I've messed around with a variety of builds thus far after the second wave of bannings, but after a while I began to notice that most of my teams had a very hard time with Gliscor, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Pokemon of a similar ilk. After reviewing some logs and lots of experimentation, I've arrived at the following team:
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Atk (Speed IV set to 0)
Nature: Sassy
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
I wanted a bulky "lead" who could lay down at least one entry hazard with some degree of consistency and still have some sort of utility later in the game. I went out of my way to have two Rapid Spinners on this team to protect Volcarona (and Thundurus to some extent), and getting down even one layer of Toxic Spikes makes it significantly easier to prevent sweeps from things like Garchomp.
Gyro Ball is the only real attacking move on this set, which was chosen to provide some sort of threat to opposing lead Aerodactyl who tend to lead with taunt and find themselves killed by Gyro Ball followed by Rapid Spin (which clears off the Stealth Rock they usually attempt to leave behind). It's rare that he does more than get down an entry hazard and get in some residual damage, but that's all I was looking for from him anyway.
Volcarona @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
Get off one Quiver Dance with this guy and he's almost guaranteed to take two opposing Pokemon down with him. STAB Fire Blast in the sun is strong enough to put a real dent in things like Gliscor who might think they could switch in with impunity, and Bug Buzz can demolish Lati@s (I'm hesitant to say it's a guaranteed OHKO on Latios with Stealth Rock up, but it's been pretty close in my testing). Fiery Dance is great if you can use it on something weak to Fire and get a boost, or if you just need the increased accuracy over Fire Blast.
The main trouble with Volcarona is finding an opportunity to switch him in. Ferrothorn, Scizor and Forretress have been the main things I've been taking advantage of, as they're often scared off immediately which creates the opportunity to get in a Quiver Dance and attempt a sweep. Stealth Rock is obviously a big problem, but there's a reason I have two Rapid Spinners on this team.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
I took this from the RMT featured on the recent Smog (I believe the team it featured on was called Layla). Choice Scarf makes it a great revenge killer, and STAB Close Combat is tough for anything that doesn't resist it to switch in on if late game cleaning is the task of the day(especially given that they almost certainly won't be going first without some sort of priority move). Stone Edge takes care of Dragonite and Salamence without too much fanfare, along with Thundurus and Tornadus who have become much more prevalent.
Earthquake and X-Scissor are mostly just filler moves, I think I've used them once each, but they do offer great coverage and provide a good amount of utility if type coverage is demanded.
Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Brick Break
- Shadow Claw
Realizing that its speed is unfortunately mediocre, I decided to EV it with the goal of being able to switch in on a neutral or resisted move, scare off the opposing Pokemon, get off a Dragon Dance, and wreak havoc with STAB Outrage off of 600+ attack. There isn't much that can take +1 LO Outrage from this thing and not be either dead or on the verge of death, and while Skarmory is a pain in the ass, it's really the only thing I've run into consistently that isn't pummeled into the ground if you can set-up even one DD.
Brick Break and Shadow Claw give perfect neutral coverage across the type spectrum, and are great for allowing Haxorus to take out threats that might normally be able to sponge a hit or two via resistance to Dragon type attacks. Obviously faster Dragons can revenge kill this thing with no issue, and, as previously mentioned, Skarmory can check this set unless you get off 2 DDs before it switches in. However, other than that I haven't seen much that this guy doesn't have some way around.
Thundurus @ Expert Belt
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
The glue that holds this team together as far as I'm concerned, this set has absurd versatility. It can revenge kill, stop a sweep via T-Wave, wall-break, and sometimes even sweep. Priority status moves are really powerful, and the combination of Thunder Wave and Taunt essentially renders things like Ferrothorn or Forretress unable to do anything other than get off an ineffective attack or switch out.
STAB Thunderbolt is the first attacking option, and can take a big chunk out of anything that doesn't resist it, while Focus Blast is used primarily to take care of Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Ferrothorn. Expert Belt was chosen over Life Orb because Thundurus isn't particular bulky and the extra damage wasn't really making a difference (especially considering most of the things I want to OHKO would get the boost from Expert Belt anyway). Once I got the hang of using it, this set has been ridiculously effective for me.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
A relatively standard Rapid Spinning set, I decided to forgo Thunderbolt in favor of Ice Beam as a way of dealing with Gliscor more consistently, alongside Garchomp, Lati@s, and other dragons. I also swapped Hydro Pump in for Surf because the extra power was proving very much necessary to avoid Starmie being walled by things it couldn't hit for super effective damage and for being more abusable if the opponent was utilizing rain.
I debated using Modest instead of Timid for more power, but I really want to be outrunning as much as possible with this set, and I haven't found that Starmie would be better served by being able to hit Lati@s harder as opposed to outspeeding more of the metagame.
So there it is, a team that I've been really enjoying playing lately and that has at least a somewhat balanced approach to attacking opposing squads. I'd rather not have this team completely change focus (i.e. become stall, HO, or weather oriented) but I'm more or less open to any suggestions or criticisms you might have. Thank ye kindly!
