Battle Spot The Tour's Over, Hera de Señorita

[cant say]

Hey guys. I'm here with a really old team that I figured I'd semi-retire. It's been (mostly) fun laddering with it, but I had the most success with it in our recent Wi-Fi Double-Elimination Tournament which I ended up winning. It's basically Mega Heracross accompanied by a VoltTurn core, with some stuff to compliment it. The team kinda works with the idea of having two separate cores of 3 mons to make 6, but in practice it never really worked that way. What I ended up really liking about the team was how flexible it allowed me to be in my selections at team preview, and that I was able to be successful with some underused sets on each of my mons.

Teambuilding Process:

So a while ago I received this Heracross via business in my trade thread and needed a team to use it in. Around the same time (back in about season 10) there was a huge rise in Heracross usage, and a lot of top teams were using Mega Hera (including the top team that season) so I figured it could be a successful endeavor. While doing calcs I noticed that its sheer power flat out OHKOed a lot of the meta, and pretty much nothing likes switching into it with its broad coverage, meaning good prediction from the Hera player pays big dividends. The glaringly obvious thing to account for was its Flying weakness, so that was where I began adding teammates...

So adding both of these as anti-Flying measures is probably a lot, but together they form the VoltTurn core, meaning they can share the burden of having to check Talonflame and Salamence, so they usually have enough health left after doing so to actually do something else afterwards...

Apart from Heracross' Bullet Seed, I was pretty vulnerable to Mamoswine and mixed attacking Blaziken. I also needed some reinforcement against Sand Offense as a well-played Tyranitar / Excadrill / Salamence core basically makes Raikou deadweight. Suicune also really likes beating the Hippowdon / Dragonite / Lucario core. Another thing that Hera + Lando can do work in, but appreciate the third option over Raikou. Suicune is also just amazing in general I recommend everyone try it.

At that point I was seeing some problems with Breloom and Venusaur (even though Hera can pummel them I cannot avoid Spore / Sleep Powder), and Specs Sylveon. I decided that since Aegislash is my spirit Pokemon here on the forums I would include it.

I like running dual Megas in my teams and I didn't have one yet. Kangaskhan is a bit of a lazy choice but I decided to use it's luring capabilities to my advantage. With the huge influence it has in team preview, Kang often forces my opponents to bring defensive checks to it that end up getting blown away by Heracross.

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So here's the sets!

Heracross (F) @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 148 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast

A pretty straightforward set for Hera. A lot of people opt for Earthquake on theirs and I should probably do the same since I don't have heaps of answers for Aegislash or Mawile. I mostly need it for smashing Ferrothorn and Porygon2. Speed is for 4 Spe Rotom formes and Cresselia. Max attack and rest in bulk.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 20 Atk / 252 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 25 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

The defensive answer to bird spam and my U-turner. Scarf Landog seems to be the norm with VoltTurn cores but I wanted the slow U-turn to be able to get Heracross in safely and scout switches. VoltTurning also forces a lot of switches, so being able to set up Stealth Rock helped punish that and make things easier to KO. It also neutered (SpD) Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y, which was handy because those can be problematic for me. Enough speed to outpace Garchomp (and therefore Mega Kangaskhan) after a Rock Tomb. I dropped HP down so that I could beef up my attack high enough to be able to KO Garchomp and bulkier Mega Kangaskhans with a Rock Tomb and two Earthquakes. I couldn't afford anymore though because I'd be increasing the chance of Mega Salamence's -1 Double-Edge 2HKOing.

Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 16 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Extrasensory

The offensive answer to bird spam and Volt Switcher. Pretty self-explanatory I think. Extrasensory was chosen over Shadow Ball to hit Mega Venusaur and for game-saving flinches. Shadow Ball doesn't really hit anything super relevant and is mostly filler on Specs sets anyway. Dropped a point in speed for extra SpD because tying with Starmie and outspeeding Swoobat is irrelevant

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 17 Atk
- Protect
- Substitute
- Scald
- Toxic

I like SubToxic because it messes with a lot of stuff and carries a fair amount of surprise value. It was pretty funny to have a Serperior switch in on you while you set a Sub, only to have its precious Leaf Storm PP waste away. Like I said earlier, this set makes the TtarExcaMence and HippoLucNite cores much easier to deal with. You get your Sub set on their leads, then proceed to spam Scald until you win! Speed outpaces max Tyranitar (just in case) with the rest in bulk.

