Intro...
Salutations good people. I've been lurking around Smogon for ages and I think this is only my second team that I've ever posted, I can't seem to find my last one though so maybe I was hallucinating or dreaming. As I said I've been lurking around the Smogon forums for ages so in my opinion I'm an average – good battler. I plan to use this team on both WIFI and shoddy battle as they are both better in their own ways, shoddy being able to play instantly whilst WIFI being able to play with all the cool effects and attack clips, I might not be able to play on WIFI for a long time though because I'm a perfectionist and I want flawless Ivd and natured Pokemon, I've already finished breeding three of them.
The aim of my team is to eliminate all things harmful to my final sweeper, through paralysis, flinching and high defences although that doesn't apply to everyone. Every Pokemon harmful to the last one can be dealt with in more than one if not millions of ways. This team works well against all types of play, it is capable of disabling stall to an extent, it is bulky enough to resist and murder full frail offensive, it is fast enough and annoying (very annoying) enough to tempt bulky offensive team to quit or die. This team is made out of things like paraflinch strategies and the like so when you are rating and making changes try to keep this in mind as I don't want this team to become something I didn't plan for it to become. My teams are always made out of my favourite Pokemon as is this team. The Pokemon I really can't bear are: Blissey, Aerodactyl, Bronzong, Electivire, Infernape, Ninjask, Rhyperior, Tentacruel, Umbreon, I probably won't have to worry about you suggesting any of these anyway as they are all the UU of the OU bar Infernape, Blissey and Bronzong.
As mentioned before I constructed this team out of my favourites with the appropriate sets to work with each other. I made this team only last week but luckily I've had the chance to test it thoroughly and make changes to the very obvious flaws. I said I made this team only last week, but the truth is I've been making this team for a very long time, it is only now that I made a hugely successful tweak which goes by the name of Togechi, try and work out which two Pokemon that includes before you read my team and you get a free cookie.
Before you see my team (unless you've quickly scrolled down now instead of reading) I want everyone to know this team has perfect synergy and any suggestions I take will not only be based on what I need but on the synergy too. This is a chart to show you the strengths and weaknesses of the teams typing.
Ok Finally we get to the bit just before I give you the 'At a glance' thing. As you see in the chart above I only have two weaknesses to Stealth Rock, both of these Pokemon are really quite bulky and one of them has a healing move so I am not too worried. Also in the chart it shows I have three immunities to Spikes and three immunities to Toxic Spikes although I also have two steel types, so actually only one of my Pokemon is even affected by Toxic Spikes, normally I just let those Tentacruels and Roserades set them up and I get a few free turns. On my teams I like to include various things. These are the things I try to include on every team: Wish, Stealth Rock, Status, Physical Sweeper, Revenge Killer, Special Wall, Physical Wall, Rapid Spinner, Rapid Spin Block, Taunt,Trick, Pursuit, Pursuit Bait (for Lucario). Now you can tell me which ones I have fulfilled. HINT: 10/13
Ok now you finally get to see my team:
The Team...
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spd
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Ice Beam
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Ok so every experienced battler should know this lead as one of the most threatening, fastest, strongest leads out there. Sarcasm aside, it isn't actually all that bad, although most people would rather go with a base 1000 speed monster (which has a number of names including: Aerodactyl, Crobat, Azelf and Weavile), I would rather go with a bulky lead who can always survive to lay rocks without the almighty Focus Sash. Although the Smogon set normally knows best and I'm not the greatest when it comes to EV spreads, I'm good enough to know when I don't need the KO on Salamence thanks to Stealth Rock, and thus max HP and Def come into place. Stealth Rock is obviously the main attraction on this move set, and paired with Roar it works very well, stacking up the damage especially on flying, fire and ice types. I'd just like to mention that I love doing this to Hail teams and watch them recovering, wishing and resting. Swampert helps the team most by setting up Stealth Rock and most of the time giving me a six to five head start, occasionally he will take out a Salamence or a Heatran.
Grass resisted by: Togekiss, Jirachi, Latias, Lucario
---Grass resisted by: Togekiss, Jirachi, Latias, Lucario
Togekiss (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP/4 Spd/252 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
If the tiers went by how much everything was used, Scizor would be at the top and Togekiss would be at the bottom. This Pokemon is so underrated it's unbelievable. Anyway this guy acts as my amazing special wall. With a Calm nature and full Evs this could probably give Blissey a run for it's money if Togekiss is used correctly. As well as being a phenomenal special wall, Togekiss is also a phenomenal paraflinch user, I don't understand why nobody uses the paraflinch strategy anymore, and even less Togekiss. The main strategy with Togekiss is to switch in on any special attacker no matter how strong and paralyze them, once I've done that I proceed to Roost of damage and hit them with the appropriate move which could be either Air Slash or Aura Sphere. On top of this Togekiss also has the amazing ability Serene Grace. Thanks to Serene Grace Air Slash is able to pull off an amazing 60% chance of flinching the opponent, paired with Thunder Wave sometimes the opponent doesn't even get to move for ages, and when they eventually break through to Togekiss I can just Roost off the damage and get back to the main strategy. Togekiss also has a very high defence too so physical attackers aren't much of a problem depending on super effective moves and base attack stats. Scizor, Mamoswine and Flygon are the main problems here thanks to priority moves, high base attack stats and ground typing, but nothing that can't be fixed by a simple Jirachi.
