Introduction
In my experience, paralysis is the worst status that you can be inflicted with. Paralysis quarters your speed, and makes it so that you can't move 25% of the time. Sweepers suddenly become a lot less devastating, and certain strategies become easier to exploit. Paralysis is a piece of cake to induce as well, with one simple move: Thunder Wave.
Team at a Glance:
In-Depth Look:
In my experience, paralysis is the worst status that you can be inflicted with. Paralysis quarters your speed, and makes it so that you can't move 25% of the time. Sweepers suddenly become a lot less devastating, and certain strategies become easier to exploit. Paralysis is a piece of cake to induce as well, with one simple move: Thunder Wave.
Team at a Glance:
In-Depth Look:
Gallade@King's Rock
Adamant - 252 HP / 152 Attack / 104 Speed
+Steadfast+
Close Combat
Zen Headbutt
Encore
Thunder Wave
Gallade has been a pretty amazing lead for me. Always, always, always use Thunder Wave first. If it's something swift like Aerodactyl it is ruined for the rest of the game. If not it will still be crippled. After that, if they used SR, I use Encore, forcing a switch, at which point I use TWave again. If they didn't use SR (though 98% of the time they do) I use Zen Headbutt or Close Combat depending on the situation. Zen Headbutt has its nice chance to flinch, which goes great with Thunder Wave. His coverage is mediocre at best but the rest of the team has him covered.
Adamant - 252 HP / 152 Attack / 104 Speed
+Steadfast+
Gallade has been a pretty amazing lead for me. Always, always, always use Thunder Wave first. If it's something swift like Aerodactyl it is ruined for the rest of the game. If not it will still be crippled. After that, if they used SR, I use Encore, forcing a switch, at which point I use TWave again. If they didn't use SR (though 98% of the time they do) I use Zen Headbutt or Close Combat depending on the situation. Zen Headbutt has its nice chance to flinch, which goes great with Thunder Wave. His coverage is mediocre at best but the rest of the team has him covered.
Machamp@Leftovers
Adamant - 252 Attack / 240 HP / 16 Speed
+No Guard+
Dynamicpunch
Payback
Stone Edge
Substitute
Machamp is great on a team like this. Parafusion is a bitch, and Machamp abuses it to the fullest. My team abuses Thunder Wave like no other, and Machamp handles Electivire pretty well, taking its mediocre hits like a champ (haw haw!) while hitting back hard with Dynamicpunch. Substitute goes well with this as well. If I'm behind a sub while the opponent is paralyzed and confused, there's not much of a chance they'll break the sub. If they do, I can easily make another while in the process pounding on them with STAB Dynamicpunch. Payback and Stone Edge round out my coverage.
Adamant - 252 Attack / 240 HP / 16 Speed
+No Guard+
Machamp is great on a team like this. Parafusion is a bitch, and Machamp abuses it to the fullest. My team abuses Thunder Wave like no other, and Machamp handles Electivire pretty well, taking its mediocre hits like a champ (haw haw!) while hitting back hard with Dynamicpunch. Substitute goes well with this as well. If I'm behind a sub while the opponent is paralyzed and confused, there's not much of a chance they'll break the sub. If they do, I can easily make another while in the process pounding on them with STAB Dynamicpunch. Payback and Stone Edge round out my coverage.
Dragonite@Life Orb
Mild - 112 Attack / 200 Speed / 196 Sp. Atk
+Inner Focus+
Draco Meteor
Flamethrower
Superpower
Thunder Wave
Through testing this team, I ran into a stall team and knew that I would fail before even one of my Pokemon fainted. Dragonite is a killer stallbreaker, and he can also use Thunder Wave! Though, I haven't used it much, since this guy is pretty much always on the offense. Draco Meteor hits crazy hard, and unless the opponent is a Steel type Draco Meteor is always stronger. Superpower shatters Blissey and the like. This Dragonite is a fairly new addition, but it has been helpful. A CB Infernape used to be here but I decided to change to Dragonite because it added more TWave support and I already had 2 other Fighting types, and the coverage was getting redundant.
Mild - 112 Attack / 200 Speed / 196 Sp. Atk
+Inner Focus+
Through testing this team, I ran into a stall team and knew that I would fail before even one of my Pokemon fainted. Dragonite is a killer stallbreaker, and he can also use Thunder Wave! Though, I haven't used it much, since this guy is pretty much always on the offense. Draco Meteor hits crazy hard, and unless the opponent is a Steel type Draco Meteor is always stronger. Superpower shatters Blissey and the like. This Dragonite is a fairly new addition, but it has been helpful. A CB Infernape used to be here but I decided to change to Dragonite because it added more TWave support and I already had 2 other Fighting types, and the coverage was getting redundant.
