.::Titanic Terror::.
Dragon & Steel Offense
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(This forum needs more Triple Dragon & Steel teams)
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____________________________________Dragon & Steel Offense
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(This forum needs more Triple Dragon & Steel teams)
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Change-Log
- Metagross over Scizor.
- CM Latias over CS Latias.
- HP Grass is now being used over Explosion on Heatran.
- Substitute over Hydro Pump, HP losing me too many games =/.
- Testing a new Salamence set.
- Testing a new Jirachi set.
.::Introduction::.
The team at glance is not all that different from TAY's Pride & Prejudice team as far as member selection is concerned (then again, what triple dragon team isn't like). Anyways, I present a more offensive and modernized (in my opinion) triple dragon & steel team built specifically for the standard ladder. The team has a pretty basic and straight forward strategy, using various dragon and steel types switch in with ease and do heavy damage with a slice of originality. If I were to participate in a major tournament where I could only use one team, this is the team I would use over the others as it has the most success.
Main issues I have encountered:
- Aside from the many resistances this team holds, I don't like the lack of speed (most of it is fixed when I DD though).
- Gyarados, Latias and Salamence once they set up can be a pain to handle.
- I don't like the use of two choice item users sometimes.
- The team can be gay to face in mirror-like matches lol (rare but still annoying).
Main highlights of the team:
- The team has a lot of resistances, does not care about Stealth Rock.
- The team turned out to be somewhat different to the standard Triple Dragon teams out there so I am happy.
- Dragon and Steel are my favourite types.
- The team is now different to TAY's team. =)
Other notes (Misc):
- All members bar Salamence do not care about Stealth Rock
- Everyone bar Kingdra evade Toxic Spikes and a not really effected by Spikes, major plus against Stall teams.
- I might change Jirachi for Metagross and try the standard DD set for Salamence who fits nicely on this team.
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General Strategy
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The general game plan from the beginning is to have Jirachi Thunder Wave whatever my opponent leads with to get an early advantage. Thunder Wave I have found to be a more reliable way of passing around paralysis. The downside I have found with this though is that I am not able to hit stuff like Swampert (who is slow, and quite frankly, a terrible lead anyway). Next up after I paralysis anything not ground I begin to set up Stealth Rocks, which is essential for Kingdra, Salamence & Latias to do as much damage as I can during the game. Fire Punch on Jirachi does not leave me completely helpless to steel types any more, but I have had to get rid of U-Turn (which never was useful). Latias is the main special sweeper, she contributes to the no set up game I have going by firing off +1 Dragon Pulses and Surfs making it very difficult for others to set up. The person to get a sweeping going early game is usually Kingdra, as he has does not care about switching into Stealth Rock and can evade status with Lum Berry or continue its onslaught after Lum Berry to heals confusion / any other status move. Taunt Heatran is one of the Pokemon I use to beat Stall plus it adds some element of surprise to my team, because Heatran is normally seen as a choice scarf user people normally send in their Blissey or anything else that resists fire blast, at this point I taunt either ruining their chance of setting up or healing off damage, with Explosion and Life Orb I should be able to take out or at least weaken stall.
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In-Depth Look
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Jirachi @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Jolly [+Spd, -SAtk]
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 SDef / 176 Spd
` Thunder Wave
` Iron Head
` Fire Punch
` Stealth Rock
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Comments & Suggestions:
My pride and joy Jirachi lead, I was talking with August yesterday about the team via PM and he recommended I use the following move set and evs for Jirachi 252 Atk / 200 Spe / 56 HP Jirachi with Iron Head / Fire Punch / Twave / U turn, the set itself ran smoothly in this rather offensive team but I decided to switch U-Turn for Stealth Rock as all my members rely on stealth rock to score the necessary KOs, plus I never liked U-Turn on Jirachi. This is the best lead I have used so far to the point where I am including him on nearly all my teams, the beauty of this lead is that nothing can reliably set up on him without receiving Thunder Wave, he can still accomplish parahax plus he is able to set up stealth rock. After I set up stealth rock I then use T-Wave unsuspecting ghost types or anything else coming in to the take the somewhat unreliable Body Slam, after that I Iron Head / Zen Headbutt them to oblivion.
