TEzeon's teched up defensive team
Intro:
Intro:
Like, no way. I'm back! Been having a blast playing B2/W2 on the new popular battle sim, Pokemon Showdown. My full fledged return to the competitive battle scene was unfortunately a bit late, and I missed out on the two most recent suspect tests, but hopefully in the future I can manage to get back to participating in those and hopefully re-earn my badge ._.
Anyways, let's talk about the team I've been testing. I usually take an offensive approach, so this time I decided to give something a bit more defensive a try. The question is: is it good? Or is it bad? I'll leave that up to you to decide!
Thought Process:
The whole basis for this team began when I had this crazy epiphany about a cool looking Tyranitar set (or at least, cool in theory) that I wanted to try out. The set was a very bulky one that could make very good use of entry hazards, which gave me an excuse to finally try out a defensive team. So, without further delay, here's the first member of the team.
Ok, so we have Tyranitar, who is hit for super effective damage by a wide variety of moves. What I wanted to do now was cover my bases a bit and get some synergy going on. That being said, the priority was getting a switch-in for fighting type and ground type moves, which are perhaps Tyranitar's biggest folly. There's also water type and grass type moves to consider, so which Pokemon is able to switch in on all of those attacking types relatively safely? You got it, Latias!
So far, so good. These are very versatile Pokemon, and I could pretty much tailor them to be useful in whatever situation I may find myself in. The only bad thing here is that I am now weak to a new Pokemon that wasn't around when I last played. He's called Genesect, and you may have heard of him by now, seeing as how everyone and their mother is playing him. I don't like being weak to such common threats, and especially not ones with over 50% usage in the standard tier. The next thing I wanted to do was get a counter for him, (is there really a true counter?) or at least some kind of way for me to play around him easier. From what I can tell, he doesn't enjoy being matched up against fire types. Since the OU tier is sadly lacking in useful fire types, (especially defensive ones) my best bet was to just go with Heatran or Volcarona. I'm not a fan of things that are 4x weak to Stealth Rock, so Heatran wins.
This looks pretty bread and butter for a defensive oriented team. Although, there still seems to be a glaring problem here. Swords Dance sweepers, such as Garchomp and Terrakion. They can pretty much brute force their way through all of these Pokemon. I definitely do not want that to happen, so I'll have to grab something that can make them think twice. The best thing that I could come up with was Gliscor.
Yeah, its really not a good idea to play a defensive team without being prepared to deal with Garchomp and Terrakion. Anyway, at this point I figured I might as well go ahead and grab myself a spike inducer. There were a couple of options that came to mind, such as Deoxys-D, Skarmory, Forretress, Ferrothorn, Cloyster and Roserade. Another water resistant Pokemon didn't seem like a bad idea based on the Pokemon already on the team, so I was torn between Ferrothorn and Roserade. In the end I decided to go with Ferrothorn, because Iron Barbs is just a really amazing ability that can win games.
The last thing I guess I needed was a spin blocker. That being said, I checked out the list of ghost types. There's Jellicent, Dusclops, Spiritomb and such, but you know what? I'm not really a fan of those guys. They all may be able to block rapid spin, but they don't actually do much aside from that, nor do they actually beat the most common rapid spinner: Tentacruel. I've done a very good job so far of having a full team that is unaffected by Toxic Spikes, so I figured I'd like to keep it that way. So which ghost type did I eventually choose? The one who might actually be more suited for an offensive team!
I guess I've got some serious gall choosing Gengar for a defensive team. However, when you consider how versatile a Pokemon he is, and all the cool tricks he can do, there actually may be some merit to it yet. With the team members chosen, and move sets already flowing into my head, I decided to set off and build it!
Ok, so we have Tyranitar, who is hit for super effective damage by a wide variety of moves. What I wanted to do now was cover my bases a bit and get some synergy going on. That being said, the priority was getting a switch-in for fighting type and ground type moves, which are perhaps Tyranitar's biggest folly. There's also water type and grass type moves to consider, so which Pokemon is able to switch in on all of those attacking types relatively safely? You got it, Latias!
