Well this is my first RMT here at smogon, and I'll try to make it as detailed as possible.
This team is based around agility Articuno, though I'm honestly thinking of swapping it, since Bullet Punch takes it out too easily, and I end up just relying on the rest of the team mates more, and ignoring Articuno.
I'll start with my team building process. Obviously the first step was choosing articuno as the star.
From there I figured that Articuno's biggest problem was stealth rock, so I added a couple of spinners since I figured it would be bad to rely on one pokemon. I thought starmie was especially useful since it could lure out the special walls that wall Articuno too.
Next I wanted something that could break the most annoying special wall in the gameand take care of scizor. Infernape comes to mind for me.
I still needed a lead though, and had 2 slots left. After some thought, I brought in flygon. It's able to get rid of a lot of the most common leads, and is quite useful for me later in the game for scouting, and for its hard hits.
For my last Pokemon, I felt I needed a dragon resist. I chose to use registeel for this gap.
After some testing I noticed that starmie was more of a hindrance than a help at most times, and I was having some trouble with ghosts. I brought in scizor to get them with pursuit.
After some more testing, I found Kingdra to be a bit of a problem. As a result I swapped Registeel for Empoleon, as it still gives me a dragon resist, and can take Kingdra's water attacks.
This is the final team.
Here's how the types match-up.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Naughty
Levitate
252 Atk / 80 SP.A / 176 Spe
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Blast
U-turn
Flygon really does hold this team together for me. U-turn allows me to scout, and makes flygon a great switch in when there's any double K.O.s flygon can also take out 8 of the 10 most common leads, having trouble with Scarf Jirachi (since they carry more Speed EVs, and deal quite a bit with Iron head) and Swampert. The EVs maximize my Attack, give me enough speed to outspeed adamant ninjask (not that common, but I also outspeed all base 90 +1 pokemon) and put the rest into special attack for my fire blast.
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Torrent
Calm
252 HP / 88 SP.A / 168 SP.D
Stealth Rock
Toxic
Surf
Ice Beam
This empoleon protects me from rain teams quite well, and gets rocks out for me. I'm considering getting HP electric so it can take down Gyarados easily, but I'm not sure yet (suggestion please). This Empoleon can take basically most special attacks, including Starmie's Thunderbolt (which usually won't 2HKO).
Infernape @ Life Orb
Blaze
Naive
128 Atk / 190 SP.A / 192 Spe
Nasty Plot
Grass Knot
Close Combat
Flamethrower
Nasty Plot mixape is a nice addition to this team. It can take down scizor and blissey, both of which plague Articuno. I'm considering HP Ice or U-turn to at least hurt incoming Latias, but I'm not sure if I should. The EVs allow me to OHKO blissey without rocks (since I occasionally don't get them out till much later, and I want blissey dead) and allow me to outspeed neutral base 115s. The rest is in Special attack for obvious reasons.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician
Adamant
252 Atk
248 HP / 252 Atk/4 Def/4 Spe
Bullet Punch
U-turn
Superpower
Pursuit
Pursuit was the reason I took this in the first place, but it really is a great help. I have 1 less Speed to avoid a speed tie with other scizors. I'm going to swap out for sure if they switched in when I'm locked into BP, so I don't need the speed there, and I'd rather go last if I swapped into them since I know what they're using, and wouldn't swap in if it could take out my scizor. Obviously Scizor helps me revenge kill almost anything under the sun, and usually comes in after a U-turn from Flygon to get the job finished.
Donphan @ leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Rapid Spin
Ice Shard
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Donphan takes physical attacks for this team, as well as spinning away those dreaded rocks that hold Articuno off. It can also use Ice Shard to revenge kill Salamence, if scizor's been taken out. I'm considering a bit more of a investment in Attack, but I'm not quite sure (suggestions please). Donphan helps me with flygon's U-turn game as well as it gets rid of rocks that hit it on every swap-in.
Articuno @ Life Orb
Pressure
Modest
156 HP / 252 Sp.A / 100 Spe
Agility
Roost
Ice Beam
Hidden Power (electric)
Articuno ends the game for me. After an Agility I outspeed everything up to Jolly Ninjask, and I still have a reasonable amount of bulk. Ice beam and HP electric gives me the obvious Perfect Coverage, and roost lets me get rid of L.O. damage if I have the time.
