However, my team has some serious problems.
Most notable, is the complete lack of steel types.
This opens up several dire problems for this offensive team. The most notable of these is dragons (salamence). I can't switch into any of it's powerful dragon attacks (draco meteor, outrage).
Another pokemon with which I have tremendous problems (but thankfully it shows up relatively rarely when compared to salamence, but on an apparently increasing frequency) is yanmega. Steels resist both of yanmega's STAB, as well as some of the common hidden powers (but not ground). My lack of them is almost certainly behind my yanmega weakness.
Obomasnow is the third pokemon that gives me issues.
Gengar may also cause some problems, although I can revenge kill (but normally it is smart enoug to simply switch).
Another thing to note about my team is that not a single pokemon can set up. I don't have a single stat up move. This gives me greater speed and fluidity in attacking and switching around, but prevents me from ever being able to pull off a sweep.
Perhaps it is also interesting that I have three water types.
Neither of these notes is something I necessarilly want to keep, but something that simply happened through the team building process.
I also lack a sleep absorber.
Perhaps I have a toxic spikes weekness.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
Perhaps this is another issue: I've been critisized for it in the past (when I played IPL, he laughed, for example). I do not use it as a typical rapid spinner however, but I utilize it more as a fast sweeper who can also counter most water types, and can spin on switches.
Aerodactyl, Infernape, Heatran, and Hippowdon leads are all leads that I have a good match up against.
Against Yanmega leads I t-bolt on turn one to note which abilitiy it has, and then struggle to respond accordingly no matter what ability it has. For tinted lens I'd switch to salamence and outrage, being faster (although I'd take ~67% switching in),
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Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/6 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
Due to max speed evs I can revenge kill outraging salamences, and even those that aren't that assume they're faster because they have a DD. Assuming they didn't max speed themselves, in which case it is a coin flip.
It is also my gyarados counter, being able to come in on the DD and outspeed and nearly kill with outrage (KO with stealth rocks). I only use stone edge when I'm confident my opponent will switch, so as not to be locked into outrage (typical for when the gyarados didn't DD on the switch). Stone edge has missed far to often against gyarados.
Revenge killer.
Stealth rock hurts it tremendously.
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Heracross (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Guts
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Night Slash
Second revenge killer. Also serves as status absorber, something powerful to bring in on blissey, and something that normally can scare celebi's ugly face away.
I should really put pursuit on here, although I worry that I'd then have issues against gengar if I lose night slash. I haven't tested it yet so I can't determine which would have greater usefulness.
This replaced scizor.
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Gyarados (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Stone Edge
CBdos. Counters bulky ground types (including swampert who takes ~40%), bronzong, and other physical tanks in general (skarmory takes ~40%; a flinch means it loses).
Does 75% to many zapdos coming in with waterfall.
Very powerful due to it's excellent attacking type, and can come in attack, and then switch freely due to the choice band not require any setting up.
Stealth rock hurts it tremendously.
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Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/54 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Surf
The staple of the team currently, in that this is what I switch to if I don't know what else to do. Stealth rock is of course crucial. Mixpert is far superior to physical pert despite weaker earthquake due to the more powerful water and ice attacks that are, more importantly, aimed at the weaker defensive stat of their opponents from mixpert. Bulky grounds crumble much faster under pressure from surf then waterfall, skarmory can be scared away... Overall a great asset, although recently I've acquired a fear of metagross that makes me not want to switch this mud fish in on the metalic monster anymore; stealth rocking on the switch and then exploding seams like all to severe a loss (or worse yet, grass knot, leaving the metagross in tact).
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Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 114 HP/252 Atk/88 Spd/56 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
CBlax wasn't cutting it anymore, due to getting walled by the likes of celebi, vaporeon, and many other physical walls.
The irony was intentional in that Tyranitar is actually weak to the STABs of both these pokemon, to illistrate how much more powerful Tyranitar is. He can physically crush many walls, and thus often tears through things that let my faster pokemon sweep. Somewhat of a counter to slow things.
I'm considering more sp. def (and less HP) to provide greater durability against many of the special threats I try to bring it in on.
What sort of steels could I fit in? Metagross?
Though, that wouldn't really help the yanmega problem.
What sort of other modifications would be recomended?
Threat list:
Scizor: Gyarados, although salamence can serve as back up, and starmie can revenge kill (surf does 60%). Three water types means that it's bullet punch sweeping ability is limmited.
Heatran: Swampert is normally my first switch in (especially if I haven't set up the rocks yet), gyarados, tyranitar, salamence, starmie. Heracross can revenge kill.