Jirachi's has been EVed to top Lucario in speed and use Fire Punch, sometimes getting a burn hax switch serene grace, the most disappointing thing is even with Life Orb I am unsuccessful in KOing Lucario. I was going for an offensive lead that could not be set up on, Jirachi's bulk, speed and move pool made him the perfect lead for this team. This Jirachi however has some issues with power, the lead is not powerful enough for my liking (he even fails to OHKO Lucario), though flinching is more than enough for this lead to be effective and weakening opposing I have actually considered running Life Orb for extra power. In terms of synergy Jirachi being a steel means he can cover my dragon's weaknesses to ice and dragon moves, I normally use him in tandem with Latias because it Latias not only evades ground moves while resisting fire Latias also has access to Recover, so does not mind switching into Stealth Rock every time, the problem with pairing him with Salamence is that Salamence does not last long because of Stealth Rock slowly chipping away at his health every time he comes in, Life Orb is also an issue so I tend to try and save Salamence for later thus avoiding this combo.
Vs Common Leads
| 1 | Azelf | 61204 | 7.47 | Funny thing is as they expect me to switch out I in fact stay in and thunder wave, thus rendering any attempt at beating my lead useless.
| 2 | Metagross | 58401 | 7.13 | A risky lead to handle, Fire Punch doesn't do that much to Metagross (doesn't even KO Lucario) so I switch out.
| 3 | Jirachi | 43219 | 5.27 | They switch out most of the time because they expect me to have my own CS, the times they stay in to Fire Punch I thunder wave hoping to survive the first thunder wave, at this time they switch out meaning easy SR for me.
| 4 | Swampert | 42630 | 5.20 | I switch out most of the time as I lack Body Slam so I can't hit him with anything, I sometimes try and burn hax him but thats when I am sure I can get SR down.
| 5 | Aerodactyl | 39643 | 4.84 | Hmm another tricky lead to handle, if I had Body Slam I could have parahaxed on his SR, I set up and switch out.
| 6 | Infernape| 33611 | 4.10 | Can't beat it =/, I switch out expecting a Fire Blast to Kingdra hoping it misses.
| 7 | Hippowdon | 25334 | 3.09 | Another lead I cannot do much to, Latias comes in surfs though.
| 8 | Ninjask | 23647 | 2.89 | Too weak to do anything meaningful to me, as they are normally seen on Baton Pass teams I thunder wave as they pass out while lauging.
| 9 | Bronzong | 23461 | 2.86 | I set up and Fire Punch/Thunder Wave, if Fire Punch burns him then cool I guess.
| 10 | Roserade | 19892 | 2.43 | Sleep Powder screws this set up, sad but I end up sacrificing my lead, Toxic Spikes does shit to my team and sleep clause protects me for an easy Salamence set up. =D
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: ***
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Kingdra @ Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant [+Atk, -SAtk]
` Outrage
` Dragon Dance
` Substitute
` Waterfall
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Comments & Suggestions:
I have finally found a reason for using Kingdra on my team, though it seems like the most obvious choice when it comes to triple dragon teams, I went ahead and chose to run a different kind of Kingdra set rather than going the predictable route and using sub+lum dd. To be perfectly honest I have never liked having Substitute + Lum Berry on Kingdra, its too much set up for my liking plus I would much rather have Kingdra do as much damage as possible without being somewhat walled by SkarmBliss, Lum Berry in my opinion is enough protection for Kingdra as Kingdra after one DD does enough damage for me, especially when I am facing a rain dance team.
