast makes her a sad girl for sure.
Definitely. I wasn't aware of the large boost Mega Garchomp recieved in special firepower, but looking at it now, Fire Blast is clearly the superior option. Thanks a lot! I'll be updating the description and set most likely within a few hours.



This team is amazing, it honestly is, but one huge threat to your team is Life Orb Genesect, which, if it gets the correct boost, will plow down your team with Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Iron Head / Flamethrower (or U-Turn, which is more common). The only thing that can be a true stop to it is after Genesect has set up, or if Rotom-W is still alive. I think you should watch out for Genesect, but this team is great so I don't know if you want to change anything. But yeah, that's all I got for a truly great team!
Agreed, Genesect is a large threat. I usually go with Rotom-W to get a burn on it, then use smart switching to wear it down. Azumarill can Aqua Jet half its health away, while my Genesect can revenge-kill a weakened one with a +1 ExtremeSpeed. Definitely a threat, but right now switching something for a solid counter would open more holes than fix IMO. What would you suggest?



Thanks for all the replies guys. Your input helps incredibly for patching up the team and making it one of the metagame standard teams.
 
This team is built to try and reduce the luck factor as much as possible.
Well, to sound snarky, it is pretty ironic you are using Aqua Tail over Waterfall, especially in the context of that remark. It maybe justifiable if you can provide some relevant calcs if Aqua Tail can KO some problematic Pokemon.

Edit: I suppose it is Gliscor you are concerned with.


But good summary anyway.
 
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Robqq

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I've just got one based suggestion for your team that will help Garchomp break everything.

Smooth Rock > Leftovers on Tyranitar

Smooth Rock helps Tyranitar fulfill its role better as it keeps the sandstorm going a bit longer. :toast:
 
I played around with a version of this team today using hippowdon over gliscor as my defensive anchor. I did have other changes to the line up so I could never give a one on one comparison, but the double sand setting was really useful, and hippowdon does well against a lot of physical threats to Tyranitar/Garchomp. I also think this team could benefit from a small volt turn core starting with rotom to bring in the heavy hitters more fluidly.

Using Hippowdon also allowed for Tyranitar to be more offensively minded, which i found useful. I found the more weight Tyranitar pulled offensively the easier Garchomp's job was, which in turn made genesect's job easier. Not sure if it's your cup of tea, but I would give it a thought at least. With recover you have plenty of recovery, so a smooth rock could be used over leftovers, but I was trying out rocky helmet to help against those pesky u-turners.
 
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Well, to sound snarky, it is pretty ironic you are using Aqua Tail over Waterfall, especially in the context of that remark. It maybe justifiable if you can provide some relevant calcs if Aqua Tail can KO some problematic Pokemon.
Haha nice point. That's very valid in its own right. However, I remember seeing some key KOs in the Azumarill forum... However, you do have a point that I might be pissed off at SubStall Gliscor with an inaccurate move. I'll probably test it out, and if it works fine I'll add it to the list.


I've just got one based suggestion for your team that will help Garchomp break everything.

Smooth Rock > Leftovers on Tyranitar

Smooth Rock helps Tyranitar fulfill its role better as it keeps the sandstorm going a bit longer.
I would say Tyranitar's my main special wall, and lack of recovery means it'll be worn down quite quickly. Again, Garchomp is not my main sweeper, just a tool to break through EQ-neutral walls like Jellicent, and its attack is high enough to KO most pokemon off the bat anyway.



I played around with a version of this team today using hippowdon over gliscor as my defensive anchor. I did have other changes to the line up so I could never give a one on one comparison, but the double sand setting was really useful, and hippowdon does well against a lot of physical threats to Tyranitar/Garchomp. I also think this team could benefit from a small volt turn core starting with rotom to bring in the heavy hitters more fluidly.

Using Hippowdon also allowed for Tyranitar to be more offensively minded, which i found useful. I found the more weight Tyranitar pulled offensively the easier Garchomp's job was, which in turn made genesect's job easier. Not sure if it's your cup of tea, but I would give it a thought at least. With recover you have plenty of recovery, so a smooth rock could be used over leftovers, but I was trying out rocky helmet to help against those pesky u-turners.
Dude, you are giving me one good idea after another. BTW, does Hippowdon have Knock Off? It may come into play since it's a great catch-all move. Definitely worth a try, though.

PS. Apologies, I still haven't changed the set for Fire Blast. Will do so soon.

EDIT: Done. Thanks for the help Ogami, you're definitely in the major contributions list.
 