Salamence: ...swampert is 2HKOed by mixed wall breaker salamence, but that is honestly the best I have. I can revenge kill with salamence, gyarados, and heracross.
Tyranitar: Swampert, gyarados as back up. Heracross can revenge kill.
Zapdos: Normally I play around to try and find out what hidden power it has, if at all. Without grass I can wall it with swampert. Tyranitar forces it to switch. Often zapdos has a somewhat hard time coming in against most of my pokemon, so this tends to work. With some health missing, starmie, salamence, and heracross can all revenge kill, while it can't come in on tyranitar or gyarados STAB attacks.
Blissey: Only walls starmie, which gives me a perfect oppurtunity to spin, recover, and then bring in heracross. Swampert walled somewhat, and I believe blissey wins one on one, but I can simply switch.
Infernape: Salamence, gyarados, swampert, starmie. Heracross can also revenge kill.
Lucario: Gyarados, salamence. This has in the past posed problems, although nothing major recently. If at much health heracross can revenge kill.
Rotom-A: Defensive rotom can be unbelievably bothersome, with will-o-wisp, but normally I can still damage it heavily with tyranitar. My normal status absorber in heracross can't really do much, and tyranitar doesn't outrun this as it does dusknoir.
Gengar: Causes problems; can't really switch anything into it; I normally try to bring salamence in if I think I can do so without getting it put to sleep.
Metagross: If one came up with thunderpunch/grassknot/meteor mash/ice punch I'd have severe problems. Thankfully none have such a moveset. I have a fairly hard time switching around it, due to it's immunity to intimidate. I used to switch to swampert, but not I favor gyarados, followed by salamence.
Swampert: Gyarados, otherwise takes huge beatings from the rest of my team lacking resistances to most of my team, and lacks a recovery move, so it doesn't cause problems.
Bronzong: Hypnosis is annoying, otherwise it can't do anything effective. Gyarados can quickly finnish it, especially as bronzong normally appears early. If a lead, starmie can take significant chunks off. Natural cure can then also help my try and take advantage of hypnosis's poor accuracy.
Celebi: Very annoying, due to t-wave (I have no absorber other then swampert which I wont bring near that grass type) and recovery move. Can come in on the three water types and scare them away, cripple salamence with t-wave and then stall with recover, perhaps even come in on tyranitar stone edge if it predicts well enough, and has been known to come in on heracross close combats (or stay in on a heracross I brought in by predicting my prediction of a switch to a fighting-weak pokemon like they did earlier in the game), and proceede to cripple it. I have only two ways of dealing with it, which is predicting it's switch with gyarados and ice fanging, or trying to revenge kill with tyranitar (who takes ~52% from grass knot).
Jirachi: Swampert; salamence can revenge kill, and depending on the set (presence of t-bolt or iron head) I can respond with other pokemon accordingly.
Azelf: Potentially annoying; against leads I surf and then rapid spin, hoping to win the speed tie, and spinning away the rocks before it explodes. Otherwise a third of my team is faster, and can OHKO (although can't necessarilly come in that well), tyranitar can resit most everything it throws at it (even surviving explosions), and starmie gets at least the coin flip.
Vaporeon: Potentially very annoying, due to my high number of water types. Especially if it has HP: electric. Starmie can do significant damage with t-bolt, normally scaring it away, tyranitar always wins one on one, and heracross can sometimes scare it (at least, if it has absorbed status). Discouraging the use of gyarados's waterfall, and being able to easily come in on any of swampert's attacks, make it potentially very annoying in theory, although normally I can deal with it. I still fear this more then other non-bold pokmeon.
Machamp: Other then confusion hax, it can't do to much normally. Gyarados takes of 60%, and I can play around with switches between swampert and gyarados, eventually forcing a switch due to intimidate.
Suicune: T-bolt from starmie is normally significant. Sometimes I get scared if it pulls off a rest, but normally powerful cb hits can do enough to wear it down so that I can bring tank dow.
Kingdra: Unless its raining or it has a couple of DDs salamence can revenge kill. Gyarados does over 50% with earthquake, and cuts off an attack boost while coming in.
Gliscor: Half of my team can easily dispatch it (the three water types). Can come in on heracross with impunity, and can scare tyranitar away, but that normally isn't bothersome as swampert is very easy to bring in and gliscor really can't do much other then stealth rock.
