The Dark Horse Project III

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Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
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Lady Alex has just made it to HoF the 3rd time! And it seems like Lady Alex is still climbing! Pretty cool BP team you got there :d It's a shame that your original team didn't work out. One set you could possibly try is SubCM Cune. Much like SubCM Jirachi, Suicune can make 101 HP and decent Speed. Its ability Pressure and Tentacruel's Toxic Spikes also complement well with this particular strategy. It can potentially help against your Toxicroak problem by Pressure-stalling its CC. It seems that you struggled to get your Dark Horse working, so I'd be particularly interested to hear your answers to Birkal's Discussion questions.

Solid performance, Lady Alex!

EDIT: You may have MULTIPLE HoF entries per month, Lady Alex, if you're satisfied with the ladder ranking of your previous Dark Horse Team. Just remember to start over with a new blank account.
 

Lady Alex

Mew is blue
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Alright, great. I'll be sure to attempt another dark horse run in a week or so. I'll also update my sign up post with answers to Birkal's discussion questions.
 

toshimelonhead

Honey Badger don't care.
is a Tiering Contributor
Hall of fame!



Time to get a final ladder peak (1400+) and write up the RMT tonight.

The team

Ninetales (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 152 SDef / 104 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flamethrower
- Rest

Venusaur (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 12 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sunny Day

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover

Pet Rock (Heatran) (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SDef / 200 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Sawsbuck (Sawsbuck-Summer) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Double-Edge
- Nature Power
- Horn Leech

Victini @ Fight Gem
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- V-create
- U-turn
- Fusion Bolt
- Brick Break
 
...Fight Gem? To power up Brick Break?

I guess your team REALLY hates Heatran. But given that three of your Pokemon only have moves Balloon Heatran is either immune to or 4x resist, I'd say that's fair. Still...I never expected to see Fight Gem Victini used as a way of dealing with it. Nice work making the HoF, though!
 

Nova

snitches get stitches
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Pokemon Online Username: Benelux V.7
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Dark Horse Pokemon Currently Working With: Azelf, Cloyster
Current Ladder Standing: #394, 1240 Points
 
Pokemon Online Username: Asterat, WAKE UP, etc. (maybe I will make "dark horse metagross" account.
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Currently working with: Metagross
Current Ladder Ranking: 1200ish
 

Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Asterat, you must make a NEW account when participating in Dark Horse Challenge!

Congrats, toshimelonhead, for the recent peak with with P2 and Victini! I always felt that Victini was underrated in OU, so props for using him! Victini and Sawsbuck (another underappreciated mon) seem like the PERFECT Sun offense :o Some Scarf Darmanitan action may have been quite cool, too, lol! Is there any reason why you aren't running SolarBeam on Sunny Day Venusaur?
 
Pokemon Online Username: Yuyucow
Hall of Fame Standing: X
Currently Working With: Ninjask
Current Ladder Ranking: 1000
 
Pokemon Online Username: troll@DHorse
Hall of Fame Standing: X
Currently Working With: swellow toxicroak scolipede
Current Ladder Ranking: 1000
 
Pokemon Online Username: Stumpen
Hall of Fame Standing: None
Currently working with: Mew
Current Ladder Ranking: 1014


Hit a 1000 trying some kind of Knock-Off-Stallbreaker-Mew in sandstorm. :D
 

Mafeking

channels his inner Wolverine
is a Contributor Alumnus
la la la sorry this failed at being updated yesterday, I'm on vacation.

doing it now. :3

Updated through Stumpen, disregarding Asterat as I'm not sure if the ladder ranking of 1200 is just pre-regisrtration laddering with his Dark Horse or an entirely different matter. Let me know.

harsha why on earth would you give me more work to do you're so mean Q_Q <3 <3 <3
 
Pokemon Online Username: -harsha-
Hall of Fame Standing: n/a
Dark Horse Pokemon Currently Working With: Feraligatr, Tornadus
Current Ladder Standing: 1000 --> 1236

oh and i <3 you mafe :)
Update!
 

dcae

plaza athénée
is a defending SCL Championis a Past SCL Champion
Pokemon Online Username: TheRage
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Currently working with: Mew, Delibird :)
Current Ladder Ranking: 1000
 
Pokemon Online Username: Professor Awesome
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Currently Working With: Porygon2
Current Ladder Ranking: 1000
 
Pokemon Online Username: MetaBaws
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Dark Horse Pokemon Currently Working With: Metagross (And Snorlax, though Snorlax is currently in the testing stages on this team so it might be switched)
Current Ladder Standing: 1000
 

Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Lots of regs, but very little discussion ;_; It'll be interesting to hear the tale of your Dark Horse challenge - how successful are your team currently? What troubles your team the most? Are your Dark Horse Pokemon useful or merely death fodder? Did your Dark Horse exceed or fell short of your expectations?

As for me, Nidoking is a hit-or-miss. At times it can take out half the team, while other times I am better off saccing it. Sometimes LO Sheer Force doesn't do AS MUCH damage as I hoped (ie failing to OHKO Politoed rotfl), but it's surprising how many teams are vulnerable in getting 2-shotted by this monster. However, a 2HKO is sometimes not good enough, since Nidoking can't really tank hits, so it really depends on the rest of the team to accumulate damage on the opposing team.
 

Stratos

Banned deucer.
Nidoking behind a shell smash is scary...

As for myself, I've returned to my defensive Roserade set which sadly will yet again be on the HoF team but not in the HoF because I am too lazy to restart... Although I did not change any Pokemon, I recently made many changes which I think make the team work better. I gave Rosey his Tspikes back over HP Fire, gave Fire Blast to Slowbro for those pesky ferrothorn and gave my Tran a scarf over a defensive set which really was only pulling its weight vs stupid peoples' latios and subcm latias. Gave zappy roar to cover for him. In all I think the team's defense core is much better balanced now and I'm not absolutely boned by anything that outspends mienshao

As much as I love and need donphan, he seems to be useful once or twice per match and then too slow to be anything but fodder. Why does RS need such shitty distribution ;_;
 
heh, well I guess I'll contribute :)

Anyhow, I've been playing around for a bit, and really, Feraligatr has been like Nidoking—hit or miss. I have actually enjoyed trolling the ladder with Feraligatr, though, as it packs quite a punch and elicits comments such as "wtf" or even at the beginning of the battle, "lol ur using feraligatr? ez." Despite this, I often find that Feraligatr really needs to get to +4 before doing its major damage, as lots of things can still tank +2 Aqua Jets and Crunches.

Another sad thing is that I've had to keep shifting the team around, and while the Dark Horses have been constant, the rest of the team has been fluid. For example, Politoed is the only thing that has remained from the original concept. Haxorus -> Dragonite, Ferrothorn -> Jirachi, Slowbro -> Terrakion, you see my point, no? Sadly, I'm using a Choice Scarf variant of Jirachi (LOL), and it's been working quite well. However, I am saddened that I have dropped Stealth Rock, and I miss Forretress's ability to Rapid Spin (it was on the team earlier). Despite these shortcomings, Forretress was actually usually dead weight and I often was not able to even Rapid Spin.

So, right now, I guess I need a bit of help. Maybe I'll post the importable to share what I have?
Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Perish Song

Feraligatr (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
- Superpower

Dragonite (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- ExtremeSpeed

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 228 Atk / 168 SAtk / 112 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Iron Head
- Thunder
- Ice Punch
- U-turn

Tornadus (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Terrakion @ Rock Gem
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Anyhow, all help is really appreciated. I really want to make Feraligatr shine!
(A quick note: the original team was built to paralyze foes and support an endgame feraligatr sweep, but it didn't work too well. when i added tornadus, it helped immensely, boosting me to 1221 (along with the addition of dragonite). however, i find myself weak to random threats and i lack sr completely. i'm unwilling to let go of jirachi solely because it is my amazing revenge killer, beating +1 dragonite and stuff to the punch. so... help?)
 

Pocket

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Thank you harsha and Pwnemon!

harsha, this is just from a quick scan, but I don't think your team supports DDNite well and Dragonite itself doesn't really support this team much either. Is there a point in having DDNite other than having a DDNite?

Rotom-W looks like a bitch to this team. Perhaps a Specs Gastrodon or Ferrothorn to better deal with it? You may also need to swap something like Terrakion to better manage with Volt-Turn, but the replacement for Dragonite may be sufficient.

Don't forget that you can always run Ice Punch on Feraligatr to finish off Dragonite, Toxicroak, Breloom, and Virizion more easily.
 
I experimented with Ice Punch at first, and I'm actually considering using it again. I'll test out Ferrothorn over Dragonite though, since it seems to fix a lot of my weaknesses. And you're right, Rotom-W is awful to take on. I'll try those out and (hopefully) be able to update my ladder rating :D
 

Stratos

Banned deucer.
Obviously I havent run the importable in PO and come back with ideas this quickly but off the top of my head I see:

Speedmon overload: you've got a grand total of four (4!) Pokemon that are supposed to outrun the 105 speed tier. I mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but there seems to be a trade-off when you run so much speed. For a team that's not HO, that's pretty impossible to maintain, especially when the dark horse Pokemon is a bulky sweeper, you should try to maintain that style. With that in mind, I'd probably drop Dragonite altogether. Then you can make Rachi more defensive and he can give para support (and wish if you swing that way.) that also would open up a free slot, which I would fill with a Dugtrio (as of right now your team contains three electric weaks and no resists I mean what the hell). Give terrakion the scarf if you have trouble with speed boosters.

This is all theory mon here, but it couldn't hurt to try and see how it works!
 
Pokemon Online Username: DrunkDemon_DarkHorse
Hall of Fame Standing: N/A
Dark Horse Pokemon Currently Working With: Aggron, Bronzong, Chandelure, and Hitmontop. (I know, I'm insane.)
Current Ladder Standing: N/A

i was originally only going to use Aggron, but it ended up being a lot more. The basic premise is to use Trick Room to make up for Aggron's shit speed, then use Aggron's Choice Band Head Smash, or whatever other Pokemon I have out, to sweep.

EDIT: Accidentally deleted the team and I don't want to remake it so... nevermind. >.>
 

Mafeking

channels his inner Wolverine
is a Contributor Alumnus
You guys scared the shit out of me when I saw how many replies had been posted and I thought I had an enormous slew of people to add to the list ugh.

I've been having quite a bit of fun/success (mostly fun) running the standard Nasty Plot Mew in OU with NP/Fire Blast/Aura Sphere/Psyshock. It forces quite a few switches once I reveal Fire Blast, as so many people don't expect it to have it and think their little Ferrothorns can beat my cute little Pokemon up. It's great.

I've also been using Mew in UU (not for Dark Horse, obvs) running an /extremely/ gimmicky set of Swords Dance / Flame Charge / Acrobatics / Baton Pass with a Flying Gem, which I've been using to pass stuff to Bisharp. It's been pretty successful in UU, but not exactly OU material.

However that does bring me to another point, as I've also (okay I like Mew alright?) been running a Sunny Day Mew with a Heat Rock, as well as Taunt / SolarBeam / Volt Switch, which I've been using to help Lilligant set up. It's been rather successful and I'm tempted to bring the set into my Dark Horse participation as somewhat of a rip-off of Sunny Day Ninetales, though it may be better to stick to a simple Baton Pass set in this case.

Has anyone else been playing around with gimmicky sets within the Dark Horse project? I know Toshi's Victini @ Fight Gem is pretty left-field, but it's incredible how much of a purpose something like that serves. This is good stuff, guys.

Also yeah yeah I'll update the silly registrants list now.

EDIT: Woooo~ 50 participants in 100 posts!
 
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