Ice resisted by: Jirachi, Lucario
Electric resisted by: Swampert, Latias
---
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP/160 Def/32 Spd/76 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Body Slam
- Wish
- Iron Head
Why have I never seen anybody use this set? Jirachi stands as my physical wall / paraflincher. With Iron Head and Serene Grace it too has the ability to flinch the opponent 60% of the time. Jirachi also provides my team with Wish support so whenever Gyarados is a bit low and needs to counter a Scizor, Jirachi always comes in first, and seeing that Scizor can't touch Jirachi unless it uses a Choice Banded Superpower, Jirachi and Gyarados work quite well at this. The other members of my team also benefit from Wish but Gyarados needs it the most because of Stealth Rock damage and it has no recovery move itself. U-Turn is for sure one of the best moves in the game, with 32 Spd evs I out speed Timid Magnezone and Jolly Tyranitar meaning I can escape from the nasty steel trapper, in your face Magnezone. The HP Evs give me leftovers recovery and the rest of the evs keep me from being 2hkod by +1 Outrage and various other things. Im currently debating with myself whether to use Body Slam or Thunder Wave as both are extremely good, but since alot of ground types are harmful to Lucario e.g. Flygon and Gliscor, I've got Body Slam for now, Body Slam could also be used for extra damage though. Since both Flygon and Gliscor fail to OHKO Jirachi with Earthquake I can normally paralyze them and flinch them. Alternatively because of this im considering putting Ice Punch on my Lucario. If you read this description (which you should) in your rate (which you should make) please include which move I should use, Body Slam or Thunder Wave. Would a scarfrachi go better here?
Fire reisted by: Swampert, Gyarados, Latias
Ground resisted by: Togekiss, Gyarados, Latias
---
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP/108 Atk/100 Def/144 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
Lovely little bulky Taunt Gyarados, he's so cute and cuddly. Gyarados is one of my final sweepers but normally comes out early / mid game to counter a few threats. Gyarados is my primary counter to Scizor, Hippowdon, Skarmory and Gliscor. All of these Pokemon pose a threat to Lucario in different situations and Gyarados's ability to either hit super effectively or destroy them with his excellent typing and Taunt is awesome. Gyarados can completely destroy stall with just one little move, Taunt, while they try status me because of my ability to avoid Toxic Spikes, and while they switch out to say, Skarmory I can set up a Dragon Dance, keep doing this and I can eventually get about two or three Dragon Dances before they catch on to my strategy, once they send in something like Salamence (every stall team has one offensive player right?), it's game over anyway. In other news Gyarados is weak to Stealth Rock which means that he is very vulnerable to priority moves from Lucario, Dragonite and Scizor. Jirachi saves the day with Wish, Wish is very valuable to Gyarados because he can switch in and heal up immediately, every now and then I can't pass Wish but even without it Gyarados has leftovers recovery and supposing he gets a free turn or two that leftovers recovery can stack up. I chose a bulky variant of Gyarados because firstly I've used it before and also the speed and power can come when I use Dragon Dance.
Electric resisted by: Swampert, Latias
Rock resisted by: Swampert, Jirachi, Lucario
---
Latias (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Trick
I haven't even mentioned Latias yet, but that doesn't mean to say she's not amazing and what she does. Being the only female in the team Latias is the odd one out because of her over 100 speed and huge special defence. Latias is easily one of the best in the team and is capable of getting rid of almost every threat in one way or another. Salamence and Gyarados both fall to Latias's speed thanks to Choice Scarf and the boosting nature. Whenever a Gyarados switches in to Swampert, which they normally do, I try to Roar it, if they Taunt then obviously Swampert switches out and Latias comes in ignoring the Dragon Dance and OHKOing with a Thunderbolt. This can also work for Salamence and I can hit him with a STAB super effective Draco Meteor. When I'm against a stall team, which seem to become more common nowadays, I trick my scarf quickly on to something that hates it, preferably Blissey switching in on a supposed Draco Meteor. When I built this team I needed a revenge killer and Latias fit the bill over anything because firstly it has perfect synergy with Lucario and provides key resistances for the rest of the team. Even without any Evs invested Latias can take quite a few physical hits and even more special thanks to the base 130 special defence stat. Would the Choice Specs set be better than the Choice Scarfer?