So far, so good. These are very versatile Pokemon, and I could pretty much tailor them to be useful in whatever situation I may find myself in. The only bad thing here is that I am now weak to a new Pokemon that wasn't around when I last played. He's called Genesect, and you may have heard of him by now, seeing as how everyone and their mother is playing him. I don't like being weak to such common threats, and especially not ones with over 50% usage in the standard tier. The next thing I wanted to do was get a counter for him, (is there really a true counter?) or at least some kind of way for me to play around him easier. From what I can tell, he doesn't enjoy being matched up against fire types. Since the OU tier is sadly lacking in useful fire types, (especially defensive ones) my best bet was to just go with Heatran or Volcarona. I'm not a fan of things that are 4x weak to Stealth Rock, so Heatran wins.
This looks pretty bread and butter for a defensive oriented team. Although, there still seems to be a glaring problem here. Swords Dance sweepers, such as Garchomp and Terrakion. They can pretty much brute force their way through all of these Pokemon. I definitely do not want that to happen, so I'll have to grab something that can make them think twice. The best thing that I could come up with was Gliscor.
Yeah, its really not a good idea to play a defensive team without being prepared to deal with Garchomp and Terrakion. Anyway, at this point I figured I might as well go ahead and grab myself a spike inducer. There were a couple of options that came to mind, such as Deoxys-D, Skarmory, Forretress, Ferrothorn, Cloyster and Roserade. Another water resistant Pokemon didn't seem like a bad idea based on the Pokemon already on the team, so I was torn between Ferrothorn and Roserade. In the end I decided to go with Ferrothorn, because Iron Barbs is just a really amazing ability that can win games.
The last thing I guess I needed was a spin blocker. That being said, I checked out the list of ghost types. There's Jellicent, Dusclops, Spiritomb and such, but you know what? I'm not really a fan of those guys. They all may be able to block rapid spin, but they don't actually do much aside from that, nor do they actually beat the most common rapid spinner: Tentacruel. I've done a very good job so far of having a full team that is unaffected by Toxic Spikes, so I figured I'd like to keep it that way. So which ghost type did I eventually choose? The one who might actually be more suited for an offensive team!
I guess I've got some serious gall choosing Gengar for a defensive team. However, when you consider how versatile a Pokemon he is, and all the cool tricks he can do, there actually may be some merit to it yet. With the team members chosen, and move sets already flowing into my head, I decided to set off and build it!
The Team:
Tyranitar (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Dragon Tail
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Well, this is it. That cool set I was talking about. The idea behind it was that Tyranitar usually succumbs to status problems like toxic and burn quite often, and his lack of reliable recovery doesn't really help out with that. To top it all off, he's easily turned into set up fodder by many common threats in the standard tier. This set works to alleviate as many of those issues as possible, although the end result is a situational rest talking phazer that doesn't have any real K.O. potential. Dragon Tail phazes, and prevents me from being Taunt locked. Roar for a more consistent phaze move, and for the fact that it boosts my chance of phazing to 66.6% when I use Sleep Talk. Rest helps to heal off any damage or status afflictions that Tyranitar may receive while battling. Its really nice that Sleep Talk negates the priority drop from the phaze moves, potentially allowing Tyranitar to solo teams if I have up entry hazards and they have no faster Pokemon, but that's probably never going to happen. What sucks though is that the sleep counter resets if I have to switch out.
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 132 HP / 124 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Dragon Pulse
- Calm Mind
- Refresh
- Recover
I don't think much needs to be said about this particular Latias set. Its a very common win condition on defensive teams after the opponent has been worn down enough, or if it manages to safely set up. Dragon Pulse is there for STAB and the fact that dragon type damage cannot be nullified by any means. Calm Mind is my set up move, giving Latias the ability to boost her spectacular Sp.Def further, as well as power herself up with Sp.Atk boosts in the process. Refresh heals off any status afflictions, and as an added bonus, it has a high PP count in case of a stall war. Recover is there for instantaneous recovery whenever it is necessary. Admittedly, I have been itching to try out Wish on this set, as it can provide my team with healing support, which is especially useful for Heatran and Ferrothorn. Roar is another option that has crossed my mind. However, I do not want to get caught up in situational theories that may not end up being practical, and while support moves like Wish and Roar are good, I think I like having moves on this Latias that cater to a solo act in the long run.
