The Power Is Yours!

[Crimson]

​

Hello again everyone! I'm here bringing you guys another RMT, but I'm sure you already knew that. Below I'll be going into how I came into this team, if you want to skip on passed that and go straight to the team, feel free.



Meet the Planeteers:

Earth! == Fire! == Wind! == = Water! ==Heart! = GO PLANET!

Team Story

This team is a split-core Offensive team. It's split in that there are two very distinct cores present in the team, but they come together very nicely into one cohesive unit, hence the Captain Planet theme. I came about this team because after my other team "Living Proof" got to #1, I wanted to do two things: 1) Remain at the top of the ladder with that team and 2) Make a new team I could enjoy without using any Pokemon from Living Proof. So I started on a journey of sorts to find another solid team I could sink my teeth into. After many failed and frustrating attempts at teams with the likes of Scarf Heracross, Bulk-Up Scrafty, Ferroseed, Specs Slowbro, Honchkrow, etc; I ran into a guy on the ladder by the name of "was banned by" (May or may not be SoundsofMadness on the forums here) using a team with Aero, Smeargle, Victini, Pineco, and a couple other things.

I thought it would be a fairly easy win, until I saw what he had in mind. Suicide lead Aero into Smeargle into Victini. The team I was testing couldn't hope to contend with it. I was intrigued by the setup that I wanted to take it for a spin myself. After running through many things that would fill out the back half of the team, I finally found the other Core: Rain Offensive.

Smash Core - Option A Offensive:

Captain (Aerodactyl) (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Aerodactyl will lead my games 9 times out of 10. That's why is the captain, leading the unit into the fray. He is the standard Suicide lead and does his job very damn well. Rocks are essential for every time, but for my needs, it helps me turn many 2HKO's into OHKO's which is often times the difference between winning and losing. EdgeQuake to give Aero ways to deal damage. The only times Aero doesn't lead is if I see Sableye on my opponent's team, at which point I'll most likely lead with Tornadus.

Taunt for keeping mainly Rocks off my field, but also for locking down Roars and Trick Room which would otherwise shutdown my Option A Offensive.

Ma Ti (Smeargle) (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Spore
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Ingrain

After Aero is dead (more than likely), Smeargle comes into to set my plan into action. Smash to set me up for sweeping immediately and Spore to incapacitate something before passing off to a sweep member. The most likely recipient is Victini, but there other scenarios that warrant me not to do so, and I'll get to that later. The last slot of Ingrain is up in the air. Ingrain is there because if given the chance, it let's my sweeper a bit more survivability. I saw SoundsofMadness uses Magic Coat which I am considering because it would give Sableye and other Prankster users a giant middle finger.

Wheeler (Victini) @ Life Orb
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Stored Power
- Substitute

If Plan A goes according to plan, I pass my boosts to Wheeler and proceed to sweep. Like SoundsofMadness, I use the same moveset, however, I use my own EVs after a ton of calculating to make sure I scored important KOs. I put full speed into my Victini because sometimes my opponent carries a common Scarf user (Flygon, Darmanitan, Heracross) while also carrying something that I have to V-Create to kill, and I want to still be able to outspeed those Scarfers afterwards. Some calcs against Walls:

Hide

Snorlax:

+2 208 Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 52 Def Thick Fat Snorlax: 406-477 (88.06 - 103.47%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 208 Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 80 HP / 96 Def Thick Fat Snorlax: 382-450 (79.41 - 93.55%) -- 43.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


Porygon-2:


+2 208 Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 445-524 (118.98 - 140.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 208 Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 339-399 (90.64 - 106.68%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock



Cresselia:

+2 208 Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 390-460 (87.83 - 103.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Swampert:

+2 48 SpA Life Orb Victini Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 450-530 (112.21 - 132.16%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The Special Attack EVs still give Stored Power enough power to kill everything that doesn't resist, and Substitute to bypass Sucker Punch.

Rain Core - Option B Offensive:

If for whatever reason Option A doesn't work and Victini's sweep is cut short, I go full on Rain Offensive. There are also rare times I start off the game with rain offensive and then clean up with Victini after Rain is done beating holes into things. Usually comes when my opponent has Sableye that I suspect to lead.

Link (Tornadus) @ Damp Rock
Trait: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Rain Dance
- Taunt
- Superpower

Link's main mission in life is to set up the rain for Kingdra and/or Kabutops. Taunt to either keep things from setting up Rocks (if Aero is dead by then), Subs, or T-waves. After Rain is up, I will either spam attacks until Tornadus is dead, or sac Smeargle (if done with his job) to get a free switch into Kingdra or Kabutops.