Aegislash (M) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Here we have Goggles Aegislash. This is literally used to beat Spore / Sleep Powder users and punish them. Such things include Breloom, Mega Venusaur, Amoongus, the odd Smeargle, Vivillon, and best of all; Assist Liepard! Not using King's Shield does make using this set kinda tricky, but since a lot of people anticipate it you often get a free turn out of it to get damage in. I use Shadow Claw over Iron Head mostly for good damage on Thundurus, Rotom formes, Talonflame switchins, Suicune, a bunch of things really since Steel is resisted by lots. The spread is a really old one that I got from somewhere and I honestly don't totally remember what it does. Looking at what it reaches, I feel like it's made to hit Scizor really hard before it bops you with Knock Off. Or maybe low speed Explouds. It does outspeed Politoed so I guess you can risk the Scalds and go for SDs and KO with Shadow Claw? Whatever it does, it's been working, lol.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 148 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast

Last but not least, we have mixed Khan. The team has a bit of a weakness to Ferrothorn, and anytime I see it in team preview, chances were that my opponent would bring it. As soon as Kangaskhan hits the field they make sure to switch Ferro in, only to be roasted by Fire Blast. Ice Beam took care of enemy Landorus-T, as well as Garchomp and Mega Salamence. Double-Edge still hits like a truck without full investment, but Fake Out was added to make up the difference. 100 SpA ensures the OHKOes on Ice Beams, and giving a great chance at OHKOing Ferrothorn. I went for a fast spread because I felt like I needed some speed in the team.

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Threatlist:

Azumarill: If I allow it to get a Belly Drum off then it's basically game over. However Mega Heracross OHKOes with Bullet Seed and Raikou can with Volt Switch so there's a lot of pressure on the Azumarill to get it off in the first place..

Hydreigon: No Dark Pulse resists apart from Heracross makes it hard, especially when Hera is OHKOed by Specs Draco Meteor. Kangaskhan threatens heavily with fast Double-Edge though. I've also been able to stall a couple out with Suicune.

Mega Charizards: Charizard X can be handled by Landorus-T, but apart from that I'm pretty weak. I have almost nothing for Charizard Y, apart from hoping to revenge kill with Raikou.

(Mega) Blaziken: I only have Landorus-T for the physical mega, and Suicune for the mixed Life Orb variant, so if it isn't clear which version it is in team preview I have to sometimes dedicate two of my picks to it.

(Mega) Sableye: Although relatively uncommon, these things tend to annoy me. Heracross can usually muscle through them but that's really all I've got, so if Hera goes down then they just wall me.

Mega Mawile: Landorus-T usually does a good job, but if he goes down then I'm kinda stuffed.

Aegislash: I just don't really have a way of taking it out convincingly. Landorus-T sets off its Weakness Policy and gets OHKOed in return by special variants. Suicune can sometimes stall them out if I get a Scald burn. It's usually a bit of a team effort to wear it down which kinda sucks sometimes.

Greninja: I seem to keep running into Life Orb + Grass Knot versions which do a huge number on my team.

Volcarona: Between having either Hidden Power Ice (for Lando) or Giga Drain (for Suicune) with Quiver Dance boosting I never really seem to have a solid answer for it.

That's all I can think of at the moment, may add more when I can remember.