Heatran (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
This seems to be the standard Sp.Def Heatran, although the move set tends to vary most of the time. Lava Plume is there for STAB damage and a very good chance for burn, while Toxic is the more reliable and damaging status affliction. Stealth Rock is part one of the dreaded entry hazard combo, causing damage to every Pokemon in the game upon switch in, with no exceptions save for Magic Guard users. Finally, Protect is there to gain some free leftovers recovery, as well as to figure out which attack a choiced user is deciding to make. The drawback to this set is that it is completely walled by other Heatran's. Moves such as Roar and Earth Power have crossed my mind, although I am unsure as to how I would fit them in, and during my play testing run, this set seemed to work just fine regardless.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Toxic
- Protect
Gliscor has got to be one of the most annoying Pokemon to take down. The bonus 12% HP from Poison Heal every turn really adds up, and is easy to abuse with Protect. Earthquake is there for STAB and coverage, while Ice Fang can catch those Pokemon who may try to switch in on Earthquake. Toxic hits many bulky waters who feel as though they can safely switch in against Gliscor. Originally, this set had Acrobatics instead of Ice Fang and Fling instead of Toxic, although I found those moves to be very situational. In the long run, I found myself wishing I just had Toxic instead, and so I changed it. Afterwards, the set worked much more to my liking.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect
Ferrothorn is just too good. His typing and base stat spread is like a dream come true. To top it off, he's got the moves he needs to make full use of those assets. Gyro Ball for a general STAB move and because it has high power due to Ferrothorn's abysmal speed. Leech Seed provides Ferrothorn with quasi-recovery, which also damages the opponent. Spikes is entry hazard number two, dealing grounded Pokemon a whopping 25% damage upon switching in, once all three layers have been set up. Protect is there for scouting, as well as for Leech Seed and leftovers abuse.
Gengar (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond
- Substitute
Choosing Gengar was a very good move on my part, because he has the right tools to defeat pretty much any threat I need him to. Destiny Bond brings down enemy set up sweepers, like CM Jirachi, CM Reuniclus, CM Keldeo, CM Latias, SD Garchomp, and much more. Pretty much, if you don't have more than 350 speed, Gengar can kill you, no matter what your other stats are. What's especially good is not only being able to block Rapid Spin, but also being able to defeat all of the common users of the move, thus ensuring that I have my hazards in place. Shadow Ball is there as a STAB attack if I ever need to hurt something, and Will-O-Wisp comes in handy for burning things like Forretress, Scizor, Jirachi, and others who believe they are safe against Gengar. I'm actually not entirely sure about Substitute on this set. I think I might find it better to use something like Focus Blast or Sludge Bomb, or maybe even Taunt. Gengar has a ton of moves in his arsenal, and all of them could be winning choices. Another thing I want to add is that the EV spread on this Gengar is still up in the air. I might switch it up and max out HP instead of Sp.Atk, though it is nice to have the power to damage things.
Conclusion:
Well, I don't think I overlooked anything, so I think its a cool thing to note that this team has the potential to win against anything assuming the handler plays a perfect game. As we all know, that is extremely difficult to pull off, though it can also be very rewarding to a skillful player. Genesect can only Download Sp.Atk on Gliscor, which is a fun thing to note. I mentioned it earlier, but nothing on this team aside from Tyranitar can be hit by Toxic Spikes, and Tyranitar has Rest anyway, so take that. Gengar may not have much defense, but he's a real winner with a 4x resistance to bug type moves, the most prevalent of which being U-turn. I've seen a few people attempting to defeat Heatran with Genesect by U-turning off of him and bringing in Dugtrio, so having Gengar can be beneficial in those scenarios. I don't really think there's much else to say now, so I'll just wrap this up by saying thanks so much for reading! It's always a pleasure to write these RMT's!