Breloom: This may be an offense team, but this is still very annoying when it first comes in (typically on swampert). That forces me to switch (in fear of seed bomb), as it isn't worth the risk to keep swampert in. If it spores, then I have to switch again, giving it a substitute. Normally I switch to gyarados first (hoping it spores), and then to salamence. Generally this forces it to switch (-2 attack, and salamence resists both stabs), but if it instead substitutes imediately, and outspeeds gyarados (as is typical) and spores, it only has -1 attack when I bring in salamence, and has a sub up. Although I can still force it to switch. Breloom has a really hard time doing much after that due to already having slept something. This all falls apart if I'd already lost salamence early. Most importantly, no matter the scenario, I lose a pokemon (to sleep).
Togekiss: Flinch hax can be annoying, swampert is my best answer, but is still very vulnerable to flinch hax, not taking special hits very well. Especially if it has roost. No really good answer.
Skarmory: Can't really do anything other then come in on resisted attacks from choice item users. Heracross is the only pokemon that can't beat it one on one if they come in together.
Weavile: Many lack ice shard, so they lose even to salamence. Swampert comes in easily, and gyarados doesn't have to much of a problem. Heracross also easily beats one on one.
Magnezone: I lack steels, so it can't really do anything other then come in on an outraging salamence. Even starmie can revenge when around 50% health, as it outspeeds even scarf variants. Heracross and salamence do a good job revenge killing as well.
Electivire: Swampert comes in, however, if swampert is gone, I have a much harder time. Normally I have to resort to pivoting to get something in safely so that I can threaten to outspeed and OHKO. Heracross isn't weak to any of it's attacks on the "it's supereffective" set, but I've seen a flamethrower before.
Flygon: Swampert normally comes in. Lacks the frightening power of salamence, so gyarados can also normally come in.
Mamoswine: Can be annoying, but normally not to bad, other then killing salamence after it outrages. All the waters can hit it for supereffective with their STAB, as can heracross (but it did take 52% from an ice shard once, so I have to be at high health).
Snorlax: Heracross cannot come in on CB variants, so I normally have to switch to gyarados, which has the benefit of intimidating. If I can switch something in safely heracross can threaten CC.
Hippowdon: I have three water types that can each scare it, so it is normally incapable of doing to much. Even a heracross can do over 50% (if poisoned).
...I think that should be enough threats for now.
Opinions?
Suggestions?
Most notable, is the complete lack of steel types.
This opens up several dire problems for this offensive team. The most notable of these is dragons (salamence). I can't switch into any of it's powerful dragon attacks (draco meteor, outrage).
Another pokemon with which I have tremendous problems (but thankfully it shows up relatively rarely when compared to salamence, but on an apparently increasing frequency) is yanmega. Steels resist both of yanmega's STAB, as well as some of the common hidden powers (but not ground). My lack of them is almost certainly behind my yanmega weakness.
Obomasnow is the third pokemon that gives me issues.
Gengar may also cause some problems, although I can revenge kill (but normally it is smart enoug to simply switch).
Another thing to note about my team is that not a single pokemon can set up. I don't have a single stat up move. This gives me greater speed and fluidity in attacking and switching around, but prevents me from ever being able to pull off a sweep.
Perhaps it is also interesting that I have three water types.
Neither of these notes is something I necessarilly want to keep, but something that simply happened through the team building process.
I also lack a sleep absorber.
Perhaps I have a toxic spikes weekness.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
Perhaps this is another issue: I've been critisized for it in the past (when I played IPL, he laughed, for example). I do not use it as a typical rapid spinner however, but I utilize it more as a fast sweeper who can also counter most water types, and can spin on switches.
Aerodactyl, Infernape, Heatran, and Hippowdon leads are all leads that I have a good match up against.
Against Yanmega leads I t-bolt on turn one to note which abilitiy it has, and then struggle to respond accordingly no matter what ability it has. For tinted lens I'd switch to salamence and outrage, being faster (although I'd take ~67% switching in),
---
Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/6 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
Due to max speed evs I can revenge kill outraging salamences, and even those that aren't that assume they're faster because they have a DD. Assuming they didn't max speed themselves, in which case it is a coin flip.
It is also my gyarados counter, being able to come in on the DD and outspeed and nearly kill with outrage (KO with stealth rocks). I only use stone edge when I'm confident my opponent will switch, so as not to be locked into outrage (typical for when the gyarados didn't DD on the switch). Stone edge has missed far to often against gyarados.
Revenge killer.
Stealth rock hurts it tremendously.
---
Heracross (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Guts
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Night Slash
Second revenge killer. Also serves as status absorber, something powerful to bring in on blissey, and something that normally can scare celebi's ugly face away.
