Hello all!
Turns out Volcarona is the funnest sweeper I've ever used.
Been aaaaages since I last posted an RMT. Totally felt like doing one of these again because, you know, RMT's are cool. And because I happen to be using a team nowadays that has gone through a few iterations and that I like a lot. Here's a team I have grown particularly fond of recently.
By all means click below to see how this team came to be.
Read on to see what each Pokemon actually does!
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
The lead
Protect really is what makes this work so well. Not only does it mean I will not have to suffer from regular Diancie being so slow, it also means that I can always rely on Magic Bounce during the first turn, even against Pokemon that would normally make me want to switch out Diancie, like almost every Steel, Ground, Grass and Water type out there. While his primary role is to keep Stealth Rock off the field for Volcarona and Talonflame, his own 160/160/110 offenses mean that Mega Diancie himself is a valuable asset in the team's offensive prowess and in softening up the opponent to let Volcarona sweep. Moonblast and Diamond Storm make great use of both Mega Diancie's STAB and his mixed sweeping potential, and Earth Power hits Steel types. Max Speed to capitalize on his already great Speed stat, Attack investment to OHKO physically defense Zapdos after Stealth Rock damage.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
The first breaker
Not the hardest hitting breaker one can find but Starmie more than makes up for that in utility, and together with Mega Diancie he is to make sure Volcarona and Talonflame do not have to worry about Stealth Rock. Analytic and Life Orb enhance his offensive skills and max Speed makes him outspeed most of the unboosted metagame. Hydro Pump and Psyshock provide decent STAB, and Psyshock has the added bonus of denting specially defensive Pokemon. Ice Beam provides decent coverage.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
The second breaker
Hydreigon provides less utility than Starmie yes brings more offensive pressure. An all-out attacking set combined with maximum Special Attack and Life Orb are used to capitalize on this. STAB Draco Meteor is one of the best things any special breaker could dream of, and STAB Dark Pulse is nothing to be ashamed of either. Flash Cannon hits Fairy types, and Earth Power is super effective against the Steel types that take my other attacks relatively well.
I have often considered Superpower over Earth Power, hitting Pokemon like Tyranitar and Chansey a fair bit harder. What's holding me back is that that would force me to compromise his bulk, which would be annoying since one of the reasons Hydreigon is on the team are the specific resistances he brings. Furthermore between Diancie's Diamond Storm and Starmie's Psyshock, the mixed sweeping niche is covered pretty well already. And it's not like the rest of my team can't beat Tyranitar or Chansey.
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 140 HP / 112 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
The pivot
Look what I dug up from the depths of RU! Even with minimal defensive investment this thing can switch in against lots of physical attackers and set up Stealth Rock. Preferably against a Dark attack, of course, giving him lovely synergy with Starmie. Volt Switch gives the team momentum, although I would have preferred U-turn on him, to hit harder thanks to its invested Attack stat, and to not be halted by Ground types, but heck one can't be too picky. HP investment makes me survive Excadrill's Earthquake and OHKO him with Close Combat, Attack investment makes me OHKO Mega Gardevoir with Iron Head and 2HKO Ferrothorn and specially defensive Heatran with Close Combat after Stealth Rock damage, all amazing traits. Leftovers because, well, Cobalion's role on the team is a bit more defensive than that of his teammates.
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
The sweeper
The start of it all. If my other Pokemon did their work well, this moth can Quiver Dance and then sweep through the opposing team. Sadly, coverage is always gonna be an issue for Volcarona, so I went for the moves that I think aid his sweeping prowess the most, and let the coverage be taken care of by his teammates. Fire Blast and Bug Buzz get STAB and hit hard, Giga Drain both offers respectable coverage and does a decent job at keeping Volcarona healthy throughout his sweep. Lum Berry allows me to set up against Pokemon that desire to status me, or let me beat Pokemon that try to status me throughout my sweep, especially Prankster Thundurus. The Speed investment lets me outspeed Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance.
Passho Berry is a great option I considered too, allowing me to set up against Water types, great in tandem with Giga Drain. What makes me prefer Lum Berry, is that I can always attempt to take out Water types before attempting to sweep. Taking out status inducers beforehand is a bit harder because I have no way of telling for sure which of my opponent's Pokemon carry a status inducing move.
