TEAM CHOICE
Overview:
Intro: This team came to me a couple of days ago while I was thinking of some interesting ideas for a team. Choice teams are not very common, so I thought why not give it a try? My good friend and fellow Smogoner Fabbles gladly obliged in helping me test this on Shoddy. I am going to be quoting him a lot during the RMT because he's had first hand experience with the team while I have not. :/ "Ok well the thing that stands out is its very fast with u turn/ bp on 4/6 mons so it can get around easily. That's what is to like. What's not to like? Swampert lol." When I asked him about the win ratio, he said, "I lost like twice to 15 wins something like that lol." So overall he has had a lot of success in the team, and I believe it has to do with the fact that the team is fun to play. "Yeah it's not boring by any means, except Flygon who I loathe because he reminds me of an old friend =(. But other than that, its ^_^. Some would say that choice can be hard to play with, and it is when you have to adjust to new style of play. "It just takes longer to get used to really. Takes more precision. It really comes down to making the one right move that opens up an opponent's team instead of like a lure or something on other teams. So really just adapting to a different playstyle, depends how good you are at that." Finally, I asked him why he had so much success with this team. "Well its really good because of the raw power and speed that a lot of teams just can not handle, especially teams that try to rely on slower set up sweepers." Now let's get onto the team!
TEAM
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 76 HP/252 Atk/180 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Trick
- Iron Head
When I first thought of this team, I wanted a pokemon who was bulky, could get SR up, and hold its own against other leads. Jirachi has the great bulk that is common in most steels, being able to take a few super effective hits if neccessary. With the spread shown it reaches 462 with scarf, and a still respectable 308 without it. The only lead that really gives this trouble is Heatran. All Rachi has to do is U Turn to one of the dragons though. Against most other leads all it has to do is Trick, Iron Head, or U Turn. "Very useful for early SR or trick, scouting for U-Turn, and coming back in later to abuse scarfed iron head. Also serves as primary dragon resist.
Salamence (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Outrage
Ha Mence, been on more then half of my teams now! What a beast CB is though. We are talking 607 attack here with a move with base power of 180! Dragon Claw rips things up early game, while Outrage can have a field day against teams without steels late game. The nature was originally Jolly for the speed, but changed it after it cost Fabbles cost a game. He would of OHKOed a Bliss with Outrage, but only did 93% cause it was Jolly.
EQ has that great coverage with Dragon, and destroys nearly everything weak to it. Fire Fang replaces Blast since my testers said it didn't make much more of a damage output and the Physical attack benefitting was welcome. "Fire/Water resist good. Insanely powerful good. Mix mence might be an option just so you don't get stuck on outrage."
Jolteon (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Sp Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Baton Pass
Such a great pokemon Specs Jolt is. Specs gives him a Special Attack of 525 with a speed of 394. Lethal. With three moves it hits everything hard in OU for at least neutral damage except Magnezone. Thunderbolt can blitz a team after their electric resist/ground is gone. Shadow Ball allows it to hit Celebi and Rotom for Super Effective damage. HP Grass proves useful for Swampert, which is one of the biggest defensive threats to this team. Baton Pass as the last move allows me a free switch to see what my opponent will do, and often puts the team in a favorable situation. Timid over Modest for the extra speed which proves helpful for a team like this. "Completely destroys things without a ground, excellent check to many things because of its speed, and can scout with bp."
Gengar (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 Atk/252 Spd/216 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Explosion
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Trick
Gengar, such a great pokemon, able to switch in on such common attacking types like Fighting and Ground for free. Funny enough he also reaches 525 Special Attack with this spread, with a still agile 350 speed stat. Usually Trick first in order to not have to worry about Choice item, but Specs can deal huge damage if need be. Ghost and fighting hit every type in the game at least neutral, so very cool. The 40 attack EVs give Explosion an extra kick, and can take out Bliss if it switched into SR, (which they usually do.) "Gengar is very useful for no eq+ice weak. Specs makes Shadow Ball 2hko a lot of the common switch ins, so scarf jira can only switch in once and common zap and pert die. Trick and Explosion are good for opening the hole you need in the opposing team"
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
One of the greatest threats in OU right now. With a 591 attack and four moves that can reach 80 base power, you better believe this guy is a beast. U-Turn lets him slowly wear down his counters, as giving me an advantageous switch in. Bullet Punch has become the reason he remains so popular, and takes care of many weakened threats. Superpower destroys anything that has a weakness to it, as well as being his best option against Steels. Pursuit puts Azelf, Gar, and many other pokemon in the position of: Should I stay or should I go? Love that song, had to reference it. :P EVs allow him neccesary bulk and the 8 spd is for beating 4 spd Scizor and U-Turning out. "Scizor has the needed priority and second dragon resist. It is very useful in scouting and denting with u-turn. Really, only u-turn and bullet punch are used."