I should really put pursuit on here, although I worry that I'd then have issues against gengar if I lose night slash. I haven't tested it yet so I can't determine which would have greater usefulness.
This replaced scizor.
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Gyarados (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Stone Edge
CBdos. Counters bulky ground types (including swampert who takes ~40%), bronzong, and other physical tanks in general (skarmory takes ~40%; a flinch means it loses).
Does 75% to many zapdos coming in with waterfall.
Very powerful due to it's excellent attacking type, and can come in attack, and then switch freely due to the choice band not require any setting up.
Stealth rock hurts it tremendously.
---
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/54 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Surf
The staple of the team currently, in that this is what I switch to if I don't know what else to do. Stealth rock is of course crucial. Mixpert is far superior to physical pert despite weaker earthquake due to the more powerful water and ice attacks that are, more importantly, aimed at the weaker defensive stat of their opponents from mixpert. Bulky grounds crumble much faster under pressure from surf then waterfall, skarmory can be scared away... Overall a great asset, although recently I've acquired a fear of metagross that makes me not want to switch this mud fish in on the metalic monster anymore; stealth rocking on the switch and then exploding seams like all to severe a loss (or worse yet, grass knot, leaving the metagross in tact).
---
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 114 HP/252 Atk/88 Spd/56 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
CBlax wasn't cutting it anymore, due to getting walled by the likes of celebi, vaporeon, and many other physical walls.
The irony was intentional in that Tyranitar is actually weak to the STABs of both these pokemon, to illistrate how much more powerful Tyranitar is. He can physically crush many walls, and thus often tears through things that let my faster pokemon sweep. Somewhat of a counter to slow things.
I'm considering more sp. def (and less HP) to provide greater durability against many of the special threats I try to bring it in on.
What sort of steels could I fit in? Metagross?
Though, that wouldn't really help the yanmega problem.
What sort of other modifications would be recomended?
Threat list:
Scizor: Gyarados, although salamence can serve as back up, and starmie can revenge kill (surf does 60%). Three water types means that it's bullet punch sweeping ability is limmited.
Heatran: Swampert is normally my first switch in (especially if I haven't set up the rocks yet), gyarados, tyranitar, salamence, starmie. Heracross can revenge kill.
Salamence: ...swampert is 2HKOed by mixed wall breaker salamence, but that is honestly the best I have. I can revenge kill with salamence, gyarados, and heracross.
Tyranitar: Swampert, gyarados as back up. Heracross can revenge kill.
Zapdos: Normally I play around to try and find out what hidden power it has, if at all. Without grass I can wall it with swampert. Tyranitar forces it to switch. Often zapdos has a somewhat hard time coming in against most of my pokemon, so this tends to work. With some health missing, starmie, salamence, and heracross can all revenge kill, while it can't come in on tyranitar or gyarados STAB attacks.
Blissey: Only walls starmie, which gives me a perfect oppurtunity to spin, recover, and then bring in heracross. Swampert walled somewhat, and I believe blissey wins one on one, but I can simply switch.
Infernape: Salamence, gyarados, swampert, starmie. Heracross can also revenge kill.
Lucario: Gyarados, salamence. This has in the past posed problems, although nothing major recently. If at much health heracross can revenge kill.
Rotom-A: Defensive rotom can be unbelievably bothersome, with will-o-wisp, but normally I can still damage it heavily with tyranitar. My normal status absorber in heracross can't really do much, and tyranitar doesn't outrun this as it does dusknoir.
Gengar: Causes problems; can't really switch anything into it; I normally try to bring salamence in if I think I can do so without getting it put to sleep.
Metagross: If one came up with thunderpunch/grassknot/meteor mash/ice punch I'd have severe problems. Thankfully none have such a moveset. I have a fairly hard time switching around it, due to it's immunity to intimidate. I used to switch to swampert, but not I favor gyarados, followed by salamence.
Swampert: Gyarados, otherwise takes huge beatings from the rest of my team lacking resistances to most of my team, and lacks a recovery move, so it doesn't cause problems.
Bronzong: Hypnosis is annoying, otherwise it can't do anything effective. Gyarados can quickly finnish it, especially as bronzong normally appears early. If a lead, starmie can take significant chunks off. Natural cure can then also help my try and take advantage of hypnosis's poor accuracy.