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
The speed
Best revenge killer in the game. The lack of a Choice Scarf is beneficial for the team's momentum, making him more versatile when he's out and easier to reuse. Priority Brave Bird is what he actually revenge kills with, but Flare Blitz, combined with Speed investment that makes him outpseed Thundurus-I, is nothing to be sneezed at either. Sharp Beak aids in revenge killing with Brave Bird while not hurting Talonflame, and priority Roost makes Talonflame quite sturdy for a revenge killer. Swords Dance is there to turn Talonflame into a Pokemon that can sweep through teams, something Volcarona isn't always gonna do, and more specifically, to threaten Chansey, who is annoyingly good at walling a good portion of my team.
Originally had U-turn over Swords Dance, which made him a voltturn pair with Cobalion and gave the team better momentum, but when Mega Gyarados and Knock Off Landorus-I left the team I had to come up with something to handle Chansey better. I could go back to U-turn and give Superpower Hydreigon a try to battle Chansey with, although I must admit Swords Dance Talonflame works perfectly well as a Chansey counter.
Thoughts
- Even without U-turn on Talonflame I am very happy with the momentum in this team. I know the strength of Choice items and have certainly used them myself, preferably coupled with Volt Switch or U-turn, but having no Pokemon that ever gets Choice locked, other than through the odd Trick, is nice IMO.
- All Pokemon on the team, even those with more supportive roles, apply offensive pressure, Cobalion being the only Pokemon using an Attack stat that's below 100, but STAB Close Combat and Iron Head , Volt Switch and Attack investment make him a respectable offensive threat, especially when I can activate Justified. I can see how something mainly defensive like Skarmory or Ferrothorn can be a huge asset to an offensive team too, but I'm always pleased when all 6 of my Pokemon can directly contribute to the team's offensive tendencies.
Perceived problems
- Stealth Rock. Volcarona and Talonflame are what win me games, and Stealth Rock is what kills them. A combination of Magic Bounce and Rapid Spin can deal with it quite well, granted, but the thing is, I HAVE to deal with it. When my opponent sets up Stealth Rock, or even threatens to, I HAVE to respond. Not beneficial for my momentum. And every so often even Mega Diancie and Starmie will fail to keep Stealth Rock off the field, resulting in Volcarona and Talonflame losing 50% of their HP. Ouch.
- Heatran. Like Stealth Rock, this is something I can deal with. Starmie is a good counter and between Earth Power and Close Combat, Mega Diancie, Hydreigon and Cobalion can deal with him too. The problem is that my 2 finishers can't, and if I don't play my cards right I may end up countered hard by Ancient Power Heatran.
- Chansey. Walls my sweeper Volcarona, as well as the breakers Hydreigon and Starmie, very hard, and can beat him with status, I only have 1 Lum Berry after all. Even STAB Close Combat by Cobalion only does about 50%. Resorted to giving Swords Dance to my revenge killer to deal with the blob.
- Landorus-T. I have no Pokemon that can wall all 3 of Earthquake, Stone Edge and U-turn, 3 common moves found on Landorus-T, so I have to resort to outpredicting him.
- Electricspam. Hydreigon is my one Electric resist and he isn't exactly a wall. The fact so many Pokemon pair an Electric attack with an Ice attack doesn't help.
That's about it
Click below if you desire an importable.
Turns out Volcarona is the funnest sweeper I've ever used.
Been aaaaages since I last posted an RMT. Totally felt like doing one of these again because, you know, RMT's are cool. And because I happen to be using a team nowadays that has gone through a few iterations and that I like a lot. Here's a team I have grown particularly fond of recently.
By all means click below to see how this team came to be.
I came across this link not long before I started working on what came to be this team. Limetless's Smog article about frameworks. Including an offensive one no less, which fitted my play style perfectly. It was written for another generation but heck, everything that was written about the offensive framework looks solid even in the current metagame, so why not give it a go? As such, I set out to get myself a Lead, Breaker 1, Breaker 2, Pivot, Sweeper and Speed, aiming for a fast and offensive team that would grant me a lot of momentum while making sure I wouldn't be run over by any glaring weaknesses.