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Replays:

VS Recorder Codes

XNLG-WWWW-WW3R-4H82 - vs DragonWhale (Wi-Fi Tour rd.2)
EMYW-WWWW-WW4W-K2U6 - vs NOVED (Wi-Fi Tour rd.4)
ZJ7G-WWWW-WW43-LT3G - vs Memoria (Wi-Fi Tour Semi Finals, game 2)
HYJG-WWWW-WW49-WB7G - vs Jhon (Wi-Fi Tour Grand Final, second set, game 2. Last game)

PS Ladder

- vs infinitymkds
- vs Solerme
- vs Tombot12

That's all I could find :(

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So that's the team! I hope you guys enjoyed it, feel free to give it a spin on the ladder if you're looking for something to try out

Importable

Heracross (F) @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 20 Atk / 252 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 25 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock

Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 16 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Extrasensory

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 17 Atk
- Protect
- Substitute
- Scald
- Toxic

Aegislash (M) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 148 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast

 

[Omastar68]

You just wait till my Swoonat out speeds your Raikou and starts setting doubled CMs and Double Teams...

But seriously, really nice team. One thing I notice tho is Landog is wasting 4 Evs in aspect, so those should go in SpD.
...or nvm. 30 IV in SpD and Spe. I guess that doesn't really make a difference, and then off 16 Spe makes sense.

I agree EQ on Hera. Over Rock Blast I think, you mention Mamo, and the only rock weak mon you put in threats obviously just outspeeds and kills. Plus you got SR and Rock Tomb on Landog. EQ helps on Aegi and Mawi, and is just great in general.

Very interesting Suicune, Aegi, and Kang. Nice to see the mixed Kang you mentioned earlier, was wondering about that. I feel like mayb you got a bit too much Spe on all those, but if power and bulk aren't suffering too much then I guess sure. It's hard to really put a price on Spe.

Safety Goggles are kind of a rare sight in general, but I agree on having them here. Your team looks like it wouldn't be very fond of adding a grass type at all, but you also can't give up blocking Spore and the like. I'm also really wary of Spore, and basically always have a mob immune to it(too bad there isn't really anything good with Insomnia or Vital Spirit, cuz Dark Void and Hypnosis.)

I can't really think of anything that'd help against threats to this team without changing a lot, and even then my ideas are often questionable.

I guess the obvious thing would be replace Hera with Mega audio and Aegi with Sunflora...lol jk. I'm not that bad.

What I'm really thinking is maybe ditching Suicune and Raikou for Rotom-W or Zapdos. That kinda lumps their roles together at least a bit, and you have another slot to play with.

Anyways, gtg. Hopefully we can chat later:)

 

[cant say]

You just wait till my Swoonat out speeds your Raikou and starts setting doubled CMs and Double Teams...

lol. You'd have to win the speed tie to get a double team off first, then hope you get the miss because:

252 SpA Choice Specs Raikou Thunderbolt vs. +2 252 HP / 0 SpD Swoobat: 170-204 (97.7 - 117.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

But seriously, really nice team. One thing I notice tho is Landog is wasting 4 Evs in aspect, so those should go in SpD.
...or nvm. 30 IV in SpD and Spe. I guess that doesn't really make a difference, and then off 16 Spe makes sense.

Thanks. Yeah the Impish Lando I have in-game isn't completely flawless so I have to obviously account for that. Obviously if you play on PS you should just use 31s everywhere but I wanted it to remain consistent and stuff..

I agree EQ on Hera. Over Rock Blast I think, you mention Mamo, and the only rock weak mon you put in threats obviously just outspeeds and kills. Plus you got SR and Rock Tomb on Landog. EQ helps on Aegi and Mawi, and is just great in general.

Yeah I am definitely not getting rid of Rock Blast... It hits so many things, it's almost my most-clicked move. When people use Earthquake they almost always drop Close Combat for it. I really like CC for a whole bunch of reasons, and Earthquake really only hits Aegislash. EQ only does ~10% more to Mawile so if it's taken some prior damage or switches into you it dies. EQ does have the 12.5% chance to OHKO though but not something I'd want to rely on.

Very interesting Suicune, Aegi, and Kang. Nice to see the mixed Kang you mentioned earlier, was wondering about that. I feel like mayb you got a bit too much Spe on all those, but if power and bulk aren't suffering too much then I guess sure. It's hard to really put a price on Spe.