There have been times a weakened Link has strictly setup rain, died, then I went into Ma Ti to setup SmashPass to a Rain Sweeper making them +2/+2/+2 in the rain for 3-4 turns...things die.

Gi (Kingdra) (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Rain Dance

Standard Cleanup Kingdra here, however if I have to pass boosts to Gi, she WILL fuck your world up. +2 Modest Kingdra is nothing to sneeze at. Why would I pass boosts to Kingdra over Victini you may ask yourself. That is done when I see my opponent has something with Aqua Jet that would kill Victini at -1 Defense and shut my sweep way short. Kingdra's typing make it so she can take those for days and hit back hard with Dragon Pulse, making her a prime Pass recipient. Rain Dance allows Gi to self modify her powers of cleanup if given the chance.

Kwame (Kabutops) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Superpower

Kwame's love for plant life makes him very angry when people try to infringe on that. Kabutops is my physical Rain Offensive hitter and he does exactly that. I have considered Carracosta here because it has Sturdy and can setup its own Shell Smash, but I liked Kabutops speed overall as he can outspeed all common Scarfers in the rain, or +2 if boosted from Smeargle. I pass to Kabutops when I see my opponent has Normal priority attacks. Even at -1, he still takes them relatively well (Offensive Arcanine tops out at ~35%). He also has Aqua Jet to bypass the likes of Prankster and Sucker Punch (If Rain or boosted).

Superpower may look weird, but it is used for the likes of Snorlax, P2, and Umbreon without having to switch out. They really don't like to take the move. Superpower is best when passed a Smash because I can use one to kill and still be at +1 to keep on ticking.

Threats

• Prankster users - Shuts down my SmashPass, Sableye can Wisp my Kabutops and Taunt my Aero from start.

• Multi-hit Attacks - They break through my Sashes and can thwart my plans if I'm caught off guard.

• Dragon-Tail/Circle Throw - Since those moves are not blocked by Taunt, if I'm not careful, it can shuffle me out and ruin my plans.

• Surprise Magic Coat users - Blocks my Rocks and my Taunts with their superior priority.

• Surprise Sucker Punch/Priority attackers - Most of the time it's easy to see who the priority user will be, but sometimes an opponent has a Pokemon with a priority attack you were not aware and it can get me.

Some replays:

Gangbusting

1) http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-34625039 - Slightly annoying battle with a tricky opponent.

2) http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-34604772 - Showcase for Kabutops (pre-nicknames)

Closing Remarks:

My goal for this team after I got my barrings was to have a team with split cores that came together for maximum team cohesion, while still being something I enjoyed. I love Offensive, so this team was up my alley. I feel this team achieved that in covering the vulnerabilities in SmashPass (Priority attacks after defensives are down) with offensive targets to resist and keep ticking, effectively combining the Cores. The team is currently 31-6 and I hope with some improvements and more learning, I can improve upon that.

This team isn't just "LOLSMASHPASSWIN!" all the time. There are times where it takes thought to survive and win.

Rate, Comment, Luvdisc!

 

[goodknife]

nice to see my team here (btw i'm was banned by and SoundsofMadness isn't me but another guy i give my team to :D)
here is some little tips:
- Magic Coat is on smeargle because i want to make sure any prankster taunter and magic bounce xatu will not break my combo (u can't put xatu on sleep but his own t-wave will return to him :P)
- i use protect on aero for some reasons 1. break first turn fake out user (most of time against ambipon and mienshao) 2. protect can use to make enemy still taunt (at least a turn) after aero's dead (imagine something like this turn 1: u taunt and opponent use SR > turn 2: opponent use attack move and aero use SR > turn 3: aero will dead and taunt end so if u use protect here the next turn u can taunt and die)
- u can prevent first turn multi hit move with open with Kabutops or Kingdra when u see a rhyperior or cincino on team preview
- here is list of all sucker punch user http://www.smogon.com/dp/moves/sucker_punch and http://www.smogon.com/bw/moves/sucker_punch (other priority that can hurt victini are shadow sneak (Mismagius can carried both sucker punch and shadow sneak) , aqua jet and ambipom fake out, other than that (like arcanine extreamspeed and fake out mienshao isn't a big treat)

 

[Crimson]

Yeah, the SmashPass Core is nice, but the things I didn't like about the second half of the team I changed to my own liking which got me to what I got now.

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely keep them in mind. I do like Magic Coat a lot and will give that a try. I'm a little more hesitant on Protect on Aero. EdgeQuake has allowed Aero to get some nice KOs before going down or denting things like P2 or Snorlax on occasion to make Victini's job that much more easy, but I can see how it works well.