The sweeper, Volcarona. I remember that long before I started taking teambuilding all that seriously, I had a very soft spot for moves that could reliably and repeatably boost both Speed and Attack/Special Attack. Speed and power are the 2 elements that win speedy offensive teams games, and to have both at your disposal in 1 move and 1 turn, unlike, say, double dancers, and have so in a reliable and repeatable way, unlike, say, White Herb Shell Smash users, is just so appealing to me. The list of moves that do just that is limited to Dragon Dance, Quiver Dance and Shift Gear, the latter being nonexistent in OU. Dragon Dance's great distribution means there are loads of viable physical sweepers for me, while Quiver Dance's poor distribution means there is only 1 special sweeper for me to chose from, who wasn't even OU himself. I was oddly intrigued by this unique status of Volcarona, and just had to give him a chance. And hey, not having to care about Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp is brilliant.
The speed, the revenge killer, Talonflame. This duo has godawful defensive synergy as well as the worst Stealth Rock weakness known to mankind. Then why, god forbid, is Talonflame the second Pokemon to join my team? Because he's the best revenge killer I've ever seen, that's why. The fact he can revenge kill without a Choice Scarf, coupled with U-turn, means he won't make me lose momentum, something users of Choice items struggle with. Furthermore, Talonflame can act like a physical late game finisher, which can be brilliant against the specially defensive Pokemon Volcarona fears. The shortcomings of these 2 will have to be dealt with by their teammates.
The breakers, Latios and Landorus-I. I had to do something about that horrible Stealth Rock weakness, and in my mind Latios is the best offensive hazard remover in the game. He can greatly soften up specially defensive Pokemon to ease Volcarona's sweep, and remove Stealth Rock while at it. Knock Off Landorus-I is a great lure to use alongside a special sweeper, who like Latios eases Volcarona's sweep. I considered mixed Thundurus-I, also with Knock Off, who is very similar to Landorus-I in his luring skills, but I'll be damned if I let this team's Stealth Rock weakness grow any bigger than it already is!
The pivot, Jirachi. Decided to go with a pivot with Stealth Rock because having a Defog user makes leading with Stealth Rock counterproductive. Still had a lot of weaknesses that could do with covering up, and you know, if there's one type that can do just that, it's Steel. Jirachi got the gig because Jirachi is a great offensive pivot that combines the traits I was looking for, resisting the Flying, Rock and Dragon attacks that trouble his teammates.
The lead, Mega Gyarados. I still had some nasty weaknesses going on against Dark, Ghost and Water. Equally, I realized I hadn't used my mega spot yet. Mega Gyarados certainly isn't the first thing I think of when thinking about dedicated leads, but he did work quite well for me. Mostly because of Taunt, which stops many hazard setters in their tracks, further helping Volcarona and Talonflame, and also because of Intimidate, a great ability for a lead.
The new pivot, Cobalion. Similar to Jirachi in that he's a Steel Pokemon with access to Stealth Rock and U-turn/Volt Switch. What he has over Jirachi is a higher Defense and less weaknesses, giving him a lovely group of Pokemon he can safely set up Stealth Rock against. And Justified is just lovely in a metagame where Knock Off is around every corner. This change means the team has no Flying resist anymore, but to be fair, the greatest Flying threat is Talonflame, and Jirachi wasn't exactly gonna wall him. This team's best answer to birdspam is not mega evolving Gyarados and relying on Intimidate.
The new lead and breaker, Mega Diancie and Starmie. Leading with Taunt is good, leading with Magic Bounce is better. Especially against faster Stealth Rock setters. Mega Diancie is the best offensive Mega Bounce user in the game and he is so much better at dealing with birdspam than Gyarados. Starmie became my specially offensive hazard remover over Latios because combining Defog with Stealth Rock of my own just became a bit annoying, and because it seems spinblocking isn't as much of an issue as it was in the previous gen. These changes made me decide to kick out Landorus as well because the team was having an enormous Water weakness, and I wasn't kicking out Volcarona and/or Talonflame as they were both doing exactly what I wanted them to do. As was Cobalion, who could technically be replaced as the Stealth Rock setter by Mega Diancie, but Cobalion just has an easier time fitting it on his moveset.
