Welcome to the newest round of practice teams. If you're an aspiring rater, then these will hopefully allow you to pick up on and address any problems with your rating, as well as providing you with experience rating teams that have been specifically made to be as tough to rate as possible, and to make you think creatively in order to find the best changes. Any rates we receive will be replied to with personalized feedback by one of harsha2014, Jirachi, Remedy, tab, and Trinitrotoluene. Then, at the end of the round, we'll give some general hints and feedback on how things went, and post the best rate that we received as an example of how to rate the team.
Anyone is welcome to participate and send in their rate, and everyone will be guaranteed to receive feedback appropriate to the effort they put into their rate, regardless of their ability. However, to keep things fair we won't be considering rates sent in by official team raters as winners of the best rate.
If you would like to participate in this round, PM your rate to tab no later than Friday October 18.
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This team was a concept build I tried back in BW, and I edited it in order to make it work in the BW2 metagame. Hail stall has always intrigued me, and with Landorus gone, defensive teams have been able to work particularly well in this metagame.
Abomasnow (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Protect
- Leech Seed
Abomasnow is more of a disruptive tool than anything else. It neuters other weathers should I win the weather war, and it prevents Chlorophyll users from getting a Speed boost which can come in handy. I always run Ice Shard on my Abomasnow because Dragons are always annoying, even for teams with multiple Steel-types. Wood Hammer is useful for hitting Tyranitar and Politoed, but I don't use it very much because I need to preserve Abomasnow's health. Leech Seed hits switch-ins like Heatran and promotes the opponent to keep switching out, so that I can rack up some passive damage. I use Protect to scout Choice-locked Pokemon, but it's also great for added recovery. While Abomasnow doesn't do too much for the team, Leech Seed recovery and hail are good enough.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Wish
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
Blissey gives my team a great special wall, and while it's fallen out of popularity recently, it can still do a good job. While running Wish and Softboiled might seem strange, Wish + Protect is generally not worth it. Protect is easy to predict and gives setup opportunities, while Softboiled grants immediate healing. I lose the ability to scout Choice-locked moves, but I can usually tell when a Choice-locked attacker is facing Blissey anyways. Seismic Toss lets me get some damage against my opponent, while Toxic helps me rack up more passive damage. I use a Calm nature and 252 SpD EVs because I'm generally bringing Blissey in on special attacks anyways, and I have Jellicent, Landorus-T, and Forretress to help sponge physical moves.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Toxic
Heatran lays Stealth Rock for the team and helps rack up passive damage by phazing, which it gets many turns to do by virtue of the many switches it forces. Heatran is my main defense against sun teams and it provides a good general special wall. Lava Plume's burn chance and Toxic's effects really make the opponent think twice about switching in. The biggest problem I have with this set is that I have no room for Earth Power to hit other Heatran, so I've considered moving Stealth Rock to Landorus-T over Superpower to make room.
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Forretress holds my team together even though it's the most worthless Pokemon here. It does its job and nothing else. Entry hazards are a must for defensive teams such as this one, and getting Spikes down aggressively helps win games. Rapid Spin is needed so that opposing Spikes-stacking teams don't ruin me. Volt Switch helps me maintain momentum, and I can use it in conjugation with U-turn to gain the upper hand. Gyro Ball is useful because it really dissuades Terrakion and Dragon Pokemon from setting up.
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Taunt
Jellicent is another one of my many walls that I can use to sponge up hits, and it's especially useful against rain teams that lack Thundurus-T. While I do have to watch out for Politoed with Toxic and Calm Mind Keldeo, Jellicent does an overall solid job of handling rain. Thundurus-T sets up easily on Jellicent, so I generally have to try and kill it with Scald and bring Abomasnow in to clean up the mess if that isn't enough. Toxic is pretty much only for Volcarona, but if my opponent predicts a double switch from Jellicent, I can always nab some extra passive damage.
Landorus-T (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Landorus-T is here to add another Fighting-type resistance and to soak up physical hits with Intimidate. Even on more defensive teams, I like to have a Choice Scarf user to make sure I don't end up regretting allowing a Dragonite to fire off a Dragon Dance, or similar setup situations. Intimidate really comes in handy when I'm facing a Terrakion, as Close Combat won't do too much damage and I can still take a Stone Edge in a pinch. Like I said earlier, I have considered moving Stealth Rock here, but having entry hazards on a revenge killer is generally frowned upon.
