Bit of history - this is a team I put together to win the PWT Champions round. I've tested it in the Subway once, reached 23 in a row before losing. Maybe because the team is poor, more likely because I'm not great at the Subway.
There's nothing earth-shattering here - just my attempt at building a reliable team to take on the Subway. I'm happy to breed new Pokémon if you think that's my best bet, but I generally struggle with access to Dream World abilities or reliable legendaries, as I find both to be a pain.
Asimov
(Porygon-Z)
@ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptibility
Tri Attack
Ice Beam
Dark Pulse
Nasty Plot
I had been using a Starmie here (Surf/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Recover, @ Life Orb), because I liked its Dream World ability, and because I thought it'd be the ideal teammate for Garchomp. In practice, its IVs weren't much to write home about (genderless Dream World ability limitation meant I just caught as many Staryu as possible in the Dream Radar, and picked the best one), so it never quite came off.
Porygon-Z's from my gen 4 days. Good IVs and EVs mean I've had far better luck with it. I like leading with Life Orb - Asmov's job is to take out as much as it can, and die to give its teammates a free switch-in. Rarely, it can sweep a team - especially if it manages to sneak in a Nasty Plot.
Asimov hates Focus Blast. I've tried pairing it with the above Starmie, but the problem is that Focus Blast is carried by so many Pokémon that can also take out Starmie.
Barbarella
(Ferrothorn)
@ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Hot off the press! Just finished EV-training yesterday, after breeding. IVs are 31/17/30/x/31/0. Wanted a better Attack in an ideal world, and I'm still breeding in the hope of getting a better one, but Barbarella does her job well already. She's taken down some ridiculous Pokémon. Yep, absolutely worth the hype.
I'm considering getting rid of Stealth Rock. After all the hassle of giving her Stealth Rock/Leech Seed by breeding to a Turtwig from gen 4 ... actually, it's a bit rubbish in the Subway, isn't it? Hmm, maybe. Toxic?
I've PP Maxed Leech Seed, Gyro Ball and Power Whip. Encore can be a pain for Barbarella, since Leech Seed is her main weapon. 16 PP means I don't mind staying in battle, using useless Leech Seed over and over, surviving every hit until the opponent's dead. And already, I've ended up in a PP-wasting battle - against a Tangrowth, which eventually Struggled to death (quickly, thanks to Iron Barbs).
Justice
(Garchomp)
@ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Fang
Rock Slide
I bred him for IVs in gen 4, EV-trained him, then forgot he even existed until I was looking through Platinum the other day. He's good, but you know that.
The big question, really, is whether to stick with him, or use my (also good IVs/EVs) Haxorus (@ Lum Berry, Mold Breaker - Outrage/Earthquake/Rock Slide/Dragon Dance). So far, I think I prefer Mold Breaker Earthquake to STAB Earthquake. 4x weakness to Ice hurts too, although Barbarella can usually come in to soak that hit.
Rock Slide is hear because Volcarona is a massive pain for this team either way. Generally, it goes - Earthquake, Quiver Dance, dead Dragon, dead Ferrothorn, sad times.
I'm undecided. I do really like Lum Berry - it's always nice to be able to counter an unlucky status ailment, or to get in a confusion-free Outrage. With Justice, Choice Band means I end up switching in Barbarella a lot to reset. I've also ended up in a few situations where Jusice is all I have left, and I'm up against the opponent's second 'mon (generally down to barely any HP), and I have to just guess what'll be good against the final Pokémon. Admittedly Choice Band Outrage is rarely the wrong choice, but more than a few Steel types could ruin my day.
Additional comments:
I suppose what I'm really after is reliability. I always loved the look of Ferrothorn, and backed off when I realised how mega-popular it was ... but I'm glad I bothered, because so many fights are won before they've started now.
I'm very, very green when it comes to competitive battling. I know what I'm doing for breeding and EV training, but my team building is really lacking. Anything obvious I'm overlooking here, any small or large fixes, anything you've got to say will be very, very welcome.