Celebi: Very annoying, due to t-wave (I have no absorber other then swampert which I wont bring near that grass type) and recovery move. Can come in on the three water types and scare them away, cripple salamence with t-wave and then stall with recover, perhaps even come in on tyranitar stone edge if it predicts well enough, and has been known to come in on heracross close combats (or stay in on a heracross I brought in by predicting my prediction of a switch to a fighting-weak pokemon like they did earlier in the game), and proceede to cripple it. I have only two ways of dealing with it, which is predicting it's switch with gyarados and ice fanging, or trying to revenge kill with tyranitar (who takes ~52% from grass knot).
Jirachi: Swampert; salamence can revenge kill, and depending on the set (presence of t-bolt or iron head) I can respond with other pokemon accordingly.
Azelf: Potentially annoying; against leads I surf and then rapid spin, hoping to win the speed tie, and spinning away the rocks before it explodes. Otherwise a third of my team is faster, and can OHKO (although can't necessarilly come in that well), tyranitar can resit most everything it throws at it (even surviving explosions), and starmie gets at least the coin flip.
Vaporeon: Potentially very annoying, due to my high number of water types. Especially if it has HP: electric. Starmie can do significant damage with t-bolt, normally scaring it away, tyranitar always wins one on one, and heracross can sometimes scare it (at least, if it has absorbed status). Discouraging the use of gyarados's waterfall, and being able to easily come in on any of swampert's attacks, make it potentially very annoying in theory, although normally I can deal with it. I still fear this more then other non-bold pokmeon.
Machamp: Other then confusion hax, it can't do to much normally. Gyarados takes of 60%, and I can play around with switches between swampert and gyarados, eventually forcing a switch due to intimidate.
Suicune: T-bolt from starmie is normally significant. Sometimes I get scared if it pulls off a rest, but normally powerful cb hits can do enough to wear it down so that I can bring tank dow.
Kingdra: Unless its raining or it has a couple of DDs salamence can revenge kill. Gyarados does over 50% with earthquake, and cuts off an attack boost while coming in.
Gliscor: Half of my team can easily dispatch it (the three water types). Can come in on heracross with impunity, and can scare tyranitar away, but that normally isn't bothersome as swampert is very easy to bring in and gliscor really can't do much other then stealth rock.
Breloom: This may be an offense team, but this is still very annoying when it first comes in (typically on swampert). That forces me to switch (in fear of seed bomb), as it isn't worth the risk to keep swampert in. If it spores, then I have to switch again, giving it a substitute. Normally I switch to gyarados first (hoping it spores), and then to salamence. Generally this forces it to switch (-2 attack, and salamence resists both stabs), but if it instead substitutes imediately, and outspeeds gyarados (as is typical) and spores, it only has -1 attack when I bring in salamence, and has a sub up. Although I can still force it to switch. Breloom has a really hard time doing much after that due to already having slept something. This all falls apart if I'd already lost salamence early. Most importantly, no matter the scenario, I lose a pokemon (to sleep).
Togekiss: Flinch hax can be annoying, swampert is my best answer, but is still very vulnerable to flinch hax, not taking special hits very well. Especially if it has roost. No really good answer.
Skarmory: Can't really do anything other then come in on resisted attacks from choice item users. Heracross is the only pokemon that can't beat it one on one if they come in together.
Weavile: Many lack ice shard, so they lose even to salamence. Swampert comes in easily, and gyarados doesn't have to much of a problem. Heracross also easily beats one on one.
Magnezone: I lack steels, so it can't really do anything other then come in on an outraging salamence. Even starmie can revenge when around 50% health, as it outspeeds even scarf variants. Heracross and salamence do a good job revenge killing as well.
Electivire: Swampert comes in, however, if swampert is gone, I have a much harder time. Normally I have to resort to pivoting to get something in safely so that I can threaten to outspeed and OHKO. Heracross isn't weak to any of it's attacks on the "it's supereffective" set, but I've seen a flamethrower before.
Flygon: Swampert normally comes in. Lacks the frightening power of salamence, so gyarados can also normally come in.
Mamoswine: Can be annoying, but normally not to bad, other then killing salamence after it outrages. All the waters can hit it for supereffective with their STAB, as can heracross (but it did take 52% from an ice shard once, so I have to be at high health).
Snorlax: Heracross cannot come in on CB variants, so I normally have to switch to gyarados, which has the benefit of intimidating. If I can switch something in safely heracross can threaten CC.
Hippowdon: I have three water types that can each scare it, so it is normally incapable of doing to much. Even a heracross can do over 50% (if poisoned).
...I think that should be enough threats for now.
Opinions?
Suggestions?