Hey!
Thanks for accepting my application to the rating league! This is my favourite activity to do on Smogon and I appreciate the chance to try and prove myself. Anyways, here is my rate.
Starting team:
- Issues: Aerodactyl, Gyarados, bulky waters (esp. CM suicune), Krookodile, Mega Swampert (esp. rain dance), Hydreigon (esp. LO).
Aerodactyl kills something everytime it gets to attack vs. this team, and can come in pretty easily vs. Beedrill and Krookodile. I also notice that mega pert can setup rain against literally 4/6 of this team (klefki, krook, espeon, beedrill) if it gets a free turn, and clicks earthquake 4 times to win. CM Suicune sets up on 3/6 here (still beats tentacruel 1v1), and CM Espeon really doesn't deal with it well. Likewise, Gyrados can get to +1 pretty easily against this team, and literally wins if it's sub-dd. Offensive ground types in general are a pain in the ass given how easily they can come in on Klefki here (especially the nidos). Hydreigon is a little less of an issue given that Klefki deters it from clicking its STAB, but it can still come in on Krookodile and Tentacruel, and it only needs to click fire blast/e-power once on klefki to get past it.
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The following changes aim to help address the previously highlighted vulnerabilities.
1.
[np]>
The current Espeon set is a bit inefficient I feel. There is no need to really deter hazard setters with magic bounce considering that this team has Tentacruel, which is an effective spinner. In addition, this team desperately needs something to adequately beat CM Suicune (and something to switch into scald reliable); espeon really can't switch in effectively and loses to it 1v1. Nasty plot Celebi does this and also gives this team an offensive check to mega swampert, which as mentioned is a pain in the ass to face. While on paper you 'lose' to special walls, NP Celebi can just boost to +6 and overwhelm them (florges, blissey, p2, etc.), so running an ineffective Espeon set really doesn't work here.
As for the set, standard STAB+NP is used, but I would also run dazzling gleam here. Mixed/LO Hydreigon is a mon that this team really can't afford to let in (you have klefki but that gets nuked by earth power/fire blast), and seeing how Hydreigon can come in on krookodile and tentacruel easily, I would not want to give it more opportunities to fire off attacks. Losing recover kinda worsens the matchup against offensive m-pert, but i feel that the tradeoff is worth it. As for the item, stick with leftovers: celebi is the team's only answer to bulky water types, so running a LO just wears it down. Standard NP EVs are fine as well.
Celebi Set (close)
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
2.
While Krookodile certainly is a good Pokemon, on this team I would highly advise to replace it with defensive swampert. As mentioned, Aerodactyl is a massive issue for this team to handle, and offensive ground types like Krookodile and Mamoswine essentially kill something everytime they get the opportunity to attack. In addition, DD Gyarados can setup to +1 vs. Krookodile and essentially sweep the team. Swampert hard checks all of these mons, and with hidden power electric, can effectively surprise and beat Gyrados in a 1v1 situation. Roar can still be used; however, I feel that the ability to actually beat instead of force out Gyarados is much more valuable on this team. The rest of the set is standard and doesn't really require much explanation (scald, eq, rocks w/ leftovers, standard EVs).
Swampert set (close)
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Roar (roar is still viable, but for this team the ability to beat Gyarados 1v1 is far more valuable)
3.
: Magnet rise>toxic; specially defensive.
This is a minor change, but Nasty Plot Celebi with dazzling gleam invalidates the need to run toxic to hit mons like Cresselia and Mandibuzz. Basically, celebi beats the fat shit that toxic would otherwise check. I feel that magnet rise is far more useful because Klefki invites in nidoqueen/king, and being able to use them as spikes fodder is extremely valuable for beedrill later on. This is especially true because the team still does not have a guaranteed switch in to those mons. It also helps you beat Krookodile 1v1, which is pretty important considering that Swampert would rather not switch into a knock off and lose its recovery.
Secondly, I'd run a specially defensive set here to check Hydreigon marginally better, but more importantly allowing you to hard check Sceptile by avoiding the 2HKO from focus blast. The defence isn't too significant as you can still hard check Crobat and Beedrill with the threat of T-Wave.
Klefki Set (close)
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 156 SpD / 100 Spe
Careful Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Play Rough
- Magnet Rise
4.
Another minor change. I feel that this team handles sylveon and other fairies well given the fact that A) Beedrill forces them out, B) Klefki uses them as spikes bait, and C) Tentacruel walls everything but specs psyshock (which they are forced to predict and you can easily go to Klefki after to set spikes). Not only that, but offensive Sylveon already takes a ton from CB hammer arm, and you can always knock off a cleric Sylveon on the switch to wear it down and force it to recover (thereby giving you a turn to switch into tentacruel or klefki). Ice punch is to help with the crobat matchup. Crobat can otherwise come in and roost off the knock off damage, or just U-Turn and gain momentum when you are forced to go into Klefki. Thus, ice punch helps to lure and standard utility crobat on the switch, which really helps out Beedrill and Celebi.
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Ending Team (close)
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 240 HP / 68 Def / 8 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Damp
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Roar
Conkeldurr @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- U-turn
- Drill Run
- Poison Jab
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 156 SpD / 100 Spe
Careful Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Play Rough
- Magnet Rise
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
That is it for the changes! I recognize that this rate is not perfect. Mixed Hydreigon is still hard to handle, and offensive Suicune still is an issue given that it can nuke Celebi with signal beam on the switch. Conkeldurr is a bit of a problem as well seeing how Celebi can't OHKO AV sets and takes a ton from knock off, plus the fact that Klefki would rather not switch into it. LO Hydreigon is still hard to deal with as well, so make sure to have conk or beedrill alive to actually deal with it.
However, I'm not prepared to blindly slap a Sylveon on this team to have a dedicated conk answer, as I feel that spikes and speed control are FAR more useful on this team. Plus, having a lure should help with Hydreigon at least. In general, I feel that I have improved the matchup vs. the original threats that this team struggled with (gyarados, aerodactyl, krookodile and suicune mainly) while still retaining the original plan of the team (stack hazards, clean with beedrill). Having a couple of remaining threats is normal for any team and you just need to play around them carefully (keep conk alive to revenge kill hydreigon, keep celebi alive for conk). That concludes my rate. Thank you for reading and have a good rest of the day!