Lanturn@Shuca Berry
Calm - 40 HP / 76 Defense / 252 Sp. Defense / 140 Sp. Atk
+Volt Absorb+
Surf
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Thunder Wave
Starmie is one annoying star. It was constantly threatening with its plethora of attacking options, and even worse its ability took off my team's paralysis when it switched out, so it continued to be a persistent threat. Luckily, Lanturn here resists all three of Starmie's common moves and OHKO's back with STAB Thunderbolt, while still supporting the team with its Thunder Wave. I chose the Shuca Berry over Leftovers because it can help me take on threats that use Earthquake by absorbing the hit and then either OHKOing back with my great coverage or TWaving to render them vulnderable to any of my other teammates. The EV spread is taken from its synopsis, but I think they're tuned to UU play; I would like help making a new spread for OU play, which would probably use more Defense.
Calm - 40 HP / 76 Defense / 252 Sp. Defense / 140 Sp. Atk
+Volt Absorb+
Starmie is one annoying star. It was constantly threatening with its plethora of attacking options, and even worse its ability took off my team's paralysis when it switched out, so it continued to be a persistent threat. Luckily, Lanturn here resists all three of Starmie's common moves and OHKO's back with STAB Thunderbolt, while still supporting the team with its Thunder Wave. I chose the Shuca Berry over Leftovers because it can help me take on threats that use Earthquake by absorbing the hit and then either OHKOing back with my great coverage or TWaving to render them vulnderable to any of my other teammates. The EV spread is taken from its synopsis, but I think they're tuned to UU play; I would like help making a new spread for OU play, which would probably use more Defense.
Jirachi@Leftovers
Adamant - 164 HP / 168 Attack / 176 Speed
+Serene Grace+
Thunder Wave
Fire Punch
Substitute
Iron Head
Jirachi has been a priceless member of the team since it started. Paraflinch is a tried and true strategy that is loved and hated by many, and it will always have a place in my heart. I really would have liked to run Jirachi and Togekiss both in this team, but I couldn't cover my weaknesses and fit them both in. I already had 2 Flying types so Jirachi won. The set, however, is a bit stale. My playstyle is TWave them spam moves. I rarely Substitute, and Fire + Steel is walled by common types like Water and Fire. I might switch to the Expert Belt set with TWave over one of the moves, but I don't want to lose too much coverage. Grass Knot from this set would be especially helpful since Swampert has been trouble since day one.
Adamant - 164 HP / 168 Attack / 176 Speed
+Serene Grace+
Jirachi has been a priceless member of the team since it started. Paraflinch is a tried and true strategy that is loved and hated by many, and it will always have a place in my heart. I really would have liked to run Jirachi and Togekiss both in this team, but I couldn't cover my weaknesses and fit them both in. I already had 2 Flying types so Jirachi won. The set, however, is a bit stale. My playstyle is TWave them spam moves. I rarely Substitute, and Fire + Steel is walled by common types like Water and Fire. I might switch to the Expert Belt set with TWave over one of the moves, but I don't want to lose too much coverage. Grass Knot from this set would be especially helpful since Swampert has been trouble since day one.
Gyarados@Leftovers
Adamant - 160 HP / 252 Attack / 96 Defense
+Intimidate+
Waterfall
Thunder Wave
Ice Fang
Taunt
Gyarados is the MVP of this team. He is the most unexpected user of Thunder Wave, catching so many opponents off guard. I've been juggling moves with the set lately, and I can't quite find a comfortable fit. Originally it was Waterfall/TWave/Bounce/Dragon Dance, but after a while I used the Jirachi way and just spammed Waterfall at a paralyzed opponent. I figured Dragon Dance was just rotting there, so Taunt could be helpful. And without DDance to help Bounce wouldn't be very worth it, so Ice Fang was the alternative since it has a Flinch chance as well as a freeze chance. But it's a so-so set right now, it really could change to almost anything. Dragon Dance could creep its way back onto the set, its not out of the question. But using it on a paralyzed opponent seemed kind of redundant to me. But maybe the attack is worth it. *shrug*
Adamant - 160 HP / 252 Attack / 96 Defense
+Intimidate+
Gyarados is the MVP of this team. He is the most unexpected user of Thunder Wave, catching so many opponents off guard. I've been juggling moves with the set lately, and I can't quite find a comfortable fit. Originally it was Waterfall/TWave/Bounce/Dragon Dance, but after a while I used the Jirachi way and just spammed Waterfall at a paralyzed opponent. I figured Dragon Dance was just rotting there, so Taunt could be helpful. And without DDance to help Bounce wouldn't be very worth it, so Ice Fang was the alternative since it has a Flinch chance as well as a freeze chance. But it's a so-so set right now, it really could change to almost anything. Dragon Dance could creep its way back onto the set, its not out of the question. But using it on a paralyzed opponent seemed kind of redundant to me. But maybe the attack is worth it. *shrug*