The final breaker, Hydreigon. The team needed one more breaker to help Volcarona's sweep, while ideally also dealing with the lack of Ghost and Electric resists, as well as with the fact 3 of my Pokemon are weak against Water. Hydreigon is a great special attacker that has exactly the right resistances for this team, so there you have it!
The final change that doesn't involve changing a Pokemon yet was important enough to mention here, I think, was changing U-turn into Swords Dance on my Talonflame. Without Mega Gyarados and Knock Off Landorus, Chansey began walling my team better than I want him to, a problem Swords Dance Talonflame solves. Swapping U-turn for Swords Dance made the team lose some momentum, but I am still quite pleased with the momentum it still has.
The sweeper, Volcarona. I remember that long before I started taking teambuilding all that seriously, I had a very soft spot for moves that could reliably and repeatably boost both Speed and Attack/Special Attack. Speed and power are the 2 elements that win speedy offensive teams games, and to have both at your disposal in 1 move and 1 turn, unlike, say, double dancers, and have so in a reliable and repeatable way, unlike, say, White Herb Shell Smash users, is just so appealing to me. The list of moves that do just that is limited to Dragon Dance, Quiver Dance and Shift Gear, the latter being nonexistent in OU. Dragon Dance's great distribution means there are loads of viable physical sweepers for me, while Quiver Dance's poor distribution means there is only 1 special sweeper for me to chose from, who wasn't even OU himself. I was oddly intrigued by this unique status of Volcarona, and just had to give him a chance. And hey, not having to care about Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp is brilliant.
The speed, the revenge killer, Talonflame. This duo has godawful defensive synergy as well as the worst Stealth Rock weakness known to mankind. Then why, god forbid, is Talonflame the second Pokemon to join my team? Because he's the best revenge killer I've ever seen, that's why. The fact he can revenge kill without a Choice Scarf, coupled with U-turn, means he won't make me lose momentum, something users of Choice items struggle with. Furthermore, Talonflame can act like a physical late game finisher, which can be brilliant against the specially defensive Pokemon Volcarona fears. The shortcomings of these 2 will have to be dealt with by their teammates.
The breakers, Latios and Landorus-I. I had to do something about that horrible Stealth Rock weakness, and in my mind Latios is the best offensive hazard remover in the game. He can greatly soften up specially defensive Pokemon to ease Volcarona's sweep, and remove Stealth Rock while at it. Knock Off Landorus-I is a great lure to use alongside a special sweeper, who like Latios eases Volcarona's sweep. I considered mixed Thundurus-I, also with Knock Off, who is very similar to Landorus-I in his luring skills, but I'll be damned if I let this team's Stealth Rock weakness grow any bigger than it already is!
The pivot, Jirachi. Decided to go with a pivot with Stealth Rock because having a Defog user makes leading with Stealth Rock counterproductive. Still had a lot of weaknesses that could do with covering up, and you know, if there's one type that can do just that, it's Steel. Jirachi got the gig because Jirachi is a great offensive pivot that combines the traits I was looking for, resisting the Flying, Rock and Dragon attacks that trouble his teammates.
The lead, Mega Gyarados. I still had some nasty weaknesses going on against Dark, Ghost and Water. Equally, I realized I hadn't used my mega spot yet. Mega Gyarados certainly isn't the first thing I think of when thinking about dedicated leads, but he did work quite well for me. Mostly because of Taunt, which stops many hazard setters in their tracks, further helping Volcarona and Talonflame, and also because of Intimidate, a great ability for a lead.
The new pivot, Cobalion. Similar to Jirachi in that he's a Steel Pokemon with access to Stealth Rock and U-turn/Volt Switch. What he has over Jirachi is a higher Defense and less weaknesses, giving him a lovely group of Pokemon he can safely set up Stealth Rock against. And Justified is just lovely in a metagame where Knock Off is around every corner. This change means the team has no Flying resist anymore, but to be fair, the greatest Flying threat is Talonflame, and Jirachi wasn't exactly gonna wall him. This team's best answer to birdspam is not mega evolving Gyarados and relying on Intimidate.