Vaporeon (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 Def/68 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Wish
After having DF test out Vaporeon over Flygon, he found it to be the superior option. Being able to switch into water attacks for free is very helpful and allows to receive free health. The last time Specs Vap was on my team, Garchomp and Deoxys-E were still OU. So it has certainly been a while. Stathakis and I actually helped to put this beast up on the Site, so I feel quite proud using it. :P Modest Nature with the max Sp Att EVs puts him at a solid 525 stat. Surf does massive damage to anything that doesn't resist it, even OHKOing Lucario on the switch. Ice Beam takes care of Mence and other pokemon that may pose a problem for the team. HP Electric gives me BoltBeam combo and takes Gyarados out rather easily, as Vaporeon can switch in fairly easy to it. Wish really proves to be the biggest blessing for this team. With a Choice team, you are going to be switching around a lot, and Vaporeon offers great team support. Her two weaknesses are covered by the team nicely. If Jolteon is low on health I can Wishpass to him, especially if I know an electric attack is coming. If grass attacks are about to be fire at Vap, no problem. 2/3 of my team takes grass attacks nicely and will appreciate the Wish Pass to boost back their health. Really glad I made the switch to Vap, my tester said it was for the best!
Thought Process
For a team that has six choice users, you have to have some variey with the team.
For Band I thought of what some of the best physical powerhouses were in this metagame. Salamence, Machamp, Scizor, Gyarados, Metagross, and Mamoswine all came to mind. I knew Salamence would be one of them, as it had a beast move in Band Outrage. So for the 2nd one I had to get a pokemon to cover Mence to take ice and dragon attacks. That left me with Metagross and Scizor. After weighing the options I went with Scizor because of the priority it has as well as being able to deal out U-Turn damage.
Now for the Specs users, there were quite a few to pick. Jolteon, Heatran, Togekiss, Gengar, Porygon-Z, and Lucario were just some that came to mind. I chose Gengar right away as 3 immunes is too great to pass up on a choice team. His abilty to trick specs and explode means he could easily cripple 2 pokemon on the opponent's team. Now of the pokemon that I could choose left, I wanted one that could deal huge damage with their STAB move. Lucario and Jolteon popped into my head, but in the end I went with Jolt because of his speed abilty to scout with BP. After looking over the team I deciding adding another Specs user in Vaporeon would be best. It takes care of Dos and Mence problems, as well as being a great team player.
All that was left now; who would scarf? I knew of many pokemon that can become great threats with Scarf. Of the current core I had with Jolteon, Gengar, Salamence, and Scizor, I had every type resisted. Every type but rock. Jirachi resisted rock,had a nice U-Turn, and quite bulky. For
Now out of these six pokemon, who could I have lead, I thought. Jirachi and Gengar would be the best choices for leads, but Gengar would get stroked by the common Meta lead. Jirachi would lead then, and I gave it the Anti lead set to put me in a favorable situation.
That is how I came up with this team, hope you enjoyed reading this RMT!
Threat List:
Aerodactyl- Scizor and Jirachi can easily revenge kill. Jirachi destroys it with Iron Head if its leading, most are. Vaporeon can take most attacks and easily KO back. Worst case scenario I go for speed tie with Jolt. Not an issue for team.
Alakazam-Not even a problem. Jirachi can take Psychic all day and 2HKO with Iron Head. Scizor can easily kill with 3/4 of its moves. Jolt can revenge kill if neccessary.
Azelf- Jirachi destroys lead set. Scizor can come in on Psychic and revenge with BP, Pursuit if I think its switching. Same as Zam basically.
Breloom-Sack Jirachi to sleep if it already has SRed, then go to Gar to take Focus Punch. All pokemon can revenge and take at least one hit from it.
Celebi- Haha 2 u-turners can all take it. Not even an issue. If worse comes I can Shadow Ball or Outrage with Mence.
Dragonite-Vaporeon takes ones out without a DD, some even with one. Same with Mence, Gar could also trick it. If it does have DD and is faster, go to Scizor and BP it. Jirachi can take an Outrage and Iron Head or even trick.