Anyone is welcome to participate and send in their rate, and everyone will be guaranteed to receive feedback appropriate to the effort they put into their rate, regardless of their ability. However, to keep things fair we won't be considering rates sent in by official team raters as winners of the best rate.
If you would like to participate in this round, PM your rate to tab no later than Friday October 18.
---
This team was a concept build I tried back in BW, and I edited it in order to make it work in the BW2 metagame. Hail stall has always intrigued me, and with Landorus gone, defensive teams have been able to work particularly well in this metagame.
Abomasnow (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Wood Hammer
- Protect
- Leech Seed
Abomasnow is more of a disruptive tool than anything else. It neuters other weathers should I win the weather war, and it prevents Chlorophyll users from getting a Speed boost which can come in handy. I always run Ice Shard on my Abomasnow because Dragons are always annoying, even for teams with multiple Steel-types. Wood Hammer is useful for hitting Tyranitar and Politoed, but I don't use it very much because I need to preserve Abomasnow's health. Leech Seed hits switch-ins like Heatran and promotes the opponent to keep switching out, so that I can rack up some passive damage. I use Protect to scout Choice-locked Pokemon, but it's also great for added recovery. While Abomasnow doesn't do too much for the team, Leech Seed recovery and hail are good enough.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Wish
- Softboiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
Blissey gives my team a great special wall, and while it's fallen out of popularity recently, it can still do a good job. While running Wish and Softboiled might seem strange, Wish + Protect is generally not worth it. Protect is easy to predict and gives setup opportunities, while Softboiled grants immediate healing. I lose the ability to scout Choice-locked moves, but I can usually tell when a Choice-locked attacker is facing Blissey anyways. Seismic Toss lets me get some damage against my opponent, while Toxic helps me rack up more passive damage. I use a Calm nature and 252 SpD EVs because I'm generally bringing Blissey in on special attacks anyways, and I have Jellicent, Landorus-T, and Forretress to help sponge physical moves.
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Toxic
Heatran lays Stealth Rock for the team and helps rack up passive damage by phazing, which it gets many turns to do by virtue of the many switches it forces. Heatran is my main defense against sun teams and it provides a good general special wall. Lava Plume's burn chance and Toxic's effects really make the opponent think twice about switching in. The biggest problem I have with this set is that I have no room for Earth Power to hit other Heatran, so I've considered moving Stealth Rock to Landorus-T over Superpower to make room.
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Forretress holds my team together even though it's the most worthless Pokemon here. It does its job and nothing else. Entry hazards are a must for defensive teams such as this one, and getting Spikes down aggressively helps win games. Rapid Spin is needed so that opposing Spikes-stacking teams don't ruin me. Volt Switch helps me maintain momentum, and I can use it in conjugation with U-turn to gain the upper hand. Gyro Ball is useful because it really dissuades Terrakion and Dragon Pokemon from setting up.
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Taunt
Jellicent is another one of my many walls that I can use to sponge up hits, and it's especially useful against rain teams that lack Thundurus-T. While I do have to watch out for Politoed with Toxic and Calm Mind Keldeo, Jellicent does an overall solid job of handling rain. Thundurus-T sets up easily on Jellicent, so I generally have to try and kill it with Scald and bring Abomasnow in to clean up the mess if that isn't enough. Toxic is pretty much only for Volcarona, but if my opponent predicts a double switch from Jellicent, I can always nab some extra passive damage.
Landorus-T (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Landorus-T is here to add another Fighting-type resistance and to soak up physical hits with Intimidate. Even on more defensive teams, I like to have a Choice Scarf user to make sure I don't end up regretting allowing a Dragonite to fire off a Dragon Dance, or similar setup situations. Intimidate really comes in handy when I'm facing a Terrakion, as Close Combat won't do too much damage and I can still take a Stone Edge in a pinch. Like I said earlier, I have considered moving Stealth Rock here, but having entry hazards on a revenge killer is generally frowned upon.