So there we are.
THREAT LIST
OFFENSIVE
DEFENSIVE
This team is based around agility Articuno, though I'm honestly thinking of swapping it, since Bullet Punch takes it out too easily, and I end up just relying on the rest of the team mates more, and ignoring Articuno.
I'll start with my team building process. Obviously the first step was choosing articuno as the star.
From there I figured that Articuno's biggest problem was stealth rock, so I added a couple of spinners since I figured it would be bad to rely on one pokemon. I thought starmie was especially useful since it could lure out the special walls that wall Articuno too.
Next I wanted something that could break the most annoying special wall in the gameand take care of scizor. Infernape comes to mind for me.
I still needed a lead though, and had 2 slots left. After some thought, I brought in flygon. It's able to get rid of a lot of the most common leads, and is quite useful for me later in the game for scouting, and for its hard hits.
For my last Pokemon, I felt I needed a dragon resist. I chose to use registeel for this gap.
After some testing I noticed that starmie was more of a hindrance than a help at most times, and I was having some trouble with ghosts. I brought in scizor to get them with pursuit.
After some more testing, I found Kingdra to be a bit of a problem. As a result I swapped Registeel for Empoleon, as it still gives me a dragon resist, and can take Kingdra's water attacks.
This is the final team.
Here's how the types match-up.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Naughty
Levitate
252 Atk / 80 SP.A / 176 Spe
Outrage
Earthquake
Fire Blast
U-turn
Flygon really does hold this team together for me. U-turn allows me to scout, and makes flygon a great switch in when there's any double K.O.s flygon can also take out 8 of the 10 most common leads, having trouble with Scarf Jirachi (since they carry more Speed EVs, and deal quite a bit with Iron head) and Swampert. The EVs maximize my Attack, give me enough speed to outspeed adamant ninjask (not that common, but I also outspeed all base 90 +1 pokemon) and put the rest into special attack for my fire blast.
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Torrent
Calm
252 HP / 88 SP.A / 168 SP.D
Stealth Rock
Toxic
Surf
Ice Beam
This empoleon protects me from rain teams quite well, and gets rocks out for me. I'm considering getting HP electric so it can take down Gyarados easily, but I'm not sure yet (suggestion please). This Empoleon can take basically most special attacks, including Starmie's Thunderbolt (which usually won't 2HKO).
Infernape @ Life Orb
Blaze
Naive
128 Atk / 190 SP.A / 192 Spe
Nasty Plot
Grass Knot
Close Combat
Flamethrower
Nasty Plot mixape is a nice addition to this team. It can take down scizor and blissey, both of which plague Articuno. I'm considering HP Ice or U-turn to at least hurt incoming Latias, but I'm not sure if I should. The EVs allow me to OHKO blissey without rocks (since I occasionally don't get them out till much later, and I want blissey dead) and allow me to outspeed neutral base 115s. The rest is in Special attack for obvious reasons.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician
Adamant
252 Atk
248 HP / 252 Atk/4 Def/4 Spe
Bullet Punch
U-turn
Superpower
Pursuit
Pursuit was the reason I took this in the first place, but it really is a great help. I have 1 less Speed to avoid a speed tie with other scizors. I'm going to swap out for sure if they switched in when I'm locked into BP, so I don't need the speed there, and I'd rather go last if I swapped into them since I know what they're using, and wouldn't swap in if it could take out my scizor. Obviously Scizor helps me revenge kill almost anything under the sun, and usually comes in after a U-turn from Flygon to get the job finished.
Donphan @ leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Rapid Spin
Ice Shard
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Donphan takes physical attacks for this team, as well as spinning away those dreaded rocks that hold Articuno off. It can also use Ice Shard to revenge kill Salamence, if scizor's been taken out. I'm considering a bit more of a investment in Attack, but I'm not quite sure (suggestions please). Donphan helps me with flygon's U-turn game as well as it gets rid of rocks that hit it on every swap-in.