Dugtrio-Only traps 1/2 of the team. Scizor bp's for the ko. Jirachi with Scarf kills with Iron Head. Jolt owns it with Hp grass. Shadow Ball does huge damage to it too.
Electivire- Mence can switch in on everything but Ice attacks and threaten. Gar can come in on EQ or CC and take out with Shadow Ball or Explosion. Even trick it specs can be nice.
Empoleon- Vaporeon has a field day with this, loves taking its strongest attack and using against it. Gengar or Jirachi can trick choice item on it. Jolt is faster and Tbolt owns it.
Flygon- Most are choiced, so just find out what move it is using and go to counter. Scizor and Jirachi take Outrage easily, while 1/3 of my team takes nothing from EQ. Not an issue.
Gengar-Scizor and Jirachi can take it with ease. Jolt easily revenges it.
Gliscor- Gengar comes in right away and either tricks or does huge damage with Shadow Ball. Vaporeon switches in all day. If anything Jirachi can flinch hax or trick.
Gyarados- Jolteon destroys Adamant ones that have one DD or less. This beast is one of the reasons I switched to Vaporeon, one of its best counters. Jirachi can trick while it EQ's, and then I get a free swich to 1 of my 2 ground immunes.
Heatran- Vaporeon waltz in and threatens with Surf. Same with Mence. Even if I predict wrong Outrage does 50% on Heatran. Jolt can revenge kill scarfless ones. Not a big problem.
Heracross-Gengar resists both Stabs, and does huge damage with SB. Salamence threatens a KO when switched in on right move. Jolt and Scizor can easily revenge as well. Scizor gets a special mention for 4x resisting Megahorn.
Infernape-Gar gets a free switchin on a CC and owns with Shadow Ball. Vaporeon is THE best counter to Infernape, hands down.
Jirachi-. Mence can take out with CB EQ, Fire Fang is a 2hko. Worse somes to worse Scizor can take most of its attacks and U- Turn. Taken care of.
Jolteon-Can be troublesome without Flygon now. Hopefully Scizor can take a hit and U-Turn for heavy damage. Really have to play around it.
Kingdra-Can be trouble for team. Vaporeon can take a hit or two and weaken it. Scizor does huge damage with U Turn though, and can revenge if neccessary.
Latias- Gengar can Shadow Ball on the CM.2 U-turners means it won't last long. Scizor great counter to this.
Lucario- On the SD I can go to Gar and take it out with Focus Blast, or Trick to destroy it with my other pokemon. Not a big problem.
Machamp- Go to Gar to take the fighting attack, then either Trick or Shadow Ball for huge damage. Can even Explode if neccessary.
Magnezone- . Jolteon has little to worry about, although Specs Tbolt from it will be a 3HKO at best.
Mamoswine- Scizor owns with Bullet Punch. Gar can take out with SB or FB. Jolt owns with HP grass, and Jirachi has Iron Head. Vaporeon takes it on as well.
Metagross- Mence destroys with EQ. Gar can come in on EQ and trick it. Jolt if neccessary can revenge with Tbolt if low on health.
Ninjask- Immediately U-Turn out from Rachi to Scizor. Destroys with Bullet Punch.
Porygon-Z- Gar can take Tri Attack and either Focus Blast or Explode. Scizor owns with Bullet Punch and Jirachi with Iron Head.
Rhyperior- Doesn't get a chance to set up. Jirachi and Scizor own it with Iron Head and Superpower respectively. Gar does huge damage with SB and FB.
Rotom A- U-Turn out from Scizor when they first come in and go to Gar. From there they are owned by Shadow Ball.
Salamence- Jirachi with Scarf still can take it out with Flinchax. Scizor revenges with BP. Jolt Tbolt does lethal damage after SR, Vaporeon can take a hit and KO with Ice Beam.
Scizor- My own Scizor is faster then normal CB set and can destroy with Superpower. Jirachi can flinch hax or Trick. If needed Mence can come in and Fire Fang.
Smeargle- Haha. Jirachi rapes this lead. If its seen as not a lead the rest of the team can all OHKO it.
Snorlax- Scizor can take it on the switch and threaten a Superpower. If needed Mence can revenge, Gar explodes, no problem.
Starmie- Scizor again can U-Turn. Jirachi can trick a scarf on the Surf, then Mence can own with Outrage or even Dragon Claw. Vaporeon can walk over a tricked Surf and set up a free wish.
