“The Hose of Unpredictability”
Hello this is an NU team that I created a while ago inspired by a Featured RMT on The Smog. Because of this, I have three Pokemon with Choice items (two of the same Pokemon as the RMT). At the same time, I was becoming very attached to using Garbodor to set up hazards and to be a bulky special attacker. Yes you heard me right. Even though Garbodor has only Base 60 Special Attack…
That RMT’s link is here: http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue20/featured_rmt_nu
Now for the team!
http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/bw/525.png[IMG]
Serperior (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 156 HP/100 Atk/252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
-Taunt
-Leech Seed
-Leaf Blade
-Aqua Tail
Either Serperior, Probopass, or Garbodor typically leads. Serperior has access to SubSeed, but I opted out of that so I could use Taunt, Leech Seed, and two attacks. Taunt blocks a lot of things such as entry hazards and Amoonguss’s Spore. Leaf Blade is for STAB, of course. Aqua Tail is Serperior’s most notable upgrade for B2W2, and it hits Fire-types fairly hard. In addition, Grass and Water have very good neutral coverage; the only singular types that resist this are Grass and Dragon. As a nice plus, Serperior's good defenses and speed allow it to gradually wear down opponents, as opposed to making a single major hit and then dying immediately.
Ludicolo (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Ground
Ludicolo is my main special attacker. With Modest, Choice Specs, and STAB, Hydro Pump hits very hard, 2HKOing nearly anything that doesn’t resist it. Giga Drain is the other STAB with a good base power and is Ludicolo’s only form of recovery. Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ground are coverage options, but Hidden Power Rock may be preferable.
Probopass (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/128 Def/128 SpD
Nature: Calm
-Stealth Rock
-Volt Switch
-Earth Power
-Protect
Possibly the best mixed wall in NU. Stealth Rock and Volt Switch help with momentum and allow Probopass to be a lead. Earth Power and Flash Cannon are my main attacking moves for when I don’t want to switch, and in conjunction with Protect, it can stall out poison timers. Sturdy is for a safety net from OHKOs. .
Zebstrika (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Me First
This set is almost identical to the Zebstrika set on the RMT, because reading it really inspired me to try out Zebstrika myself. The key difference is the last move: since I already have two-grass types, I didn’t think that Hidden Power Grass was necessary, so I scanned Zebstrika’s movepool and didn’t see another special attack worth using. My attention then turned to Me First because it is extremely surprising to see, and since Zebstrika is faster than almost anything it encounters with a Choice Scarf, the fact that the move must go first is hardly ever a worry. This is like an offensive Magic Coat in a sense. For example, an opponent’s Scarfed Rampardos KOd one of my other Pokemon with Earthquake, so I brought Zebstrika in, outsped it, and used Me First to make Earthquake 50% stronger and use the move right back against it! Aside from that, Overheat is coverage, while Thunderbolt is a specially-based Electric type’s best STAB on non-rain teams. Volt Switch can do some damage as Zebstrika flees to a Pokemon that can take the next attack, and that makes two Volt Switch users which can drive the opponent nuts.
Emboar (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Blaze (probably should switch to Reckless; is it released?)
EVs: 128 HP/252 Atk/128 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Flare Blitz
-Wild Charge
-Hammer Arm
-Head Smash
CB Emboar is the other Pokemon that the RMT used, but of course, this set’s not identical. The idea is still the same, though: KO as many opponents as possible with STAB moves, and use the coverage moves in prediction-tense situations or when the opponent doesn’t expect Wild Charge or Earthquake. Emboar is the Pokemon I use the least because the other five Pokemon nearly make a team on their own, but when I send Emboar out (usually against a Taunted Amoonguss, who is murdered by Flare Blitz), it does a very good job. Should Emboar be replaced with another fire-type?
Garbodor (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Stench
EVs: 88 HP/68 Def/100 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Spikes
-Giga Drain
-Acid Spray
-Focus Blast
The star of the show, the acid-spraying Garbodor! This is the most successful Garbodor set I have ever used by far, and makes it one of my top favorite Pokemon in NU (I’ve used it on multiple teams, and on one I cut out Venoshock to make room for Sunny Day). It’s known for setting up hazards, and it does just that. Spikes makes it more dangerous to switch, and when combined with Acid Spray, makes the opponent decide whether to have a lowered special defense or to switch and take hazard damage. The main move is Acid Spray, because it lowers Special Defense by 2 stages, making a lot of the moves on my team much stronger. Nearly anything besides ghost-types that gets to -6 SpD will be destroyed by Focus Blast (assuming it hits of course). Focus Blast also does major damage to Steel-types, such as Bastiodon.
The last move is Giga Drain; it covers Garbodor's main weakness, Ground-types, and provides recovery, which is even more prominent when the opponent was previously hit with at least one Acid Spray.
The EVs are fairly complicated: 252 Speed and Timid so it can set up Spikes as quickly as possible. The HP and Defense EVs are to help it tank physical hits: it's not sufficient to call Garbodor a "wall," but it takes unboosted non-SE physical moves better than you'd think. I put the rest in SpA to power up Focus Blast and Giga Drain.
In case you were wondering, the name came from my opinion that Garbodor’s right arm looks like a hose. The team as a whole doesn't have very many counters but bulky Dragons can be dangerous and frustrating to confront. Hopefully you enjoyed the team!
Hello this is an NU team that I created a while ago inspired by a Featured RMT on The Smog. Because of this, I have three Pokemon with Choice items (two of the same Pokemon as the RMT). At the same time, I was becoming very attached to using Garbodor to set up hazards and to be a bulky special attacker. Yes you heard me right. Even though Garbodor has only Base 60 Special Attack…
That RMT’s link is here: http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue20/featured_rmt_nu
Now for the team!
http://www.smogon.com/download/sprites/bw/525.png[IMG]
Serperior (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 156 HP/100 Atk/252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
-Taunt
-Leech Seed
-Leaf Blade
-Aqua Tail
Either Serperior, Probopass, or Garbodor typically leads. Serperior has access to SubSeed, but I opted out of that so I could use Taunt, Leech Seed, and two attacks. Taunt blocks a lot of things such as entry hazards and Amoonguss’s Spore. Leaf Blade is for STAB, of course. Aqua Tail is Serperior’s most notable upgrade for B2W2, and it hits Fire-types fairly hard. In addition, Grass and Water have very good neutral coverage; the only singular types that resist this are Grass and Dragon. As a nice plus, Serperior's good defenses and speed allow it to gradually wear down opponents, as opposed to making a single major hit and then dying immediately.
Ludicolo (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power Ground
Ludicolo is my main special attacker. With Modest, Choice Specs, and STAB, Hydro Pump hits very hard, 2HKOing nearly anything that doesn’t resist it. Giga Drain is the other STAB with a good base power and is Ludicolo’s only form of recovery. Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ground are coverage options, but Hidden Power Rock may be preferable.
Probopass (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/128 Def/128 SpD
Nature: Calm
-Stealth Rock
-Volt Switch
-Earth Power
-Protect
Possibly the best mixed wall in NU. Stealth Rock and Volt Switch help with momentum and allow Probopass to be a lead. Earth Power and Flash Cannon are my main attacking moves for when I don’t want to switch, and in conjunction with Protect, it can stall out poison timers. Sturdy is for a safety net from OHKOs. .
Zebstrika (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Me First
This set is almost identical to the Zebstrika set on the RMT, because reading it really inspired me to try out Zebstrika myself. The key difference is the last move: since I already have two-grass types, I didn’t think that Hidden Power Grass was necessary, so I scanned Zebstrika’s movepool and didn’t see another special attack worth using. My attention then turned to Me First because it is extremely surprising to see, and since Zebstrika is faster than almost anything it encounters with a Choice Scarf, the fact that the move must go first is hardly ever a worry. This is like an offensive Magic Coat in a sense. For example, an opponent’s Scarfed Rampardos KOd one of my other Pokemon with Earthquake, so I brought Zebstrika in, outsped it, and used Me First to make Earthquake 50% stronger and use the move right back against it! Aside from that, Overheat is coverage, while Thunderbolt is a specially-based Electric type’s best STAB on non-rain teams. Volt Switch can do some damage as Zebstrika flees to a Pokemon that can take the next attack, and that makes two Volt Switch users which can drive the opponent nuts.
Emboar (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Blaze (probably should switch to Reckless; is it released?)
EVs: 128 HP/252 Atk/128 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Flare Blitz
-Wild Charge
-Hammer Arm
-Head Smash
CB Emboar is the other Pokemon that the RMT used, but of course, this set’s not identical. The idea is still the same, though: KO as many opponents as possible with STAB moves, and use the coverage moves in prediction-tense situations or when the opponent doesn’t expect Wild Charge or Earthquake. Emboar is the Pokemon I use the least because the other five Pokemon nearly make a team on their own, but when I send Emboar out (usually against a Taunted Amoonguss, who is murdered by Flare Blitz), it does a very good job. Should Emboar be replaced with another fire-type?
Garbodor (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Stench
EVs: 88 HP/68 Def/100 SpA/252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Spikes
-Giga Drain
-Acid Spray
-Focus Blast
The star of the show, the acid-spraying Garbodor! This is the most successful Garbodor set I have ever used by far, and makes it one of my top favorite Pokemon in NU (I’ve used it on multiple teams, and on one I cut out Venoshock to make room for Sunny Day). It’s known for setting up hazards, and it does just that. Spikes makes it more dangerous to switch, and when combined with Acid Spray, makes the opponent decide whether to have a lowered special defense or to switch and take hazard damage. The main move is Acid Spray, because it lowers Special Defense by 2 stages, making a lot of the moves on my team much stronger. Nearly anything besides ghost-types that gets to -6 SpD will be destroyed by Focus Blast (assuming it hits of course). Focus Blast also does major damage to Steel-types, such as Bastiodon.
The last move is Giga Drain; it covers Garbodor's main weakness, Ground-types, and provides recovery, which is even more prominent when the opponent was previously hit with at least one Acid Spray.
The EVs are fairly complicated: 252 Speed and Timid so it can set up Spikes as quickly as possible. The HP and Defense EVs are to help it tank physical hits: it's not sufficient to call Garbodor a "wall," but it takes unboosted non-SE physical moves better than you'd think. I put the rest in SpA to power up Focus Blast and Giga Drain.
In case you were wondering, the name came from my opinion that Garbodor’s right arm looks like a hose. The team as a whole doesn't have very many counters but bulky Dragons can be dangerous and frustrating to confront. Hopefully you enjoyed the team!