Articuno @ Life Orb
Pressure
Modest
156 HP / 252 Sp.A / 100 Spe
Agility
Roost
Ice Beam
Hidden Power (electric)
Articuno ends the game for me. After an Agility I outspeed everything up to Jolly Ninjask, and I still have a reasonable amount of bulk. Ice beam and HP electric gives me the obvious Perfect Coverage, and roost lets me get rid of L.O. damage if I have the time.
So there we are.
THREAT LIST
OFFENSIVE
Azelf: Trick does near nothing to flygon and scizor. U-Turn from flygon and Bullet Punch from scizor will kill lead variants, which are the most common in my experience.
Breloom: infernape's Flamethrower, and articuno's Ice Beam. Donphan can alo hit it well with Ice shard.
Celebi: No real threat at all. Everything except donphan easily takes it down.
Dugtrio: Articuno gets it if it already has its agility, and Donphan works wonders with Ice Shard. It is a pain though.
Electivire: Flygon easily kills it with its faster Earthquake, swapping in on electivire's own Earthquake or Thunder Punch. It can only get a speed boost from Articuno's HP anyway, and even then it doesn't outspeed unless it's Jolly. Infernape can usually kill it too, though it can't really swap in.
Empoleon: Flygon's EQ works well, scizor hurts it quite a bit with Superpower (though it doesn't like taking surf), Infernape's Close Combat is useful here.
Flygon: Articuno takes it easy after Agility, Donphan's Ice shard is great, and flygon doesn't do too much back with any move.
Gengar: Most of the reason I took scizor. Priority kills this thing. Empoleon can also do quite a bit, though it doesn't like Focus Blast. Flygon can outrage to kill, but I don't like being locked in when avoidable.
Gliscor: Donphan, Empoleon, and Articuno carry great ice moves to take it down. Articuno is the best choice due to speed issues though.
Gyarados: This is Annoying. Donphan's stone Edge hurts it, and Flygon can Outrage, but I don't have any great answers to it.
Heatran: Flygon and Empoleon take it down pretty well.
Heracross:Infernape's Flamethrower or Flygon's Fire blast take down this rare bug.
Infernape: Flygon is my best choice, and usually takes care of it, but Empoleon Does well if it lacks Close Combat, and Donphan does well if it lacks Grass Knot and HP ice.
Jirachi: Flygon, when not scarfed, and Donphan(due to very few special Jirachis any more) do pretty well. My first guess though is to go to Empoleon though.
Kingdra: The whole reason Empoleon replaced Registeel on this team. Ice beam does well and it can wall basically everything Kingdra has.
Latias: Outrage from Flygon and Ice Beam from Articuno (post agility). Donphan's Ice Shard helps.
Lucario: Infernape and Flygon both take it down. Donphan takes most of its attacks and kills with its EQ too.
Machamp: More of a pain than one would think. Flygon, Infernape, and Donphan all do reasonably, but nothing takes it down in the surefire way that I would want.
Magnezone: This will probably kill Scizor and Empoleon if I'm not careful. HUGE threat. Sure Flygon, Donphan, and Infernape take it down easily, but it's definitely taking at least one of my team with it.
Mamoswine: Infernape's Flamethrower or close combat are my best chances, though Flygon does well in the absence of Ice shard.
Metagross: Flygon and Infernape. Donphan works well too.
Ninjask: A Phazer probably would help against this. Most of the team can take it down, but it can usually pass once before that happens. Thank goodness Scizor's a great revenge killer.
Porygon-Z: Infernape works wonders.
Rhyperior: The whole team can take this down pretty easily.
Roserade: Infernape, Empoleon, and Articuno mainly.
Rotom-A: A bit of a problem. Scizor was brought in mainly for this (since starmie doesn't do well). Empoleon's Ice Beam does well too though.
Salamence: Flygon works well, scizor and donphan can do quite a bit with priority, and Empoleon's Ice beam does hurt it a lot.
Scizor: Infernape and flygon do pretty well. Donphan works wonders here as well.
Snorlax: Infernape is the go-to here. Scizor can do reasonably well too.
Starmie: U-turn is really an amazing attack. Flygon is preferable here, though Articuno can do pretty well.