Ice reisted by: Jirachi, Lucario
Bug resisted by: Togekiss, Gyarados, Lucario
Ghost resisted by: Togekiss, Lucario
Dragon resisted by: Jirachi, Lucario
Dark resisted by: Lucario
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Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
Finally we get to the best Pokemon that ever came to be, Lucario. Thanks to Latias as Pursuit bait, Lucario will get a free Swords Dance which can lead to a sweep of three – six Pokemon. When Lucario appears ' It is generally the beginning of the end ', unless it gets roared or whirl winded in. Jolly nature as I like to out speed Jolly Mamoswine seeing as I can't paralyze it earlier in the game, Lucario also out speeds things nobody ever thinks of like: Adamant Electivire, Modest Porygon z, Bold Celebi, Jolly Heracross, Timid Rotom, Calm Tentacruel, Adamant Lucario, the list goes on. Even though some of these Pokemon are rarer and their sets are even rarer it is better to be prepared for them. Even though I miss the KO on Skarmory or whatever it is, a wall like that would probably have come out earlier and by the time Lucario reveals itself Skarmory is normally within my KO range. I chose Crunch over Ice Punch because of the simple fact that Gliscors and Salamences are made to out speed Lucario. I also considered Thunder Punch and it really worked quite well, that is, until I met the accursed Rotom. I really urge all of you out there without a Lucario to use it and feel it's amazing sweeping abilities shine upon you. Once I've got a swords Dance up the only things standing in my way are Salamence, Gyarados, Hippowdon and Gliscor which I plan to eliminate before Lucario switches in. It's amazing how some teams don't realize that Lucario's combination of attacks completely own them and normally Lucario's sweep is half based on surprise rather than brute strength. Thats what I like, the power of the mind. If I show Lucario too early then obviously the opponent will make sure their counter survives long enough to kill Lucario or at least ruin it's sweep. If only Lucario had 101 base speed. I'm currently deciding whether to choose Inner Focus or Steadfast, Inner Focus is what everybody uses and so there must be a reason but I think Lucario would really own with a speed boost.
Fire resisted by: Swampert, Gyarados, Latias
Fighting resisted by: Gyarados, Latias
Ground resisted by: Togekiss, Gyarados, Latias
---
Strategy...
Stage 1: On the first turn I always either Stealth Rock or Ice Beam with Swampert depending on what lead it is. I always stay in on the first turn as some leads would expect me to switch out e.g. Roserade. With sleep leads I always let Swampert take the sleep as I don't really have another pokemon that doesn't mind taking it. Supposing I havent been slept or taunted, I set up Stealth Rock and Proceed to Roar as much as I can before dying. If a dragon or anything weak to ground decides to switch in I will Earthquake / Ice Beam. If that pokemon switches out to another pokemon that resists either of those two attacks then I will not attack with Swampert anymore as I know they will just switch out and so I keep stacking up SR damage and scouting the opponents team until Swampert dies.
Stage 2: After Swampert dies I should be able to bring in either Jirachi or Togekiss seeing as they have imperfect but still good synergy together. Normally I will just Thunder Wave everything I see with either of the two. If a ground type such as Hippowdon switches in I will always switch to Togekiss and Air Slash it until it dies or switches out. The only ground type that I will switch out both of these Pokemon to is Mamoswine and I will send in either Gyarados or Lucario if it appears later in the game. There are other various things Togekiss and Jirachi would rather not encounter e.g. Scizor, in those cases I can send in Latias to revenge kill or Gyarados to counter certain threats, again, like Scizor. I Plan to keep Togechi alive as long as possible to pass Wish and keep flinching even late game.
Stage 3: On Stall Teams Gyarados would come out a bit earlier to break the stall with Taunt, on any other kind of team however he would only come out after the paraflinchers have made thier mark or to scare something away maybe earlier in the game. Other than those situations he would come out at this stage, this is when I must must eliminate all surviving threats to Lucario. Gyarados kills: Gliscor, Hippowdon, Salamence and other Gyarados. Gyarados pairs well with Latias as Latias can revenge kill Salamence and Gyarados who have intimidated and switched in on Gyarados.
Stage 4: If the opposition is still alive then I can choose either to let my other Pokemon do even more damage, or I can find a quick way to set Lucario up. The best way is to let Latias die from Pursuit but I can switch in on Blisseys and things that scare easily from Lucario. Another option at this stage is to sweep with Gyarados if Lucario can't for any reason, only two Dragon Dances are needed for Gyarados to become a full sweeper as he would outspeed Choice Scarfers.
In short what I have to do is: Scout, Set up, Sweep.
Threats...
Empoleon: Assuming this wasn't paralyzed earlier, it could probably get a Petaya boost and kill many of my team members before dying if it dies at all.
Scizor: If it is a Swords Dance Scizor and both Gyarados and Swampert are dead it could probably take down the rest of my team with either Superpower or Bulet Punch. Very circumstantial but still...
Zapdos: As long as Latias is dead any Substitute + Toxic Zapdos with Heat Wave and Thunderbolt can easily take down this team because it won't be paralyzed thanks to Substitute. It also resists all of my Togechi moves. My biggest threat.
Rotom: This guy resists Togechi and can take a chunk out of Gyarados and Latias with STAB Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball. Only Lucario can take it down with a Swords Danced Crunch or Latias if it survives it can Draco Meteor. Togekiss can take most of its attacks but fails to do much damage aginst it. I could probably flinch it to death though if I used Togechi to its full power but its hard. second iggest threat.
Thanks for reading if you did, and thanks for rating if you have. If I get no rates I'll assume theres nothing to be fixed lol. Also I have one little question: How come every very fast pokemon is specially based apart from Weavile? Sorry about it being very long.