Kingdra has been EVed to resemble the standard DD Salamence spread, this enables Kingdra to perform some slight wall breaking. I figured that taking a small amount of speed wouldn't hurt Kingdra's chance at sweeping as after a DD he out speeds quite a few top Pokemon anyways (if they are not holding scarf), plus with Kingdra's bulk, type and lack of Life Orb I am able to get at least two DDs, which is more than enough. Kingdra only has one weakness which is resisted by half of the team, being a Water Dragon means he has no issues switching in and out. My main issue with Kingdra is of course Hydro Pump, it has slightly lower accuracy than Fire Blast which causes me to miss some 2HKOs against Skarmory (who later ruins my sweep with WhirlWind). This has made me consider using Surf over Hydro Pump and consider investing in some more Special Attack, Hydro Pump though is the better option I like Surf in still being able to hit Hippowden with more special attack investment hard while having great accuracy (not a lot of misses), apart from that I have issues with Kingdra's addition to the team, his speed after a boost, great attack and coverage over nearly everything bar Empoleon and Shedninja has made Kingdra one of my best Pokemon.
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: ***
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Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 62 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd
Nature: Adamant [+Atk, -SAtk]
` Meteor Mash
` Earthquake
` Rock Polish
` Zen Headbutt
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Comments & Suggestions:
Rock Polish Metagross is one of the best late game Pokemon I have ever used in the game thus far. I still prefer Salamence in the looks department but and coverage but Metagross resistances and great offensive stats is just too good to pass up. Stathakis recommended this set to give my team more offensive power, after a very long session on shoddy (followed by nice Maccy D dinner) he seems to work much better than Scizor while being faster than just about everything after I use Agility. I find Metagross normally coming in after a Pokemon has died or when something like Salamence uses a dragon move (outrage) and then gaining a agility boost, once his speed has increased I attempt to sweep with my three moves. The best situation is when Salamence is stuck in Outage because of Meteor Mash powering up Metagross's physical attack. I chose to go with Thunderpunch over the over moves because Gyarados and friends where giving me hell, Thunderpunch somewhat solves me issues with bulky waters not named Swampert, can hit Gyarados for super effective damage and has the best coverage out of all the sets, I was considering going with Ice Punch because of Rotom but keeping Metagross in on Rotom was a bad idea anyway + I have other ways of dealing with that damn Pokemon.
I like the power Metagross adds to the team, though I hate the ground weakness he adds, Latias and Salamence both are able to evade the weakness but Salamence never lasts long + Latias has scarf meaning she more susceptible to Pursuit, later down the line I might go with a pure attacking Latias to help with this problem but right now I am loving the revenge killing power she adds. Pairing him up with Kingdra helps in baiting one shot dragon moves (Draco Meteor/Outrage) to give me easy set up but he normally is able use Agility without having to use Kingdra s bait.
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: ***
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Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid [+Spd, -Atk]
` Calm Mind
` Surf
` Recover
` Dragon Pulse
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Comments & Suggestions:
Latias is a solid special attacking dragon here because of her ability inflict massive damage after a single Calm Mind Boost and supply the needed resistance to Stealth Rock and recovery to punch gaping holes into the opposing team. Latias works extremely well with Metagross as they both cover each other's weaknesses plus Metagross can use her pursuit weakness to easily set up. Because of her solid attack and speed stats, Latias tends to causes a lot of switches allowing for easy set up but most of these switches are normally Scizors and Tyranitars. When taking into account stealth rock damage Surf normally dents them if they pursuit as I stay in (I think it does half, don't remember).
At first I was a bit wary of CM as I never really liked the lack of Thunderbolt but after much testing I found CM Latias being one of my favs and dealing massive damages, in other words she was my to-go-to Pokemon if I was in a tight spot. Along with Calm Mind Recover adds some life to Latias as she is sometimes quickly worn down if I am facing a heavy offensive team. Before I was running CSLatias to check some key offensive threats, with CM however they find themselves having problems coming in freely and setting up. Surf and Dragon Pulse gives me great coverage against everything not named Empoleon. There is no denying it, Latias is a walking success for this team, My main issue with CSLatias was her lack of attacking power even with Draco Meteor, I also could never use it correctly due to that lack of power in Surf and Thunderbolt. Sacrificing coverage for attacking power has never been an issue with me as things like Empoleon can't exactly come in on a switch easily on other members on the team (I tend to get rid of him quickly) and Blissey is screwed up by Heatran, Salamence, Kingdra and Jirachi, once her and any other special wall is out of the way, I ravage through the opposing team with Latias like a hot knife through butter.