Cheers!
There's nothing earth-shattering here - just my attempt at building a reliable team to take on the Subway. I'm happy to breed new Pokémon if you think that's my best bet, but I generally struggle with access to Dream World abilities or reliable legendaries, as I find both to be a pain.
Asimov
(Porygon-Z)
@ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptibility
Tri Attack
Ice Beam
Dark Pulse
Nasty Plot
I had been using a Starmie here (Surf/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Recover, @ Life Orb), because I liked its Dream World ability, and because I thought it'd be the ideal teammate for Garchomp. In practice, its IVs weren't much to write home about (genderless Dream World ability limitation meant I just caught as many Staryu as possible in the Dream Radar, and picked the best one), so it never quite came off.
Porygon-Z's from my gen 4 days. Good IVs and EVs mean I've had far better luck with it. I like leading with Life Orb - Asmov's job is to take out as much as it can, and die to give its teammates a free switch-in. Rarely, it can sweep a team - especially if it manages to sneak in a Nasty Plot.
Asimov hates Focus Blast. I've tried pairing it with the above Starmie, but the problem is that Focus Blast is carried by so many Pokémon that can also take out Starmie.
Barbarella
(Ferrothorn)
@ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Hot off the press! Just finished EV-training yesterday, after breeding. IVs are 31/17/30/x/31/0. Wanted a better Attack in an ideal world, and I'm still breeding in the hope of getting a better one, but Barbarella does her job well already. She's taken down some ridiculous Pokémon. Yep, absolutely worth the hype.
I'm considering getting rid of Stealth Rock. After all the hassle of giving her Stealth Rock/Leech Seed by breeding to a Turtwig from gen 4 ... actually, it's a bit rubbish in the Subway, isn't it? Hmm, maybe. Toxic?
I've PP Maxed Leech Seed, Gyro Ball and Power Whip. Encore can be a pain for Barbarella, since Leech Seed is her main weapon. 16 PP means I don't mind staying in battle, using useless Leech Seed over and over, surviving every hit until the opponent's dead. And already, I've ended up in a PP-wasting battle - against a Tangrowth, which eventually Struggled to death (quickly, thanks to Iron Barbs).
Justice
(Garchomp)
@ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Fang
Rock Slide
I bred him for IVs in gen 4, EV-trained him, then forgot he even existed until I was looking through Platinum the other day. He's good, but you know that.
The big question, really, is whether to stick with him, or use my (also good IVs/EVs) Haxorus (@ Lum Berry, Mold Breaker - Outrage/Earthquake/Rock Slide/Dragon Dance). So far, I think I prefer Mold Breaker Earthquake to STAB Earthquake. 4x weakness to Ice hurts too, although Barbarella can usually come in to soak that hit.
Rock Slide is hear because Volcarona is a massive pain for this team either way. Generally, it goes - Earthquake, Quiver Dance, dead Dragon, dead Ferrothorn, sad times.
I'm undecided. I do really like Lum Berry - it's always nice to be able to counter an unlucky status ailment, or to get in a confusion-free Outrage. With Justice, Choice Band means I end up switching in Barbarella a lot to reset. I've also ended up in a few situations where Jusice is all I have left, and I'm up against the opponent's second 'mon (generally down to barely any HP), and I have to just guess what'll be good against the final Pokémon. Admittedly Choice Band Outrage is rarely the wrong choice, but more than a few Steel types could ruin my day.
Additional comments:
I suppose what I'm really after is reliability. I always loved the look of Ferrothorn, and backed off when I realised how mega-popular it was ... but I'm glad I bothered, because so many fights are won before they've started now.
I'm very, very green when it comes to competitive battling. I know what I'm doing for breeding and EV training, but my team building is really lacking. Anything obvious I'm overlooking here, any small or large fixes, anything you've got to say will be very, very welcome.
Cheers!