Suicune- Jolteon by far takes care of it. Even after a CM boost Jolt has a good chance to OHKO. Mence can do a number with Outrage as well. Vaporeon screws over Crocune.
Swampert- Can be a problem like Fabbles stated. If I get a chance HP Grass can destroy it. Trick wears it down and lets me get the right pokemon in. Vaporeon takes a hit and can do 50%+ with Surf.
Togekiss- Jolt OWNS this. Most Kiss will try to Twave, only to end up healing a Jolt, and then going "WTF?!". None of my pokemon have a problem with this really.
Tyranitar- Jirachi lead obliterates Tyranitar. Scizor owns with Bullet Punch. DD Tar gets raped by Scizor as well. Can even switch Gar in and KO with Focus Blast. Not even the bulkiest Tar could survive it.
Weavile- Jirachi destroys if it is leading. Scizor hits with Bullet Punch, and Jolt can Tbolt late game. Once again trouble if my Mence is left.
Zapdos- Jolt again is a great counter to this. Zapdos can only switch into Tbolt and SR so many times. Gar can come in on roost and trick. If absolutely neccessary Mence can revenge. Only pokemon it really gives trouble is Scizor, but he can U Turn anyways.
Overview:
Intro: This team came to me a couple of days ago while I was thinking of some interesting ideas for a team. Choice teams are not very common, so I thought why not give it a try? My good friend and fellow Smogoner Fabbles gladly obliged in helping me test this on Shoddy. I am going to be quoting him a lot during the RMT because he's had first hand experience with the team while I have not. :/ "Ok well the thing that stands out is its very fast with u turn/ bp on 4/6 mons so it can get around easily. That's what is to like. What's not to like? Swampert lol." When I asked him about the win ratio, he said, "I lost like twice to 15 wins something like that lol." So overall he has had a lot of success in the team, and I believe it has to do with the fact that the team is fun to play. "Yeah it's not boring by any means, except Flygon who I loathe because he reminds me of an old friend =(. But other than that, its ^_^. Some would say that choice can be hard to play with, and it is when you have to adjust to new style of play. "It just takes longer to get used to really. Takes more precision. It really comes down to making the one right move that opens up an opponent's team instead of like a lure or something on other teams. So really just adapting to a different playstyle, depends how good you are at that." Finally, I asked him why he had so much success with this team. "Well its really good because of the raw power and speed that a lot of teams just can not handle, especially teams that try to rely on slower set up sweepers." Now let's get onto the team!
TEAM
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 76 HP/252 Atk/180 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Trick
- Iron Head
When I first thought of this team, I wanted a pokemon who was bulky, could get SR up, and hold its own against other leads. Jirachi has the great bulk that is common in most steels, being able to take a few super effective hits if neccessary. With the spread shown it reaches 462 with scarf, and a still respectable 308 without it. The only lead that really gives this trouble is Heatran. All Rachi has to do is U Turn to one of the dragons though. Against most other leads all it has to do is Trick, Iron Head, or U Turn. "Very useful for early SR or trick, scouting for U-Turn, and coming back in later to abuse scarfed iron head. Also serves as primary dragon resist.
Salamence (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Outrage
Ha Mence, been on more then half of my teams now! What a beast CB is though. We are talking 607 attack here with a move with base power of 180! Dragon Claw rips things up early game, while Outrage can have a field day against teams without steels late game. The nature was originally Jolly for the speed, but changed it after it cost Fabbles cost a game. He would of OHKOed a Bliss with Outrage, but only did 93% cause it was Jolly.
EQ has that great coverage with Dragon, and destroys nearly everything weak to it. Fire Fang replaces Blast since my testers said it didn't make much more of a damage output and the Physical attack benefitting was welcome. "Fire/Water resist good. Insanely powerful good. Mix mence might be an option just so you don't get stuck on outrage."
Jolteon (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Sp Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Baton Pass
Such a great pokemon Specs Jolt is. Specs gives him a Special Attack of 525 with a speed of 394. Lethal. With three moves it hits everything hard in OU for at least neutral damage except Magnezone. Thunderbolt can blitz a team after their electric resist/ground is gone. Shadow Ball allows it to hit Celebi and Rotom for Super Effective damage. HP Grass proves useful for Swampert, which is one of the biggest defensive threats to this team. Baton Pass as the last move allows me a free switch to see what my opponent will do, and often puts the team in a favorable situation. Timid over Modest for the extra speed which proves helpful for a team like this. "Completely destroys things without a ground, excellent check to many things because of its speed, and can scout with bp."