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Atk (Speed IV set to 0)
Nature: Sassy
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
I wanted a bulky "lead" who could lay down at least one entry hazard with some degree of consistency and still have some sort of utility later in the game. I went out of my way to have two Rapid Spinners on this team to protect Volcarona (and Thundurus to some extent), and getting down even one layer of Toxic Spikes makes it significantly easier to prevent sweeps from things like Garchomp.
Gyro Ball is the only real attacking move on this set, which was chosen to provide some sort of threat to opposing lead Aerodactyl who tend to lead with taunt and find themselves killed by Gyro Ball followed by Rapid Spin (which clears off the Stealth Rock they usually attempt to leave behind). It's rare that he does more than get down an entry hazard and get in some residual damage, but that's all I was looking for from him anyway.
Volcarona @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
Get off one Quiver Dance with this guy and he's almost guaranteed to take two opposing Pokemon down with him. STAB Fire Blast in the sun is strong enough to put a real dent in things like Gliscor who might think they could switch in with impunity, and Bug Buzz can demolish Lati@s (I'm hesitant to say it's a guaranteed OHKO on Latios with Stealth Rock up, but it's been pretty close in my testing). Fiery Dance is great if you can use it on something weak to Fire and get a boost, or if you just need the increased accuracy over Fire Blast.
The main trouble with Volcarona is finding an opportunity to switch him in. Ferrothorn, Scizor and Forretress have been the main things I've been taking advantage of, as they're often scared off immediately which creates the opportunity to get in a Quiver Dance and attempt a sweep. Stealth Rock is obviously a big problem, but there's a reason I have two Rapid Spinners on this team.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
I took this from the RMT featured on the recent Smog (I believe the team it featured on was called Layla). Choice Scarf makes it a great revenge killer, and STAB Close Combat is tough for anything that doesn't resist it to switch in on if late game cleaning is the task of the day(especially given that they almost certainly won't be going first without some sort of priority move). Stone Edge takes care of Dragonite and Salamence without too much fanfare, along with Thundurus and Tornadus who have become much more prevalent.
Earthquake and X-Scissor are mostly just filler moves, I think I've used them once each, but they do offer great coverage and provide a good amount of utility if type coverage is demanded.
Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Brick Break
- Shadow Claw
Realizing that its speed is unfortunately mediocre, I decided to EV it with the goal of being able to switch in on a neutral or resisted move, scare off the opposing Pokemon, get off a Dragon Dance, and wreak havoc with STAB Outrage off of 600+ attack. There isn't much that can take +1 LO Outrage from this thing and not be either dead or on the verge of death, and while Skarmory is a pain in the ass, it's really the only thing I've run into consistently that isn't pummeled into the ground if you can set-up even one DD.
Brick Break and Shadow Claw give perfect neutral coverage across the type spectrum, and are great for allowing Haxorus to take out threats that might normally be able to sponge a hit or two via resistance to Dragon type attacks. Obviously faster Dragons can revenge kill this thing with no issue, and, as previously mentioned, Skarmory can check this set unless you get off 2 DDs before it switches in. However, other than that I haven't seen much that this guy doesn't have some way around.
Thundurus @ Expert Belt
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
The glue that holds this team together as far as I'm concerned, this set has absurd versatility. It can revenge kill, stop a sweep via T-Wave, wall-break, and sometimes even sweep. Priority status moves are really powerful, and the combination of Thunder Wave and Taunt essentially renders things like Ferrothorn or Forretress unable to do anything other than get off an ineffective attack or switch out.
STAB Thunderbolt is the first attacking option, and can take a big chunk out of anything that doesn't resist it, while Focus Blast is used primarily to take care of Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Ferrothorn. Expert Belt was chosen over Life Orb because Thundurus isn't particular bulky and the extra damage wasn't really making a difference (especially considering most of the things I want to OHKO would get the boost from Expert Belt anyway). Once I got the hang of using it, this set has been ridiculously effective for me.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
A relatively standard Rapid Spinning set, I decided to forgo Thunderbolt in favor of Ice Beam as a way of dealing with Gliscor more consistently, alongside Garchomp, Lati@s, and other dragons. I also swapped Hydro Pump in for Surf because the extra power was proving very much necessary to avoid Starmie being walled by things it couldn't hit for super effective damage and for being more abusable if the opponent was utilizing rain.
I debated using Modest instead of Timid for more power, but I really want to be outrunning as much as possible with this set, and I haven't found that Starmie would be better served by being able to hit Lati@s harder as opposed to outspeeding more of the metagame.
So there it is, a team that I've been really enjoying playing lately and that has at least a somewhat balanced approach to attacking opposing squads. I'd rather not have this team completely change focus (i.e. become stall, HO, or weather oriented) but I'm more or less open to any suggestions or criticisms you might have. Thank ye kindly!
