For lack of a better name.
Introduction:
Sometimes, the team you set out to build doesn't work out quite like you wanted it to. Both this team, and my previous team both ended up not using the first Pokemon I added. Luckily for me, the changes to this team were for the better. So, despite things not turning out how I had planned, I've ended up with probably my best team to date.
Team-Building Process
I started off with SD Virizion because I heard he was a great threat to Rain teams.
Next, I added Gastrodon to complete the destruction of rain teams. Gastrodon also walled Rain Jirachi and Dragonite, two Pokemon that gave my previous team trouble.
Then, Heatran was added as a check to Sun teams.
Later, Skarmory was added as a Physical wall.
Jirachi was added to counter some more Special threats such as Tornadus and Reuniclus.
In order to check Mixnape, Toxicroak, and Sun teams further, I added Latios.
I stuck with this line-up for a while and it did fairly well, but it came to my attention that Terrakion and Gyarados could dominate my team and Virizion didn't really add to much, so I replaced Jirachi and Virizion with Scizor and Ferrothorn, respectively. These new Pokemon could do pretty much the same jobs as their predecessors, in addition to covering my previous threats.
After finding out that Lucario could sweep Skarmory, I added Gengar, who could do pretty much the same thing that Latios was doing, in addition to checking Luke.
After playing around a bit, I decided to replace Gengar with Dragonite to further check Sun teams. I changed Heatran to Scarftran to cover the things that Gengar checked. Now I'm not swept by Sun teams with Ground coverage moves, but am weaker to Ice Punch Toxicroak.
I switched Skarmory and Scizor for Gliscor and Spiritomb. I wanted to be able to switch something into Terrakion's attacks, so I replaced Scizor and Skarmory, who did about the same thing as Gliscor. Then, I added Spiritomb to cover the Fighting types and Reuniclus that gave Gliscor trouble. Now I can switch into Terrakion's attacks, have more offense with taunt+sd, and can spread burns. However, I lose out on Scizor's scouting/revenge killing and Skarmory's hazards/phazing.
I replaced Gliscor with Slowbro to better check Landorus.
I didn't need Gastrodon anymore, but did need a spinner, so Tentacruel was added.
The Team:
Ferrothorn (F)
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
Description: Ferrothorn is here to check Latios, Gyarados, Kingdra, and other various Water and Dragon types that Gliscor and Gastrodon need help taking down. SR is for wearing down opponents; especially sun teams. I have been considering running T-Wave over Gyro Ball, but I'm pretty iffy about it. T-Wave lets me spread status around; slowing down and sometimes stopping my opponent from moving. Gyro Ball lets me hit fast, boosted Pokemon harder than Power Whip; like Dragons after a Dragon Dance. I run SR on her because she can continue to set up rocks on Starmie while wearing it down with Iron Barbs. She's female in case of people who try to catch me off-guard with Rivalry Haxorus. At least one of her weaknesses to Fire and Fighting is taken care of by the rest of the team.
Heatran (M)
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spa / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
Description: Heatran is my main Sun check. He also functions as a revenge killer. I used to run a Specially Defensive set, but switched to Scarftran to check things like Hydreigon, Infernape, and out-speeds Ninetales and unboosted Volcarona. I tried Overheat, but switched to Fire Blast because I was tired of being used as set-up-bait. I have HP rock for Volcarona. Dragon Pulse is for Dragons like Hydreigon. Earth Power is mostly filler, but it does let me hit opposing Heatrans. I'm considering running HP Grass now that I have Dragonite, but for now I'm keeping HP Rock to check Volcarona with HP Rock. Similar to Ferrothorn, at least one of his weaknesses to Water, Fighting, and Ground is covered by each member of the rest of the team.
Tentacruel (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
Description: After reaching the acceptance stage of grief, I knew it was time to replace my useless Gastrodon. Ferrothorn was doing everything Gastrodon was doing, except hope to burn Scizor with Scald and check Gengar. I'd been getting tired of hazards, so Tentacruel was the perfect fit. Not only was Tentacruel a spinner that could check Gengar, but he's also a bulky Water with access to Toxic Spikes. I run 40 SPE EVs to outrun people who think they're cool by having 80 SPE EVs on their Gliscors, while still having some Physical bulk. I have Liquid Ooze because I don't run Rain and it's to troll some Giga Drain users. At least one of his weaknesses to Electric, Psychic, and Ground are covered by each member of the rest of my team.
Dragonite (M)
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Description: I got tired of being trolled by Sun teams with Ground coverage moves. I was recommended to switch Gengar for Dragonite. Now that I run Heatran, the only things Gengar was contributing were spin-blocking and checking SubPunch Toxicroak. I felt that having a better check against Sun teams was worth it, so Dragonite was added. I'm unsure of what set to use and would appreciate feedback. For now, I'm going with Bulky DD because of personal preference. I've decided to use bulky EVs to wall Volcarona/Ninetales/Venusaur longer and still be able to sweep. I'm going with EQ over Fire Punch because Skarmory/Bronzong/Ferrothorn are easier to take care of than Heatran for my team, not to mention that I don't have max Attack Outrage. I also have Lum to save sweeps, but might use Lefties. His Ice and Dragon weaknesses are covered by Heatran, Slowbro, and Ferrothorn.
Slowbro (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
Description: While I was able to handle Landorus by switching to Heatran when an HP Ice was going to occur, having a more reliable check was much better. Slowbro is my go-to Physical wall, while also having nice offensive prowess. I use Slowbro to check many Fighting types such as Conkeldurr, Lucario, Terrakion, etc, in addition to other Physical threats like Metagross and Landorus. I have Flamethrower to make up for replacing Gliscor by killing Scizor. With Slack Off, Regenerator, and Leftovers, Slowbro gets insane ammounts of recovery. His weaknesses to Bug, Dark, Electric, and Grass are covered by Heatran, Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, and Dragonite.
Spiritomb (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
Description: Spiritomb is an interesting Pokemon. I primarily use him to check Toxicroak and Scrafty while trolling Reuniclus all day. Spiritomb also helps me keep SR up by spin-blocking. I'd liken Spiritomb to Reuniclus. The two have the same bulk, iirc. The pros of Reuniclus are CM, Recover, and Magic Guard. Meanwhile, the pros of Spiritomb are better Defensive and Offensive typing in addition to WOW. I run just enough IVs to be slower than Conkeldurr and still have 70 BP HP Fighting. I used to run Pain Split, but never used it. Taunt it much better for checking BU Scrafty, which used to be a pain.
Closing
Well, that's it. Thanks for taking the time to look at my team. This is the best team I've made to date, with no major flaws. I conveniently left out the part where I tried about three Celetran variations during team-builing.