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: **
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Heatran @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Naive [+Spd, -SDef]
` Fire Blast
` Earth Power
` Hidden Power [Grass]
` Taunt
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Comments & Suggestions:
Life Orb Heatran though slow is a real force to be reckoned with, not a lot can safely switch in without receiving heavy damage from Fire Blast (assuming it hits) while being able to deal with Stall better (Blissey can stay in because of Taunt+Explosion), its resistances to many types + the fact that he does not care about sandstorm and Stealth Rock is also a plus. I have tested Expert Belt, Leftovers and Shuca Berry before using Life Orb, I was not really to bothered with beating other Heatran one-on-one (Latias beats him anyway) and bluffing choice scarf is not really my thing, Leftovers worked in healing off SR damage but went with Life Orb as it dealt the most damage to nearly everything (plus it helped me score key kills against things that would otherwise still be alive if I went with the mentioned items.
Against stall this is my main weapon and dealing with SkarmBliss, as I have Taunt Blissey loses her main way of healing off damage from Heatran while losing her chance of ruining him with T-Wave, same deal with Skarmory but I honestly don't know who keeps him in on Heatran. My main issue with Heatran though is that he is slow and is beaten by Lucario, at first Magnezone seemed like the perfect choice as he traps steel types and beats most of the time, but I wanted the fire resist, and a flash fired Heatran is truly a monster, I will be sticking with Heatran for a while. Heatran's weaknesses are somewhat covered by Salamence and Latias (Salamence has SR weakness so I can't rely on him), his speed and weakness to common types can be frustrating but as not much can switch into him (especially with a Flash Fire boost) I guess his power more than makes up for his ridiculously powerful STAB move.
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: ***
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Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spd
Nature: Naive [+Spd, -SDef]
` Dragon Dance
` Fire Blast
` Earthquake
` Dragon Claw
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Comments & Suggestions:
Salamence rounds this team off by arguably being the best dragon in OU right now. I have gone through Mixed Dragon Dancer set to Standard DD with Dragon Claw to DD with Roost to New Mixmence, to Old MixMence and now back to Standard DD, while all of them had their merits, Mix Dancer was walled to death by levitating steel types, DD with Roost lacked the ability to hit both special and physical walls, New MixMence being the best of the bunch in my opinion died quickly when facing stall teams cause of lack of roost, Old Mixmence being as fast as New Mixmence was also meh-ish for me. I have gone back to Standard DD with Claw as not only does not a lot set up on me, it also deals with a nice amount of steel types bar Scizor who would otherwise be able to come in on mence and set up.
As it stands, I hit every type at least neutrally in the game. Fire + Dragon + Ground is a devastating combination, I can't think of any pokemon that can switch in and wall this combo without taking heavy damage from one of my other attacks. I use Dragon Claw instead of Outrage in conjunction with Earthquake to deal with Magnezone and Metagross without becoming set up bait, as Fire Blast can be unreliable for both as one miss can potentially end Salamence's sweep. For Scizor I have to play a big gamble on whether to switch out or risk Fire Blasting him, as Bullet Punch can also end Salamence's sweep. Salamence is the ace card of the team, and of the destructive force of this set, no other triple dragon/steel team is going to be able to do a lot to this guy as their main opening (being Outrage) has been removed.
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Overall Rating
Sex Appeal: ****
Explosiveness: ****
Sweepingness: *****
.::Conclusion::.
Finally at the end X_X, again this team as far as member selection is concerned is not all that different to Tay's team, the team however plays differently to fit my style and has a decent win record, I have hit a dead end with this team and will probably retire it after a couple of games, I have issues with Gyarados and Latias sometimes, when rating please try and stick to the triple dragon/steel strategy only recommend steel types/dragon types, as always I overdid it with the presentation, but meh, I always overdo it (or so people say).
