Hey, I'm gonna drop this team that is really cool especially now that Pidgeot's gone. I've been using it for several weeks and got reqs with it, here it is:
This features a currently underrated, but one of my favorite, Mega evolution in the tier, Mega Houndoom. I posted a little bit about how it fares in the current metagame here. In the recent months, Alakazam, Hippowdon, and Mega Pidgeot have all left the tier, and Mega Aerodactyl's presence has become significantly less overwhelming, making Mega Houndoom's life a lot easier. Seeing how it breaks down a lot of balance cores, I decided to build an HO team around it.
The first idea I had for a partner, an idea I was trying to build around back in the early weeks of UUPL, was Mega Houndoom + Slurpuff, the latter of which capitalizes on several of Houndoom's checks, mostly Scarfers. I then added Doublade which covered most of Houndoom's remaining checks, those being Snorlax/Blissey/P2 and Mega Aerodactyl/Mega Beedrill. I chose to run Shadow Claw over Sacred Sword on Doublade to get a stronger hit on Water-types (specifically Gatr), Reuniclus, and other Doublade. My team does OK against the main targets of Sacred Sword (Krook, Hydrei).These three set-up sweepers form a powerful offensive core that work fantastically with each other, and it is the best core around Mega Houndoom I have been able to come up with.
Next I added Whimsicott, primarily as support for my three sweepers. With U-turn, Encore, and Memento, it's very effective at getting one of them on the field safely. Yache Berry was something I added at the very end of this team's development, to save me from late game Gatr/Swampert sweeps and Mamoswine's Ice Shard; Whimsicott wasn't on the field enough to justify the use of Leftovers or really any other item. Whimsicott provides an early answer to Hydreigon because I rarely want to switch Slurpuff right in, and makes bulky sweepers like Snorlax and Suicune hesitate to begin setting up, which I have often been able to take advantage of.
Then, I added good old fashioned all-out attacking MixMence, mostly to break down walls to support my team. I opted out of Defog, Roost, or Iron Tail in order to hit basically everything in the tier for at least a 2HKO besides Florges, P2, and Cresselia. Salamence is also a handy check to Entei, which my team desperately needed, and can deal with other stuff my team hates, like Nidoqueen and Arcanine. Draco + Outrage is nice for luring most fat stuff, while I can fall back on Doublade against the few things I mentioned before that avoid a 2HKO.
Azelf is my favorite Stealth Rock lead for offense and in my opinion, the most effective. Psychic/Fire Blast gets good damage on most stuff while Explosion prevents Defog from Empoleon/Mandibuzz who don't care and is good to lure stuff when the opponent sees special moves. Normally I'd run LO but I absolutely need Rocks up most of the time and having death fodder on this offensive of a team is too good to pass up.
Have fun if you decide to try out this team. If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them and I'll probably edit them into this post :}
Houndoom @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Return
- Play Rough
Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
Whimsicott @ Yache Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Encore
- Memento
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Return
- Play Rough
Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
Whimsicott @ Yache Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Encore
- Memento
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
The first idea I had for a partner, an idea I was trying to build around back in the early weeks of UUPL, was Mega Houndoom + Slurpuff, the latter of which capitalizes on several of Houndoom's checks, mostly Scarfers. I then added Doublade which covered most of Houndoom's remaining checks, those being Snorlax/Blissey/P2 and Mega Aerodactyl/Mega Beedrill. I chose to run Shadow Claw over Sacred Sword on Doublade to get a stronger hit on Water-types (specifically Gatr), Reuniclus, and other Doublade. My team does OK against the main targets of Sacred Sword (Krook, Hydrei).These three set-up sweepers form a powerful offensive core that work fantastically with each other, and it is the best core around Mega Houndoom I have been able to come up with.
Next I added Whimsicott, primarily as support for my three sweepers. With U-turn, Encore, and Memento, it's very effective at getting one of them on the field safely. Yache Berry was something I added at the very end of this team's development, to save me from late game Gatr/Swampert sweeps and Mamoswine's Ice Shard; Whimsicott wasn't on the field enough to justify the use of Leftovers or really any other item. Whimsicott provides an early answer to Hydreigon because I rarely want to switch Slurpuff right in, and makes bulky sweepers like Snorlax and Suicune hesitate to begin setting up, which I have often been able to take advantage of.
Then, I added good old fashioned all-out attacking MixMence, mostly to break down walls to support my team. I opted out of Defog, Roost, or Iron Tail in order to hit basically everything in the tier for at least a 2HKO besides Florges, P2, and Cresselia. Salamence is also a handy check to Entei, which my team desperately needed, and can deal with other stuff my team hates, like Nidoqueen and Arcanine. Draco + Outrage is nice for luring most fat stuff, while I can fall back on Doublade against the few things I mentioned before that avoid a 2HKO.
Azelf is my favorite Stealth Rock lead for offense and in my opinion, the most effective. Psychic/Fire Blast gets good damage on most stuff while Explosion prevents Defog from Empoleon/Mandibuzz who don't care and is good to lure stuff when the opponent sees special moves. Normally I'd run LO but I absolutely need Rocks up most of the time and having death fodder on this offensive of a team is too good to pass up.
Threatlist, from most threatening down: Mamoswine, Scald, Nidoqueen, Sticky Web, Thunder Wave, Empoleon, Scarf Chandelure, Mandibuzz
Possible changes:
Possible changes:
- Grass Knot/Energy Ball on Whimsicott to better deal with Mega Swampert and Mamoswine, but everything I have currently is too useful. I prefer furthering my team's focus to patching up a weakness.
- Taunt on Azelf because currently I have no way to prevent Rocks, which Salamence, Houndoom, and Slurpuff greately would appreciate.
- Iron Tail on Salamence, but I do not recommend this because then you lose out on hitting a lot of things depending on what you give up in exchange for hitting one Pokemon (Florges), which, while mildly annoying if it gets a free switch, is not a threat to this team.