Very nice team! I've always been a huge fan and player of Sand so it's great to see such a team come forth even with the advent of 5 Turn Sand Stream this Gen. anyways, onwards to the rate:

Shift Gears 'Sect is one hell of a monster, however I feel you can better utilize him with a few changes. First, I would recommend going with a 24 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 224 Spe Spread instead of your current one along with a Life Orb. The kicked up speed may seem slightly out of place considering you net +2 after a single Shift Gear, however this let's your out run 252 +Spe Base 95's (and speed creeping those who aim to beat them) so you're not a sitting duck outside of ESpeed before you can set up. The small HP Investment nets you an LO Number while the swap to LO itself makes Genesect much scarier to deal with. Next is Blaze Kick; while it is nice considering it benefits from SG, more things would be devastated from trying to stomach a Flamethrower since many Steels are primarily Physically invested. This is especially true if you happen to pick up a SpAtk boost from Download. Flamethrower also has the added benefit of helping you bypass things like Iron Barbs/Rocky Helmet and gives you a solid way to get around Aegislash and its' ever annoying King's Shield spamming without a prediction war.

I also recommend Pursuit over Roar on your Tyranitar along side a swap to Sassy and re-adjusting the EV's out of Speed for a tad better Bulk. Pursuit Trapping is one of TTar's strong suits and let's you easily eliminate things like Defog Lati@s (or at the very least force the Healing Wish/Memento) who enjoy both coming in on anything Rotom can pack as well as trying to Revenge Chomp after finding out it's not Scarfed. Azu is of course your go-to guy for the Lati Twins, but it's nice to have an alternative that stops them, and many more, dead in their tracks. Pursuit also has the benefit of providing free damage on any predicted switch, U-Turn, or Volt Switch like Talonflame, Mega Manetric, Noivern, etc.

Another interesting idea would be to change Gliscor to the standard Pivot Landorus-T. It's a much more offensive change as he wouldn't be able to absorb Burn/Sleep for you, but he could provide you with a solid slower VoltTurn Core as Ogami suggested that can keep up the momentum to let Mega-Chomp come in to wreck over and over and give Genesect more opportunities to Set Up. You could also move Rocks onto Gliscor/Lando and free up a slot on TTar for a spammable STAB in Crunch and even opt to run Assault Vest/Chople Berry to Pursuit Trap even more effectively though the loss of Lefties would slightly hurt his longevity.

Hope this helped :)

Tyranitar
Roar --> Pursuit
Calm --> Sassy, 252 HP / 72 SAtk / 184 SDef
Rocks --> Crunch?
Lefties --> AV/Chople?

Genesect @ Life Orb
Ability: Download
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef / 224 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Shift Gear
- Flamethrower
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 Spd
Naive / Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock / Knock Off
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice / Knock Off / Stone Edge
 
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HA Knock off was the first move I checked for on Hippowdon. Sadly no, it does not get it. Please let me know how hippo performs, as I was running a team without azumarill and a different rotom spread (most likely inferior to this build since I'm fresh to using things like shift gear genesect.

And no problem, I'm so glad what I'm saying is actually helpful, take your time with the credit crap.

I definitely agree that T-Tar should get something to handle the Latii twins. Those are the two dragons I'm usually most nervous about having azu come in on (well really just Latios) because thunder bolt is a pretty common coverage move. Having T-Tar actually be able to threaten them and other psychics and ghosts feels really important.

I'm not sure if Steel.Storm's suggested Genesect spread would be better as I noticed it loves that extra bulk to have a surprising amount of chances to set up. It would be much harder to set up without that bulk. One change that interests me though is U-turn over Blaze Kick. This is definitely odd on a set-up sweeper, but the thought is similar to sd scizor i'v seen with u-turn. U-turn allows genesect more utility mid-game to sucker in the things Garchomp wants to eat. I found most games where T-Tar/ Chomp did their thing Blaze Kick was hardly necessary as coverage, but not having that coverage could be very risky, and a worse trade off than situationally having U-turn. Just a thought though as I noticed I wasn't clicking blaze kick ever, and u-turn seems like a nice way to feign a choice set early and volt-turn with rotom, while still having the most important killing moves on the set.
 
Alright. From Steel.Storm and Ogami's suggestions, I'm starting to think this team may be wanting a (relatively) large overhaul of change of role of Tyranitar and adding Hippowdon, so I'll make another variation of the team and test it out.

