Glad it sounds good to you. Did you run calcs yet?
Oh and HP Rock also hits Shedinja who otherwise walls your set.
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New and 'creative' moveset/EV spread thread - UU Edition
- Thread starter Lee
- Start date
Glad it sounds good to you. Did you run calcs yet?
Oh and HP Rock also hits Shedinja who otherwise walls your set.
Um, just going to point out that the difference between a neutral sludge bomb and an SE HP Rock is barely anything (135 v. 140) and isn't worth the coverage loss. The only thing you'll hit harder with HP Rock is Moltres, who you have absolutely no business staying in on anyway. If you really want to run a Hidden Power, use HP Ice so you can beat up on physically bulky grounds and still hit Krow SE (Earthquake takes out Arcanine anyway)
Anemone
Anemone
Cradily @leftovers
-Rock Slide
-Stockpile
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/160 Def/98 Spe
This set is meant to be played in brewing sandstorm. With sandstorm and three Stockpiles, neutral natured Venusaur's Sludge Bomb won't break Cradily's substitute. Cradily then can proceed to Swords Dance three times, Substitute is necessary, and sweep with Rock Slide. This Cradily won't ever fear of phazing, since Suction Cups prevents Cradily's hard earned substitute, stockpile, or swords dance lost due to being phazed. Even neutral Def Nature Aggron lost at least more than 40% HP, while Aggron won't break Cradily 3x Stockpiled Substitute with Aqua Tail. Hippopotas with Stealth Rock greatly benefits this Cradily, since Sandstorm, Stealth Rock and double Special Defense from Sandstorm greatly increase Cradily's success in sweeping. However, everyone must be careful with hazer, such as Milotic and Weezing, and quicker status abuser, such as Hypnosis Persian or Choice Scarf Butterfree. Also, it will be death if Trick abuser is around.
Anemone
Cradily @leftovers
-Rock Slide
-Stockpile
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
Ability: Suction Cups
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/160 Def/98 Spe
This set is meant to be played in brewing sandstorm. With sandstorm and three Stockpiles, neutral natured Venusaur's Sludge Bomb won't break Cradily's substitute. Cradily then can proceed to Swords Dance three times, Substitute is necessary, and sweep with Rock Slide. This Cradily won't ever fear of phazing, since Suction Cups prevents Cradily's hard earned substitute, stockpile, or swords dance lost due to being phazed. Even neutral Def Nature Aggron lost at least more than 40% HP, while Aggron won't break Cradily 3x Stockpiled Substitute with Aqua Tail. Hippopotas with Stealth Rock greatly benefits this Cradily, since Sandstorm, Stealth Rock and double Special Defense from Sandstorm greatly increase Cradily's success in sweeping. However, everyone must be careful with hazer, such as Milotic and Weezing, and quicker status abuser, such as Hypnosis Persian or Choice Scarf Butterfree. Also, it will be death if Trick abuser is around.
Not at the rate you're taking damage at. You really need Recover for that.
That's why I pointed out how it's the only nitpick to the set. It was pretty much perfect from the beginning, but he wanted more criticism. Besides, hitting Moltres was where he was investing a lot of the EVs in, now he doesn't have to worry about that, or worry about not killing Moltres if SR isn't up. Also I suggested going for different % benchmarks when dealing with Honchkrow and Arcanine.
HP Ice does nothing to Arcanine or Moltres, and I'm having trouble seeing it do more to physically bulky grounds than Power Whip would. The only real instance I can think of would be Gligar, who has .8% usage (12 spots below the venerable Pikachu)
I don't think that could work due to the amount of things that can mess it up. A fast status/trick user will simply ruin you, plus none is going to give you seven turns of setup. Added to that, seeing so much setup go to waste when a hazer appears simply sucks.
On another note you ran some strange calculations; why mention Aggron's Aqua Tail when it's better off just Head Smashing you?
On another note you ran some strange calculations; why mention Aggron's Aqua Tail when it's better off just Head Smashing you?
Alos, HP Rock doesn't allow for a perfect speed IV.
The purpose of U-turn isn't really to cause damage, but to scout counters. That being said, Hasty is definitely better because defense is next to useless on Butterfree.