Suicune: Infernape's the best choice here. Grass knot does reasonable damage.
Togekiss: Empoleon mainly. Articuno does well if it has the agility already.
Tyranitar: Infernape, Flygon, Donphan, and Scizor all fare pretty well.
Weavile: Scizor and Infernape.
Yanmega: Scizor and Donphan can take out Speed boosters, the whole team can easily tear through it if it doesn't boost its speed.
Zapdos: Articuno and Flygon seem like my best bets. Empoleon and Donphan can both fight it with worse results if need be.
Breloom: infernape's Flamethrower, and articuno's Ice Beam. Donphan can alo hit it well with Ice shard.
Celebi: No real threat at all. Everything except donphan easily takes it down.
Dugtrio: Articuno gets it if it already has its agility, and Donphan works wonders with Ice Shard. It is a pain though.
Electivire: Flygon easily kills it with its faster Earthquake, swapping in on electivire's own Earthquake or Thunder Punch. It can only get a speed boost from Articuno's HP anyway, and even then it doesn't outspeed unless it's Jolly. Infernape can usually kill it too, though it can't really swap in.
Empoleon: Flygon's EQ works well, scizor hurts it quite a bit with Superpower (though it doesn't like taking surf), Infernape's Close Combat is useful here.
Flygon: Articuno takes it easy after Agility, Donphan's Ice shard is great, and flygon doesn't do too much back with any move.
Gengar: Most of the reason I took scizor. Priority kills this thing. Empoleon can also do quite a bit, though it doesn't like Focus Blast. Flygon can outrage to kill, but I don't like being locked in when avoidable.
Gliscor: Donphan, Empoleon, and Articuno carry great ice moves to take it down. Articuno is the best choice due to speed issues though.
Gyarados: This is Annoying. Donphan's stone Edge hurts it, and Flygon can Outrage, but I don't have any great answers to it.
Heatran: Flygon and Empoleon take it down pretty well.
Heracross:Infernape's Flamethrower or Flygon's Fire blast take down this rare bug.
Infernape: Flygon is my best choice, and usually takes care of it, but Empoleon Does well if it lacks Close Combat, and Donphan does well if it lacks Grass Knot and HP ice.
Jirachi: Flygon, when not scarfed, and Donphan(due to very few special Jirachis any more) do pretty well. My first guess though is to go to Empoleon though.
Kingdra: The whole reason Empoleon replaced Registeel on this team. Ice beam does well and it can wall basically everything Kingdra has.
Latias: Outrage from Flygon and Ice Beam from Articuno (post agility). Donphan's Ice Shard helps.
Lucario: Infernape and Flygon both take it down. Donphan takes most of its attacks and kills with its EQ too.
Machamp: More of a pain than one would think. Flygon, Infernape, and Donphan all do reasonably, but nothing takes it down in the surefire way that I would want.
Magnezone: This will probably kill Scizor and Empoleon if I'm not careful. HUGE threat. Sure Flygon, Donphan, and Infernape take it down easily, but it's definitely taking at least one of my team with it.
Mamoswine: Infernape's Flamethrower or close combat are my best chances, though Flygon does well in the absence of Ice shard.
Metagross: Flygon and Infernape. Donphan works well too.
Ninjask: A Phazer probably would help against this. Most of the team can take it down, but it can usually pass once before that happens. Thank goodness Scizor's a great revenge killer.
Porygon-Z: Infernape works wonders.
Rhyperior: The whole team can take this down pretty easily.
Roserade: Infernape, Empoleon, and Articuno mainly.
Rotom-A: A bit of a problem. Scizor was brought in mainly for this (since starmie doesn't do well). Empoleon's Ice Beam does well too though.
Salamence: Flygon works well, scizor and donphan can do quite a bit with priority, and Empoleon's Ice beam does hurt it a lot.
Scizor: Infernape and flygon do pretty well. Donphan works wonders here as well.
Snorlax: Infernape is the go-to here. Scizor can do reasonably well too.
Starmie: U-turn is really an amazing attack. Flygon is preferable here, though Articuno can do pretty well.