Good point about U-Turn on Genesect. Actually, I've been debating for a VERY long time for moveset options on Genesect. I found both X-Scizzor and Iron Head were great STABs, while if I run both I get walled by Steels. Since I am setting its role as a sweeper, it may be good to run U-Turn/X-Scissor on the slot for Blaze Kick (believe it or not, I was originally running ESpeed and Iron Head with SG and Sub; but the lack of coverage was too harmful). Again, I'll test it out on my part; let me know how your experiments go. And again, thanks for your repeated advice and cooperation with playtesting ideas and such. Always appreciated!
 
Huh. I just played against a version of this team with Hippowdon for Gliscor; guess it was you, BST? Anyway, adding to the previous discussion, I found it ridiculously easy to just throw around Toxics and wear down the team. Genesect swept me in the end, but I must say, it was a bit easier compared to the battle I had with you with the first version. Perhaps Gliscor should be kept, imo
 
I wasn't using Hippowdon today. Probably someone else playtesting the team or similar.

I'm still debating between Hippowdon and Gliscor; on one hand, it makes my team really weak to status, but it adds better sandstorm control and less of an Mamo weakness. Fire Blast and Waterfall have been updated in the descriptions.

EDIT: Managed to peak 2100 with current team with Gliscor. Updated title.
 
LOLOLOL that was me Lampent. GG by the way. Yeah right now the team is facing some pretty big holes. I do have heal bell on my Sylveon, but that is neither here nor there, as I'm thinking the offensive presence of azumarill would be better suited to the teams momentum than sylveon.

I'm finding i'm struggling with Deo-D leads. Is T-Tar with Crunch the best response? Maybe that's where Gliscor is really missed with it's taunting ability.

I may be clinging too much to my hippo, but he's been pretty solid against a lot of threats, and I've been liking rocky helmet for the passive damage against u-turner. With rocky helmet and sand hippo is pretty good at beating enemies while slacking off in their face.

I'm curious to see what Tabby's results are, as hippo definitely starts morphing the team. Not sure if that's a good thing.


Congratulations! Okay so maybe Hippo isn't the best. Mega-Lucario and Rotom-W are taking a big crap on me, but does gliscor help against them that much?
 
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Interestingly enough, I've seen quite many variations of this while playing on PO lately. They can't be all you, can they? :P

Anyway, where did you put Sylveon in? The lack of status absorber is definitely a pain, but not if I have a cleric. Especially since it can absorb powerful dragon types...
 
Ha they are definitely not as I haven't played much today. The sylveon was definitely nice in some matchups but after using azumarill it quickly become the center of the offense. I have to say the team really needs guys that grab momentum and use it immediately. Sylveon's fairy typing is a blessing, but I think the team would have to become a much slower one for it to really fit in.

I'm still very interested in the applications of U-turn on Genesect. I'm finding blaze kick is never used, with bulky waters being the bigger concern to Genesect's sweep. Genesect can just play so many mindgames with it's movepool and I like the concept of it being able to win switches in the midgame for it's wallbreaker buddies. If Azumarill/Garchomp do there job Genesect doesn't really need coverage.

How do you feel about Rotom? While he hasn't been bad for me, he's seemed super mediocre. He gets the job done, but he doesn't seem to be adding anything that makes this team overwhelming.
 
It feels like Rotom-W's a "catch-all" pokemon that's not like Swampert 4th gen wise. I don't know how you play it, but I personally think that perhaps its former Pain Split defensive one may be better in the current meta. I'll probably be updating descriptions soon.

BTW, since you play on Showdown, could you post some replays? I'm really interested on how you play your version.
 
Good job on the team and congratz on peak! Hope I could help.