I didn't factor in Shadow Sneak because it's used so little in UU. It literally skipped my mind hah.

 

[PTJon7]

Hey Crimson, really unique team, I like it a lot.

I agree with goodknife about Magic Coat over Ingrain and Protect over EQ, both seem like pretty solid changes. You could maybe even run Rain Dance on Smeargle, just a thought.

Since it seems like you want Tornadus to function more as a rain setter than a sweeper, I think U-Turn over Superpower would help you out a lot, as Tornadus could more safely set up rain and switch out.

 

[Crimson]

I don't really want to use U-turn over Superpower. It's really helpful in getting reliable kills on weakened things before setting up the Rain and having Tornadus die. Also, Tornadus is so fast that more times than not, he'll be faster on the U-Turn and my switch in will get hit regardless. And I would rather have Tornadus faint and give me a free switch into something.

I have tried the changes of Protect > Earthquake and Magic Coat > Ingrain and they seem pretty good. I need to get used to have Protect though. There was a game where I faced U-Turn Mew who went into Mienshao (which should obviously mean it is Scarfed) and it proceeded to HJK me in the face because I forgot I had Protect...hah. I haven't had to use Magic Coat yet, but it's nice to know it is there, so I can lower my fear of Sableye and the rare Liepard (even though it still carries Sub).

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming!

 

[Buckeyekmh20]

Hey, I have been trying this team out on showdown and it is really really good. My only question is how do you deal with blastoise? If aerodactyl leads, and blastoise switches in to you, you are basically forced to either go to kingdra or tornadus. Theres no way to keep rocks up against him. Either way you are forced to go the rain route early which can sometimes be shut down by priority users. I like kabutops, but he gets walled by a lot of bulky waters, and if you go to kingdra, you can be victim to priority.

I have had a lot of success but I do think there could be improvement on the rain offense side: maybe ludicolo? I guess you risk being walled by snorlax and umbreon though. The first 3 members are absolutely perfect, and switching ingrain for magic bounce messes up tornadus and sableye really well.

Maybe try out huntail or gorebyss in the rain? If you can give them a sash, and arodactyl prevents rocks, you have the potential to smash and attack in the rain. Just a thought.

 

[EmeraldGoblin]

just a quick nit pick... its EARTH, FIRE, WIND, WATER, HEART... GO PLANET... you need to fix the order in which you have them listed :(

 

[Crimson]

Hey, I have been trying this team out on showdown and it is really really good. My only question is how do you deal with blastoise? If aerodactyl leads, and blastoise switches in to you, you are basically forced to either go to kingdra or tornadus. Theres no way to keep rocks up against him. Either way you are forced to go the rain route early which can sometimes be shut down by priority users. I like kabutops, but he gets walled by a lot of bulky waters, and if you go to kingdra, you can be victim to priority.

I have had a lot of success but I do think there could be improvement on the rain offense side: maybe ludicolo? I guess you risk being walled by snorlax and umbreon though. The first 3 members are absolutely perfect, and switching ingrain for magic bounce messes up tornadus and sableye really well.

Maybe try out huntail or gorebyss in the rain? If you can give them a sash, and arodactyl prevents rocks, you have the potential to smash and attack in the rain. Just a thought.

I go about Blastoise and spinners in 2 ways:

1) If I see Blastoise on the opposing, I carry on as planned more times than not, just making sure he is Taunted before Aero dies. As you said, not much I can really do against it other than Taunting it and getting some damage off on it before Aero goes down. I then go into Smeargle and prepare to Pass boosts and drill as many holes into my opponent as possible. Blastoise usually takes the sleep so he isn't much of factor after that.

2) If I see my opponent has something with Sash or Sturdy that could thwart me, I sometimes go into Tornadus against Rapid Spinners to take it and leave Aero for later, either after the Spinner dies or timing it so that the Spinner doesn't have the opportunity to Spin after I get Rocks back up. If I do bring in Tornadus, I sometimes go Rain Offensive earlier and leaving SmashPass for the end, effectively reversing my strategy.

I fear running into Umbreon, P2, and Snorlax more than I do Bulky Water types. All Bulky Waters get handled by boosted Victini and/or Kingdra and Tornadus (when weakened). Kabutops puts in a lot of work usually even without Boosts, as long as Rain is up.

I heard that someone tried my team and replaced Kabutops with Shaymin, which I found intriguing, and something I would consider trying.

just a quick nit pick... its EARTH, FIRE, WIND, WATER, HEART... GO PLANET... you need to fix the order in which you have them listed :(

Thanks for that, fixed it in the OP.