I think this just comes down to our own personal preferences tbh. I know you like bulkier Pokemon / teams whereas I like to move first as much as possible. The only one I'd agree with is possibly Aegislash but getting damage off on the occasional Exploud is cool I guess. I need the speed on Kang though for the rare Timid specs Hydreigon, as well as the odd Jolly Sash Lando-T. I considered running Naughty / Lonely but yeah gotta go fast.

Safety Goggles are kind of a rare sight in general, but I agree on having them here. Your team looks like it wouldn't be very fond of adding a grass type at all, but you also can't give up blocking Spore and the like. I'm also really wary of Spore, and basically always have a mob immune to it(too bad there isn't really anything good with Insomnia or Vital Spirit, cuz Dark Void and Hypnosis.)

Yeah that's the thing, people don't expect it and see the big Spore vulnerability (especially since I don't have anything that often holds a Lum Berry) which makes it easier for me to predict at team preview. It is definitely not something I would recommend to everyone at all, it just fits nicely with this team. (Also if I choose a three of Raikou, Lando, and Aegi, a 3 I've found myself using a fair bit, then I know I have the most stylish core running around).

I can't really think of anything that'd help against threats to this team without changing a lot, and even then my ideas are often questionable.

I guess the obvious thing would be replace Hera with Mega audio and Aegi with Sunflora...lol jk. I'm not that bad.

Maybe if this was a team for the Pokéathlon then at least Sunkern would get a shot (Flora still sucks though). Don't joke about Audino though, DragonWhale has proof of its power on stream, lol.

What I'm really thinking is maybe ditching Suicune and Raikou for Rotom-W or Zapdos. That kinda lumps their roles together at least a bit, and you have another slot to play with.

Then I would just have a big Thundurus weakness and not really gain anything. And like I said earlier, I prefer faster things, and both of those are too slow for me. Also, I just generally really like Raikou, both competitively and as a cool mon.

Anyways, gtg. Hopefully we can chat later:)

Sure. Thanks a lot for commenting!

 

[Solerme]

Like i told you in the bss room i pretty much like your team. It's always cool to see MHera cores.

The thing i like the most on this team (outside of being solid) is that 5 on 6 of the pokemon you are using can trick your opponent predicts. You are using sets that aren't the most common ones, and this could lead to dangerous mistakes for your opponent.

Thinking about a way to make your threats less hard to deal with, you can consider running Heatran over Aegislash.
You would lose defensive coverage for Kang (you still have Lando for that) while gaining a decent check to Mawile, Zard Y, Aegislash and Volcarona, that can also do damage to Char X and Hydreigon if you want to gamble.
Plus you would have another good partner for MHera that can deal with Tflame and some of his checks, and that can absorb WoWs.

This is my idea:

Heatran @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Ancient Power

Speed EVs are to outspeed 4Spe rotom and Suicune and to maximize damage. The remaining in bulk.
Dragon pulse is for Charizard X if you predict a DD and Hydreigon that switch in.
Ancient Power for Volcarona and Char Y.

Some defensive calcs:
252+ SpA Volcarona Hidden Power Ground vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 148-176 (78.7 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Hidden Power Ground vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 156-184 (82.9 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Hidden Power Ground vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 168-200 (89.3 - 106.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 100-118 (53.1 - 62.7%) -- there is a Chance of a 3HKO with the 2nd hit being more weak
252+ Atk Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 156-185 (82.9 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Some Offensive ones:
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Mawile: 164-195 (104.4 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 156-187 (93.4 - 111.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 187-221 (111.9 - 132.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 148-174 (88.6 - 104.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Ancient Power vs. 100 HP / 4 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 177-208 (106.6 - 125.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Ancient Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 187-224 (116.1 - 139.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Ancient Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Volcarona: 187-224 (97.3 - 116.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Ancient Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 265-317 (172 - 205.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Ancient Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Talonflame: 177-213 (95.6 - 115.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Sableye: 121-142 (77 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD Mega Charizard X: 159-187 (103.2 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 153-182 (91 - 108.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO


You could also try Safety Goggles on it, but i'm not sure that it could work