Suicune: Infernape's the best choice here. Grass knot does reasonable damage.
Togekiss: Empoleon mainly. Articuno does well if it has the agility already.
Tyranitar: Infernape, Flygon, Donphan, and Scizor all fare pretty well.
Weavile: Scizor and Infernape.
Yanmega: Scizor and Donphan can take out Speed boosters, the whole team can easily tear through it if it doesn't boost its speed.
Zapdos: Articuno and Flygon seem like my best bets. Empoleon and Donphan can both fight it with worse results if need be.
DEFENSIVE
Blissey - Infernape or Scizor. I think that's enough.
Bronzong - Infernape and Flygon can both take this thing out, though it's annoying when it turns to out be heatproof when I'm scarfed and stuck on Fire blast.
Celebi- Flygon, Scizor, Articuno, or Infernape. No threat whatsoever.
Cradily - I have yet to see one, but I do believe articuno, scizor, infernape, and flygon all do a pretty good job against it.
Cresselia - Scizor and Flygon seem like the obvious choices here.
Crobat- Donphan, I guess. Not quite sure to be honest.
Donphan - Infernape and Articuno take this out.
Drapion - Flygon and Donphan.
Dusknoir - Again, not quite sure, but I haven't found much trouble with it. I guess scizor's pursuit is my best choice.
Empoleon - Flygon and Infernape both do well.
Forretress - Infernape and Flygon can obviously toast it.
Gliscor - Articuno, Donphan can revenge kill.
Gyarados - Articuno in the absence of stone edge. Donphan deals reasonable damage if not intimidated. Quite a pain.
Hariyama - Another one I'm not quite sure about. Haven't seen it much, but I'd probably go to Infernape.
Heatran- Flygon gets even the scarfers. Infernape can get the others.
Hippowdon - Infernape obviously takes this down. Articuno laughs at it too.
Jirachi- A real pain due to Iron head. I go to Empoleon.
Latias - Scizor. Flygon can also do well, but has to watch for Scarfers. Empoleon obviously works.
Ludicolo - Flygon and scizor both can hit it with U-turn.
Machamp - I go to Donphan, though a better option would be nice at times.
Magnezone - Flygon and Infernape both take it down, but it definitely can get scizor or empoleon first.
Mesprit - Flygon and scizor.
Metagross - Flygon and Infernape.
Milotic- Infernape's Grass knot does wonders.
Miltank - Infernape and scizor both take down this cow.
Porygon2 - Infernape and Scizor again.
Regirock - Empoleon is my first choice, but most of my team can do reasonably against it.
Registeel - Infernape, Flygon, and donphan take this down.
Rhyperior - Infernape's grass knot takes this down, solid rock or not. I'm pretty sure my whole team can take it down individually.
Rotom-A - scizor has been my answer to the rotom formes.
Salamence - Scizor and Donphan. Empoleon takes it out if in outrage. Articuno will take it down if already out.
Scizor - Infernape or flygon.
Shaymin - Infernape, Empoleon, Scizor, Flygon, and Articuno can all take this down.
Shuckle - err... Scizor and Empoleon, but I haven't seen one yet.
Skarmory - Flygon and Infernape roast it.
Slaking - Infernape and Scizor can both punch it out.
Slowbro - Flygon usually. Infernape works too, I guess.
Snorlax - Infernape is prefered.
Spiritomb - Whatever. I'd prefer to keep flygon out of it (obvious reasons I think), and it obviously is easiest if Articuno or Infernape is already set-up.
Starmie - Flygon and Scizor.
Suicune - I think Infernape works.
Swampert - Grass knot was made to take this thing down =D
Tentacruel - Flygon is my choice.
Togekiss - Never see it, probably causes some trouble though.
Tyranitar - infernape is the best choice. Flygon, scizor, and donphan work.
Umbreon - Flygon, Infernape, and Scizor.
Vaporeon - A bit of a pain. Not quite sure what to use.
Walrein - Most of my pokemon can stop it from going into uberstall mode. If it doesn't get a sub, it's useless. SR is obviously really helpful.
Weezing- Not sure, haven't seen any as of late.