Porygon-Z@Leftovers/Life Orb
252HP/160SpD/96SpA - Modest, Adaptability with NP, Download with Agil
~Nasty Plot/Agility
~Recover
~Tri-Attack
~Thunderbolt/Hidden Power Fighting
EVs make sure standard Milotic/Blastoise never 3HKO with their respective 0SpA Surfs, and the bulk on the special side (and physical) is really amazing otherwise. It's fast enough to outpace all of stall with no speed EVs, so if you're just going for stall breaker stick with Nasty Plot. If you need it as a cleanup sweeper, use Agility and Download. Alternatively, you can stick those 160 EVs into Defense, which ensures Steelix will never 3HKO you with EQ and by extension Registeel's Iron Head won't either.
It goes without saying that if you go with HP Fighting > Thunderbolt, ghosts will wall you to oblivion. CBTomb takes care of ghosts easily with its powerful pursuit, and can also Trick the Band onto an unsuspecting Cresselia/other thing that doesn't want a Choice Band after its ghost cleaning duties are finished, making HP Fighting a better option if you have a Pursuiter so you can hit both Rocks and Steels for Super Effective.
Alternatively if you're really gutsy, you can drop either Recover or your secondary attacking option for whichever +2 you didn't have before. If you get an Agility and a Nasty Plot (which isn't really all that hard by any stretch of the imagination with the EVs and PZ's ability to force switches) then you can pretty much call it gg.
You can also choose to use a Life Orb for some extra oomph on your hits, as you can just recover off the damage, but it significantly lowers PZ's longevity.
Porygon-Z@Leftovers/Life Orb
252HP/160SpD/96SpA - Modest, Adaptability with NP, Download with Agil
~Nasty Plot/Agility
~Recover
~Tri-Attack
~Thunderbolt/Hidden Power Fighting
EVs make sure standard Milotic/Blastoise never 3HKO with their respective 0SpA Surfs, and the bulk on the special side (and physical) is really amazing otherwise. It's fast enough to outpace all of stall with no speed EVs, so if you're just going for stall breaker stick with Nasty Plot. If you need it as a cleanup sweeper, use Agility and Download. Alternatively, you can stick those 160 EVs into Defense, which ensures Steelix will never 3HKO you with EQ and by extension Registeel's Iron Head won't either.
It goes without saying that if you go with HP Fighting > Thunderbolt, ghosts will wall you to oblivion. CBTomb takes care of ghosts easily with its powerful pursuit, and can also Trick the Band onto an unsuspecting Cresselia/other thing that doesn't want a Choice Band after its ghost cleaning duties are finished, making HP Fighting a better option if you have a Pursuiter so you can hit both Rocks and Steels for Super Effective.
Alternatively if you're really gutsy, you can drop either Recover or your secondary attacking option for whichever +2 you didn't have before. If you get an Agility and a Nasty Plot (which isn't really all that hard by any stretch of the imagination with the EVs and PZ's ability to force switches) then you can pretty much call it gg.
You can also choose to use a Life Orb for some extra oomph on your hits, as you can just recover off the damage, but it significantly lowers PZ's longevity.
Why use Thunderbolt over HP Water? SpDef Steelix has an 'easier' time walling this set, Rotom does as well, and Normal/Fighting is not a good combination with Mismagius and Spiritomb everywhere. You already obliterate the likes of Milotic and Blastoise with a +2 Tri Attack. But now you're created another problem (see below)
Keep in mind though, with Leftovers, Porygon-Z can't OHKO offensive Milotic (0 HP/SpDef investment) with a +2 Tri Attack, and is outrun even by Modest versions of Milotic who can 2HKO with either Surf, or Hydro Pump. But this presents another problem 216 is not a great speed at all. Even neutral natured base 60s can outrun you. You're losing to things like Uxie, and Rotom too that don't even invest in speed, and at best you'll tie a Moltres not running any speed (they'll run speed), so I fail to see how it 'outruns all of stall'.
A bulkier version of Porygon-Z is definitely viable, but I believe he will have to run a significant amount of speed in the process.
I just find it natural that you would run a Pursuiter with Porygon-Z, so losing coverage to ghosts doesn't mean much, especially when it's so easy to just Plot/Agility up again due to his bulkiness.
Valid points. You could take a couple points out of SpA and put them into Speed to outrun min speed Uxie and min speed Rotom. I don't see many Moltres on stall either. The bulky varient can be taken care of by repeatedly Tri-Attacking, as at most it will only take 10 pp from Tri-Attack if you just keep attacking. If it decides to Toxic it dies.
