Six Paths of Pain - tobi10     
IntroductionI made this team in 2011 after being greatly influenced by my friend, panamaxis. This set of six Pokemon helped me win Sinnoh Cup, beating every player I faced against, except for user Iconic. My team has pretty standard Pokemon but with really weird sets, which I think is mostly the reason of its success. I started off with Celebi + Dugtrio, a combination I fell in love with, thanks to pana! Heatran has great synergy with Celebi which means that I can play around those two, as well, so I added him. It happens that Celebi tends to attract Pokemon that are easily trapped by Dugtrio, like Blissey, Heatran, or Tyranitar (which are all counters to my main sweeper, Zapdos.) I had this new Zapdos set I have been playing around for some time, and I decided to give it a try with this team. I added Starmie because he is a good stall-breaker and can help Zapdos sweeping by removing Stealth Rock / crippling Blissey. I knew that my last Pokemon was going to be a revenge killer, so I chose one of the best ones in the metagame, Raikou. I never expected this team to be so solid, or effective as it was, and this is in fact my best team ever created - I felt the need to honour it with a rate my team, and a special one, my retirement from Pokemon RMT. The Team
Starmie @ Choice Specs Starmie is an excellent anti-lead; not only he can cripple opposing leads, he can also spin away their valuable Stealth Rock / (Toxic) Spikes. If I am forced out, then I still have a very potent offensive force with my, because a Specs Hydro Pump hurts a lot, even when it is resisted. I usually use Trick on the Stealth Rock, then Rapid Spin on the switch. If I am forced out I can spam Hydro Pump / Psychic later in the game, or if I am facing a stall-team, try to get a Trick on Blissey. Starmie is very valuable for the team because it performs much better without having to deal with residual damage. My combination of Water and Psychic might seem strange but it actually has good coverage, and I can still 2HKO Shaymin and Rotom-A with Physic. This guy is my favorite lead, and my only concern are Azelf because they are usually Band or Scarf (if I win the speed tie I OHKO, but the same can be said for them, so I usually do not risk Starmie and just switch to Heatran vs Azelf.)
Heatran @ Shuca Berry I think that Heatran is the most "normal" Pokemon on my team, because it has a standard set. I do not care, because it really works very nicely! Heatran can easily switch in on Spikers and set up Stealth Rock, which is its main job. After that its roles include luring Tyranitar, other Heatran, and Swampert. Having these Pokemon weakened help Zapdos (or even Raikou in the right conditions) to clean the game in the end. Stealth Rock is necessary for my team, especially since specially because I do not use Spikes. I like the power of Fire Blast, but I ended up switching it because I missed too much. Earth Power is standard and is used to remove Shuca Berry from Heatran and weakening Tyranitar (which makes Dugtrios job easier) and Explosion is a last resort move I can use to get a switch-in without taking damage or just deal lots of damage when I am low on health. There is not much to say about Heatran, except that he is cool.
Celebi @ Leftovers Celebi has been a favorite of mine since Silver / Gold, and it is part of the main core of my team (formed between Starmie and Heatran.) With this set I can hit very hard with Leaf Storm or Hidden Power, and still be bulky enough to take on guys like Gyarados, Suicune and Rotom-A. Celebi is just pretty awesome I cannot describe it. Leaf Storm hits really hard is a STAB move that actually does heavy damage to Rotom and Vaporeon. Hidden Power allows me to hit Skarmory, Forretress, Scizor, and other Grass types like Celebi and Shaymin for pretty good damage. With Recover I can keep alive longer throughout the game, which is very good for me, and finally U-Turn lets me scout to gain momentum and send Dugtrio unharmed against most of the Pokemon that Celebi attract. I love Celebi.
Dugtrio @ Choice Band Dugtrio is not the sweeper of this team, but without it I would not be able to win. He is my secret weapon used to eliminate Zapdoss counters. I like how it is almost guaranteed to get at least one kill during a match, and an important one, like Heatran, Tyranitar, Jirachi, or Blissey. He usually switches in undamaged because of Celebis U-Turn, which makes things even easier for him. Earthquake and Stone Edge give me pretty good coverage and are the moves I find myself using the most. The other two are just fillers in case I catch a Scarf Rotom using Trick / Tbolt or to revenge kill Breloom or Heracross. This guy traps and takes out the bad guys to let my Zapdos sweep, he is a real team player!
Raikou @ Choice Scarf I have been using Scarf Raikou since early 2011, but I never took him seriously because he lacked a reliable fourth move; this changed with the introduction of Aura Sphere, though! Now I found myself able to revenge kill Tyranitar and Lucario, as well as hitting Magnezone and Heatran for Super Effective damage, which is just priceless on a Scarf user. With Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice I get nearly perfect coverage to revenge kill stuff like Gyarados and Dragonite if they manage to set up. Since Celebi is slow, I can U-Turn after my opponent which allows me to see if they attack or set up, so I can send Raikou undamaged. Raikou is in my opinion the best Scarfer in the game at the moment, with its high speed, special attack, bulk and coverage.
Zapdos @ Life Orb This set is the definition of badassery! After and Agility I can outspeed even Scarf Flygon and OHKO him with Hidden Power. Late game with its counters gone, there is not much that can stop this beast. This is probably the most anti-metagame sweeper there is at the moment, because he tears FWG cores easily, and damage the common fillers of those teams, Dragon and Steel. Zapdos is not only really fast after an Agility, he is actually very strong and bulky too (I can even recover LO / Sand damage with Roost!) Zapdos is my favorite sweeper and I made this team around him, I owe it so much. ImportableConclusionThanks for everything, and goodbye everyone! |