Zapdos- Articuno and Flygon seem like my best bets. Empoleon and Donphan can both fight it with worse results if need be.
So, thanks in advance for the rates, leave some suggestions. I'm also considering swapping articuno since it doesn't see much use, but I'm not positive I want to. Just leave a suggestion for an alternative for it if you want, and I'll see how it does.
Bronzong - Infernape and Flygon can both take this thing out, though it's annoying when it turns to out be heatproof when I'm scarfed and stuck on Fire blast.
Celebi- Flygon, Scizor, Articuno, or Infernape. No threat whatsoever.
Cradily - I have yet to see one, but I do believe articuno, scizor, infernape, and flygon all do a pretty good job against it.
Cresselia - Scizor and Flygon seem like the obvious choices here.
Crobat- Donphan, I guess. Not quite sure to be honest.
Donphan - Infernape and Articuno take this out.
Drapion - Flygon and Donphan.
Dusknoir - Again, not quite sure, but I haven't found much trouble with it. I guess scizor's pursuit is my best choice.
Empoleon - Flygon and Infernape both do well.
Forretress - Infernape and Flygon can obviously toast it.
Gliscor - Articuno, Donphan can revenge kill.
Gyarados - Articuno in the absence of stone edge. Donphan deals reasonable damage if not intimidated. Quite a pain.
Hariyama - Another one I'm not quite sure about. Haven't seen it much, but I'd probably go to Infernape.
Heatran- Flygon gets even the scarfers. Infernape can get the others.
Hippowdon - Infernape obviously takes this down. Articuno laughs at it too.
Jirachi- A real pain due to Iron head. I go to Empoleon.
Latias - Scizor. Flygon can also do well, but has to watch for Scarfers. Empoleon obviously works.
Ludicolo - Flygon and scizor both can hit it with U-turn.
Machamp - I go to Donphan, though a better option would be nice at times.
Magnezone - Flygon and Infernape both take it down, but it definitely can get scizor or empoleon first.
Mesprit - Flygon and scizor.
Metagross - Flygon and Infernape.
Milotic- Infernape's Grass knot does wonders.
Miltank - Infernape and scizor both take down this cow.
Porygon2 - Infernape and Scizor again.
Regirock - Empoleon is my first choice, but most of my team can do reasonably against it.
Registeel - Infernape, Flygon, and donphan take this down.
Rhyperior - Infernape's grass knot takes this down, solid rock or not. I'm pretty sure my whole team can take it down individually.
Rotom-A - scizor has been my answer to the rotom formes.
Salamence - Scizor and Donphan. Empoleon takes it out if in outrage. Articuno will take it down if already out.
Scizor - Infernape or flygon.
Shaymin - Infernape, Empoleon, Scizor, Flygon, and Articuno can all take this down.
Shuckle - err... Scizor and Empoleon, but I haven't seen one yet.
Skarmory - Flygon and Infernape roast it.
Slaking - Infernape and Scizor can both punch it out.
Slowbro - Flygon usually. Infernape works too, I guess.
Snorlax - Infernape is prefered.
Spiritomb - Whatever. I'd prefer to keep flygon out of it (obvious reasons I think), and it obviously is easiest if Articuno or Infernape is already set-up.
Starmie - Flygon and Scizor.
Suicune - I think Infernape works.
Swampert - Grass knot was made to take this thing down =D
Tentacruel - Flygon is my choice.
Togekiss - Never see it, probably causes some trouble though.
Tyranitar - infernape is the best choice. Flygon, scizor, and donphan work.
Umbreon - Flygon, Infernape, and Scizor.
Vaporeon - A bit of a pain. Not quite sure what to use.
Walrein - Most of my pokemon can stop it from going into uberstall mode. If it doesn't get a sub, it's useless. SR is obviously really helpful.
Weezing- Not sure, haven't seen any as of late.
Zapdos- Articuno and Flygon seem like my best bets. Empoleon and Donphan can both fight it with worse results if need be.
So, thanks in advance for the rates, leave some suggestions. I'm also considering swapping articuno since it doesn't see much use, but I'm not positive I want to. Just leave a suggestion for an alternative for it if you want, and I'll see how it does.