This team is interesting and the even with the weather nerf, it seems that this team can function extremely well. I am suggesting a couple of thing. I use Shift Gear Genesect too and trust me, your spread isn't the best. I used a mixed spread because Genesect has a rather poor physical movepool compared to its ridiculous special movepool. I recommend you use a Mixed Shift Gear set with Shift Gear | Bug Buzz | Flamethrower | Extremespeed. Shift Gear boosts ES to some good heights and if you also combine a potential +1 from Download, you will have a Lucario with flawless coverage. Using a spread of 228 Atk / 252 SAtk / 28 Spe will give you a powerful revenge killer and late-game sweeper which takes better advantage of Garchomp's wall-breaking. The choice between an Adamant or Modest nature is up to you. I prefer a Modest nature because if you don't get the +1 SAtk from Download on your late-game sweep. Modest + LO will be enough to sweep your opponent. Now, an Adamant nature will help you a little more against some nuisances to your team.
  • Healthy Mega-Alakazam can 5-0 this team assuming Azumarill is KOed
    • Assault Vest Tyranitar with Dragon Tail or Pursuit > Roar isn't a bad choice.
      • It can live Focus Blast with plenty to spare. Leftovers is an important item indeed to keep him alive, but Tyranitar seems rather to being taking Special hits than Physical, so Assault Vest is really good.
      • It also helps against Mega-Charizard Y when trying to win the "weather wars" (stupid 5 turns), and opposing Rotom-W.
      • Obviously, you'll have to give up Stealth Rock on Tyranitar, so I recommend using Stone Edge > Stealth Rock.
        • Then, ya, this will cause you to use Stealth Rock > Stone Edge on Garchomp.
Code:
Genesect | Life Orb | Download
Modest | 228 Atk / 252 SAtk / 28 Spe | Max IVs
Shift Gear | Extremespeed | Bug Buzz | Flamethrower
 
Yeah sure, but my version is getting closer and closer to yours, especially now that I'm finally on the Azumarill train. I know it's powerful but the way it plays is so in line with what i like for a pokemon to do.

As for RotomW. I love RotomW. Especially specs. But it just seems underwhelming. It doesn't really help with the Genesect problem, and doesn't seem to buy me as much momentum on this team as it does every other one I've used it on. This could be directly correlated to my choice to run Hippowdon though. Not sure.

I have no idea why the text got smaller in this message. What is going on. Have I entered some sort of forum twilight zone?
 
The lack of a spinner/defogger has been pretty bad for me. I like the sounds of a lando-t+tentacruel backbone as they can handle either side of lucario fairly well while covering spinning and rocks. This does nothing to help the weakness to Rotom-W shenanigans however.

Vertex: I kind of love and hate your genesect suggestion. Giving gear shift genesect special coverage sounds amazing, but leaving e speed on as your only physical move seems like an odd choice. Something like Gear shift / Iron Head / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt sounds really dangerous and good at killing a lot of the ground/water/flying types that like to wall gear shift genesect.

Just had a thought. On another team of mine, Azumarill and Rotom-Heat show a lot of promise, having a lot of synergy both offensively and defensively. As the sort of Bizarro of the Rotom world, I love him, but his typing and coverage is actually pretty good right now. The weakness to hazards would definitely have to be addressed if he were to be considered.

I mentioned before I love specs Rotom, and the heat variety seems just as interesting to me for this role with specs overheat being a formidable wallbreaker. Volt switch gives it that offensive edge.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Rotom-H Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 176-208 (57.8 - 68.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

This is an interesting stat for me, especially if RotomH comes in on a wow after being hit by say an azumarill or boosted genesect u-turn. I'm not sure how many rotomW players will look to flee from a RotomH.

This is another nice stat for any Rotom-W that want to come in on Overheat, or even expecting to sponge volt switch:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Rotom-H Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 153-181 (50.3 - 59.5%)

That's a hefty chunk and means, maybe Rotom-H doesn't even have to invest in HP Grass.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Rotom-H Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 196-232 (64.4 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Lol

I suppose all of this is applicable to Rotom Wash as well. Any thoughts on the viability of the specs build of a Rotom form as a way to increase wallbreaking potential, with a specific target being opposing Rotom-Wash?
 
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Hmm... First of all, Vertex, your coverage can be achieved with X-Scissor, Blaze Kick, and ESpeed with similar effect. The addition of not having to use LO or having to divide EVs may benefit Genesect more.

I'm not sure; first of all, this team is bulky offense, and Rotom-H with Specs kinda disrupts momentum. It gives opponents setup opportunites if I'm locked into -2 Overheat. Also, I won't have anything that can reliably counter opposing Rotom-W, which are quite common. Rotom-H may be viable; however, I'm not completely sold on it yet.
 
Heat is definitely more suspect, but a specs rotom-wash is a much cleaner transition and specs hydro pump can be harder to set up on. The things that like to set up on that are most often dragons, for which you have Azumarill. Manaphy becomes dangerous though, and gourgeist/trevenant can be a pain, so that's definitely something to consider. Where specs shines is it really surprises opposing Rotom-Wash with hefty volt switch damage. Having Something that could take a Rotom from about half health would be ideal at that point (CB T-Tar anyone). This is highlighted by the fact that players often use rotom-wash like he resists electric.
 

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