The new lead and breaker, Mega Diancie and Starmie. Leading with Taunt is good, leading with Magic Bounce is better. Especially against faster Stealth Rock setters. Mega Diancie is the best offensive Mega Bounce user in the game and he is so much better at dealing with birdspam than Gyarados. Starmie became my specially offensive hazard remover over Latios because combining Defog with Stealth Rock of my own just became a bit annoying, and because it seems spinblocking isn't as much of an issue as it was in the previous gen. These changes made me decide to kick out Landorus as well because the team was having an enormous Water weakness, and I wasn't kicking out Volcarona and/or Talonflame as they were both doing exactly what I wanted them to do. As was Cobalion, who could technically be replaced as the Stealth Rock setter by Mega Diancie, but Cobalion just has an easier time fitting it on his moveset.
The final breaker, Hydreigon. The team needed one more breaker to help Volcarona's sweep, while ideally also dealing with the lack of Ghost and Electric resists, as well as with the fact 3 of my Pokemon are weak against Water. Hydreigon is a great special attacker that has exactly the right resistances for this team, so there you have it!
The final change that doesn't involve changing a Pokemon yet was important enough to mention here, I think, was changing U-turn into Swords Dance on my Talonflame. Without Mega Gyarados and Knock Off Landorus, Chansey began walling my team better than I want him to, a problem Swords Dance Talonflame solves. Swapping U-turn for Swords Dance made the team lose some momentum, but I am still quite pleased with the momentum it still has.
Read on to see what each Pokemon actually does!
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
The lead
Protect really is what makes this work so well. Not only does it mean I will not have to suffer from regular Diancie being so slow, it also means that I can always rely on Magic Bounce during the first turn, even against Pokemon that would normally make me want to switch out Diancie, like almost every Steel, Ground, Grass and Water type out there. While his primary role is to keep Stealth Rock off the field for Volcarona and Talonflame, his own 160/160/110 offenses mean that Mega Diancie himself is a valuable asset in the team's offensive prowess and in softening up the opponent to let Volcarona sweep. Moonblast and Diamond Storm make great use of both Mega Diancie's STAB and his mixed sweeping potential, and Earth Power hits Steel types. Max Speed to capitalize on his already great Speed stat, Attack investment to OHKO physically defense Zapdos after Stealth Rock damage.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
The first breaker
Not the hardest hitting breaker one can find but Starmie more than makes up for that in utility, and together with Mega Diancie he is to make sure Volcarona and Talonflame do not have to worry about Stealth Rock. Analytic and Life Orb enhance his offensive skills and max Speed makes him outspeed most of the unboosted metagame. Hydro Pump and Psyshock provide decent STAB, and Psyshock has the added bonus of denting specially defensive Pokemon. Ice Beam provides decent coverage.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
The second breaker
Hydreigon provides less utility than Starmie yes brings more offensive pressure. An all-out attacking set combined with maximum Special Attack and Life Orb are used to capitalize on this. STAB Draco Meteor is one of the best things any special breaker could dream of, and STAB Dark Pulse is nothing to be ashamed of either. Flash Cannon hits Fairy types, and Earth Power is super effective against the Steel types that take my other attacks relatively well.
I have often considered Superpower over Earth Power, hitting Pokemon like Tyranitar and Chansey a fair bit harder. What's holding me back is that that would force me to compromise his bulk, which would be annoying since one of the reasons Hydreigon is on the team are the specific resistances he brings. Furthermore between Diancie's Diamond Storm and Starmie's Psyshock, the mixed sweeping niche is covered pretty well already. And it's not like the rest of my team can't beat Tyranitar or Chansey.
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 140 HP / 112 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
The pivot
Look what I dug up from the depths of RU! Even with minimal defensive investment this thing can switch in against lots of physical attackers and set up Stealth Rock. Preferably against a Dark attack, of course, giving him lovely synergy with Starmie. Volt Switch gives the team momentum, although I would have preferred U-turn on him, to hit harder thanks to its invested Attack stat, and to not be halted by Ground types, but heck one can't be too picky. HP investment makes me survive Excadrill's Earthquake and OHKO him with Close Combat, Attack investment makes me OHKO Mega Gardevoir with Iron Head and 2HKO Ferrothorn and specially defensive Heatran with Close Combat after Stealth Rock damage, all amazing traits. Leftovers because, well, Cobalion's role on the team is a bit more defensive than that of his teammates.
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
The sweeper
The start of it all. If my other Pokemon did their work well, this moth can Quiver Dance and then sweep through the opposing team. Sadly, coverage is always gonna be an issue for Volcarona, so I went for the moves that I think aid his sweeping prowess the most, and let the coverage be taken care of by his teammates. Fire Blast and Bug Buzz get STAB and hit hard, Giga Drain both offers respectable coverage and does a decent job at keeping Volcarona healthy throughout his sweep. Lum Berry allows me to set up against Pokemon that desire to status me, or let me beat Pokemon that try to status me throughout my sweep, especially Prankster Thundurus. The Speed investment lets me outspeed Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance.
Passho Berry is a great option I considered too, allowing me to set up against Water types, great in tandem with Giga Drain. What makes me prefer Lum Berry, is that I can always attempt to take out Water types before attempting to sweep. Taking out status inducers beforehand is a bit harder because I have no way of telling for sure which of my opponent's Pokemon carry a status inducing move.
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
The speed
Best revenge killer in the game. The lack of a Choice Scarf is beneficial for the team's momentum, making him more versatile when he's out and easier to reuse. Priority Brave Bird is what he actually revenge kills with, but Flare Blitz, combined with Speed investment that makes him outpseed Thundurus-I, is nothing to be sneezed at either. Sharp Beak aids in revenge killing with Brave Bird while not hurting Talonflame, and priority Roost makes Talonflame quite sturdy for a revenge killer. Swords Dance is there to turn Talonflame into a Pokemon that can sweep through teams, something Volcarona isn't always gonna do, and more specifically, to threaten Chansey, who is annoyingly good at walling a good portion of my team.
Originally had U-turn over Swords Dance, which made him a voltturn pair with Cobalion and gave the team better momentum, but when Mega Gyarados and Knock Off Landorus-I left the team I had to come up with something to handle Chansey better. I could go back to U-turn and give Superpower Hydreigon a try to battle Chansey with, although I must admit Swords Dance Talonflame works perfectly well as a Chansey counter.
Thoughts
- Even without U-turn on Talonflame I am very happy with the momentum in this team. I know the strength of Choice items and have certainly used them myself, preferably coupled with Volt Switch or U-turn, but having no Pokemon that ever gets Choice locked, other than through the odd Trick, is nice IMO.
- All Pokemon on the team, even those with more supportive roles, apply offensive pressure, Cobalion being the only Pokemon using an Attack stat that's below 100, but STAB Close Combat and Iron Head , Volt Switch and Attack investment make him a respectable offensive threat, especially when I can activate Justified. I can see how something mainly defensive like Skarmory or Ferrothorn can be a huge asset to an offensive team too, but I'm always pleased when all 6 of my Pokemon can directly contribute to the team's offensive tendencies.
Perceived problems
- Stealth Rock. Volcarona and Talonflame are what win me games, and Stealth Rock is what kills them. A combination of Magic Bounce and Rapid Spin can deal with it quite well, granted, but the thing is, I HAVE to deal with it. When my opponent sets up Stealth Rock, or even threatens to, I HAVE to respond. Not beneficial for my momentum. And every so often even Mega Diancie and Starmie will fail to keep Stealth Rock off the field, resulting in Volcarona and Talonflame losing 50% of their HP. Ouch.
- Heatran. Like Stealth Rock, this is something I can deal with. Starmie is a good counter and between Earth Power and Close Combat, Mega Diancie, Hydreigon and Cobalion can deal with him too. The problem is that my 2 finishers can't, and if I don't play my cards right I may end up countered hard by Ancient Power Heatran.
- Chansey. Walls my sweeper Volcarona, as well as the breakers Hydreigon and Starmie, very hard, and can beat him with status, I only have 1 Lum Berry after all. Even STAB Close Combat by Cobalion only does about 50%. Resorted to giving Swords Dance to my revenge killer to deal with the blob.
- Landorus-T. I have no Pokemon that can wall all 3 of Earthquake, Stone Edge and U-turn, 3 common moves found on Landorus-T, so I have to resort to outpredicting him.
- Electricspam. Hydreigon is my one Electric resist and he isn't exactly a wall. The fact so many Pokemon pair an Electric attack with an Ice attack doesn't help.
That's about it
Click below if you desire an importable.
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 140 HP / 112 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 140 HP / 112 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
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