Gengar (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 Atk/252 Spd/216 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Explosion
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Trick
Gengar, such a great pokemon, able to switch in on such common attacking types like Fighting and Ground for free. Funny enough he also reaches 525 Special Attack with this spread, with a still agile 350 speed stat. Usually Trick first in order to not have to worry about Choice item, but Specs can deal huge damage if need be. Ghost and fighting hit every type in the game at least neutral, so very cool. The 40 attack EVs give Explosion an extra kick, and can take out Bliss if it switched into SR, (which they usually do.) "Gengar is very useful for no eq+ice weak. Specs makes Shadow Ball 2hko a lot of the common switch ins, so scarf jira can only switch in once and common zap and pert die. Trick and Explosion are good for opening the hole you need in the opposing team"
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
One of the greatest threats in OU right now. With a 591 attack and four moves that can reach 80 base power, you better believe this guy is a beast. U-Turn lets him slowly wear down his counters, as giving me an advantageous switch in. Bullet Punch has become the reason he remains so popular, and takes care of many weakened threats. Superpower destroys anything that has a weakness to it, as well as being his best option against Steels. Pursuit puts Azelf, Gar, and many other pokemon in the position of: Should I stay or should I go? Love that song, had to reference it. :P EVs allow him neccesary bulk and the 8 spd is for beating 4 spd Scizor and U-Turning out. "Scizor has the needed priority and second dragon resist. It is very useful in scouting and denting with u-turn. Really, only u-turn and bullet punch are used."
Vaporeon (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 Def/68 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Wish
After having DF test out Vaporeon over Flygon, he found it to be the superior option. Being able to switch into water attacks for free is very helpful and allows to receive free health. The last time Specs Vap was on my team, Garchomp and Deoxys-E were still OU. So it has certainly been a while. Stathakis and I actually helped to put this beast up on the Site, so I feel quite proud using it. :P Modest Nature with the max Sp Att EVs puts him at a solid 525 stat. Surf does massive damage to anything that doesn't resist it, even OHKOing Lucario on the switch. Ice Beam takes care of Mence and other pokemon that may pose a problem for the team. HP Electric gives me BoltBeam combo and takes Gyarados out rather easily, as Vaporeon can switch in fairly easy to it. Wish really proves to be the biggest blessing for this team. With a Choice team, you are going to be switching around a lot, and Vaporeon offers great team support. Her two weaknesses are covered by the team nicely. If Jolteon is low on health I can Wishpass to him, especially if I know an electric attack is coming. If grass attacks are about to be fire at Vap, no problem. 2/3 of my team takes grass attacks nicely and will appreciate the Wish Pass to boost back their health. Really glad I made the switch to Vap, my tester said it was for the best!
Thought Process
For a team that has six choice users, you have to have some variey with the team.
For Band I thought of what some of the best physical powerhouses were in this metagame. Salamence, Machamp, Scizor, Gyarados, Metagross, and Mamoswine all came to mind. I knew Salamence would be one of them, as it had a beast move in Band Outrage. So for the 2nd one I had to get a pokemon to cover Mence to take ice and dragon attacks. That left me with Metagross and Scizor. After weighing the options I went with Scizor because of the priority it has as well as being able to deal out U-Turn damage.
Now for the Specs users, there were quite a few to pick. Jolteon, Heatran, Togekiss, Gengar, Porygon-Z, and Lucario were just some that came to mind. I chose Gengar right away as 3 immunes is too great to pass up on a choice team. His abilty to trick specs and explode means he could easily cripple 2 pokemon on the opponent's team. Now of the pokemon that I could choose left, I wanted one that could deal huge damage with their STAB move. Lucario and Jolteon popped into my head, but in the end I went with Jolt because of his speed abilty to scout with BP. After looking over the team I deciding adding another Specs user in Vaporeon would be best. It takes care of Dos and Mence problems, as well as being a great team player.
All that was left now; who would scarf? I knew of many pokemon that can become great threats with Scarf. Of the current core I had with Jolteon, Gengar, Salamence, and Scizor, I had every type resisted. Every type but rock. Jirachi resisted rock,had a nice U-Turn, and quite bulky. For
Now out of these six pokemon, who could I have lead, I thought. Jirachi and Gengar would be the best choices for leads, but Gengar would get stroked by the common Meta lead. Jirachi would lead then, and I gave it the Anti lead set to put me in a favorable situation.
That is how I came up with this team, hope you enjoyed reading this RMT!
Threat List:
