This team revolves around the use of three of my favorite Pokemon: Zapdos, Gliscor, and Gyarados. All of them happen to be flying types, thus the name "The High Fliers!"
Let's get started, shall we?
Metagross @ Balloon
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
Metagross...I'm sure everyone remember when this was the most popular lead of the 4th generation. You saw this guy everywhere, because he was simply the most solid all-around lead you could use, really. Well, his usage isn't nearly as high as it was back then in this generation, but he's still the best overall choice to lead with that I have discovered so far. Nearly 100% of the time I will lead with this Metagross, and he ALWAYS gets the job done. Stealth Rock isn't as prevalent this generation, but I always like to have it so I don't get slaughtered by Volcarona (who roughs this team up quite a bit). Meteor Mash is as powerful as ever here, and does all kinds of delicious damage to all kinds of Pokemon. Bullet Punch is here for the ever-important priority (I have a rule that ALL of my teams MUST have at least one priority move and one phazing move). It's good for finishing off weakened Pokes, as I'm sure everyone is aware. During the 4th generation, Explosion was usually the best choice for the final spot, but I find the Earthquake is significantly more useful in most situations. Besides, Explosion isn't as good as it was last generation, with all these ghosts, steels, and crazy bulky Pokemon running around...it just doesn't do as much devastating damage as it used to do. The EVs are standard which nets Metagross tons of bulk and tons of power. With Meteor Mash's attack boosts, I can sometimes even sweep with this beast. Yeah, it's that good.
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Superpower
Tyranitar? Um, yeah, he's kind of a monster, and this set is about as surprising and powerful of a set that I've ever seen on him. Almost nothing is safe against this beast. Some people even bring in Latias/Latios thinking I'm completely special after obliterating their Ferrothorn, only to be met with a nasty Crunch to the face. This set is just so unpredictable and powerful and capable of taking out so many things in this metagame. The EVs along with Sand Stream and Tyranitar's rock typing make him a special wall from hell, and he still hits like a truck even without any attack EVs. The special attack EVs give him just enough power to take out defensive threats like Ferrothorn and Gliscor with Fire Blast and Ice Beam, respectively. The most useless move on the set is Superpower, but even that has been used before to net a KO on enemy Tyranitars. STAB Crunch with the added bonus of occasionally getting a defense drop is as epic as always on this prehistoric terror, and it drops all kinds of Pokemon cold.
Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regeneration
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Def / 40 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Slack Off
When Slowbro got the new Dream World ability "Regeneration," I knew he was gonna take the metagame by storm. This guy is the ultimate counter to any Blaziken set, and basically any fighting type in general. His defenses are disgustingly good, and with the combination of Slack Off and Regeneration, he basically NEVER dies! His moves grant decent coverage, but quite often I find myself wishing I had HP Electric. However, electric moves are covered by another member of my team...but we'll save that for later, because in this write-up, it's Slowbro's time to shine. The EVs give him enough power to leave some big dents in all kinds of Pokemon, from Ferrothorn to Heatran to even things like Latios with Ice Beam. The only problem with this set is its lack of coverage, but Slowbro is so good defensively and synergetically that it's almost impossible to pass up.
Zapdos @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
This team's primary sweeper. This Zapdos is a creature of nature. It's wickedly fast and mind-numbingly strong. That STAB Thunderbolt is the bane of many a Pokemon, and the coverage added from HP Ice and Heat Wave allow me to have almost flawless coverage. The downside is that Zappy here loses HP very quickly with the Stealth Rock weakness, Life Orb recoil, and sandstorm almost always up. But have no fear, Roost is here! Roost is the greatest HP recovery move in the game. It removes Zapdos' rock and ice weaknesses and gets back some HP for some further destruction. There aren't many things that can take this thing on one-on-one and live to tell the tale.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Tail
Despite the fact that I don't have this Gyarados set up as a sweeper, it still gets tons of kills and wreaks plenty of havoc. Dragon Tail is the ultimate phazing move...unaffected by taunt and can actually do decent damage to some things on their way out. Waterfall is here because it's Gyarados's standard move...you probably aren't going to be finding many Gyarados out there that aren't carrying Waterfall. All the defense EVs plus Intimidate make this thing a physically defensive God, and the RestTalk part of the set make it last even longer to wreak havoc upon opponents.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Taunt
- U-turn
This is THE Gliscor set. U-turn is as useful as ever this generation, and with the combination of Toxic and Taunt, this set can get the rest of my team set up perfectly to cruise to a win. Earthquake is the standard attack here, and although there are many Pokemon immune to it or carrying Balloons or whatnot, it still provides this Gliscor some solid coverage. This thing is also a God defensively, and is basically the best counter available against Excadrill and Landorus (unless the Landorus carries Hidden Power Ice, in which case I run to the hills...I mean Slowbro). Taunt is the real magic of this set, stopping things like Reuniclus from setting up or Ferrothorns from getting up their hazards of leech seeds. It's no surprise that I'm using the Toxic Orb/Poison Heal set up, as it provides Gliscor with some insane recovery and immunity from status, which also means that this Gliscor functions as my status absorber. He's truly something special.
And there you have it. The only thing my team has a lot of trouble with is Reuniclus (but doesn't everyone have trouble with that?) This team was made before Reuniclus was truly popular, and was made during the period where Conkeldurr was everywhere. Obviously, fighting types can't even scrape this team. So, have at it and get me some rates!