Hey ya'll, after testing my Magmortar set for a long time I decided to post it on here because of it's great success for me. Here it is:
Magmortar@ Life Orb
Ability:Flame Body
EV's: 8 Atk, 252 Sp.A, 248 Speed
Nature: Naive
Moveset:
~Fire Blast
~Thunderbolt
~Hidden Power Grass
~Cross Chop
Magmortar@ Life Orb
Ability:Flame Body
EV's: 8 Atk, 252 Sp.A, 248 Speed
Nature: Naive
Moveset:
~Fire Blast
~Thunderbolt
~Hidden Power Grass
~Cross Chop
So yeeah that's the set. Magmortar's underrated and seen by many as being only useful as a specs or scarf user, but I think it's more effective as a wallbreaker. Magmortar has the 2nd highest Sp.A of all fire types (Heatran at 130 and tied with moltres at 125), so any pokemon switching in takes massive damage from a STAB, Life Orb, powerful Fire Blast. Water types take large amount of damage from Thunderbolt, and if that water type switched in on a fire blast and SR, thunderbolt usually KO's. Hidden Power grass is great move alongside Magmortar's other attacks. HP grass hit's water/ground types for an instant OHKO, as well as Rhyperior, a common switch-in to magmortar. It also hit's lanturn for a good amount of damage (42-50%). The last move is to insure that magmortar isn't walled by chansey, as a chansey switching in on Fire blast and SR will be KO'd by cross chop.
I went with a speed boosting nature because I noticed that Magmortar's unique speed allows it to do a lot in the UU environment. 83 base speed allows magmortar to outspeed all 95 base speed pokemon that aren't running a boosting speed nature. Naive also allows Magmortar to outspeed the oh so common 80 base speeders that run a boosting speed nature. Life Orb boosts his already powerful attack, and I ran this over a scarf or specs because Magmortar is already a hard pokemon to get in, with SR and all, and a choice item would make Magmortar switch in and out a lot. Magmortar's biggest advantage with this set is his versatility and to hit many pokemon supereffectively or anything that doesn't resist fire blast for loads of damage. I'll run any calc's you want me to. Plz tell me whatcha think. Thanks.
I went with a speed boosting nature because I noticed that Magmortar's unique speed allows it to do a lot in the UU environment. 83 base speed allows magmortar to outspeed all 95 base speed pokemon that aren't running a boosting speed nature. Naive also allows Magmortar to outspeed the oh so common 80 base speeders that run a boosting speed nature. Life Orb boosts his already powerful attack, and I ran this over a scarf or specs because Magmortar is already a hard pokemon to get in, with SR and all, and a choice item would make Magmortar switch in and out a lot. Magmortar's biggest advantage with this set is his versatility and to hit many pokemon supereffectively or anything that doesn't resist fire blast for loads of damage. I'll run any calc's you want me to. Plz tell me whatcha think. Thanks.
Hey ya'll, after testing my Magmortar set for a long time I decided to post it on here because of it's great success for me. Here it is:
Magmortar@ Life Orb
Ability:Flame Body
EV's: 8 Atk, 252 Sp.A, 248 Speed
Nature: Naive
Moveset:
~Fire Blast
~Thunderbolt
~Hidden Power Grass
~Cross ChopSo yeeah that's the set. Magmortar's underrated and seen by many as being only useful as a specs or scarf user, but I think it's more effective as a wallbreaker. Magmortar has the 2nd highest Sp.A of all fire types (Heatran at 130 and tied with moltres at 125), so any pokemon switching in takes massive damage from a STAB, Life Orb, powerful Fire Blast. Water types take large amount of damage from Thunderbolt, and if that water type switched in on a fire blast and SR, thunderbolt usually KO's. Hidden Power grass is great move alongside Magmortar's other attacks. HP grass hit's water/ground types for an instant OHKO, as well as Rhyperior, a common switch-in to magmortar. It also hit's lanturn for a good amount of damage (42-50%). The last move is to insure that magmortar isn't walled by chansey, as a chansey switching in on Fire blast and SR will be KO'd by cross chop.
I went with a speed boosting nature because I noticed that Magmortar's unique speed allows it to do a lot in the UU environment. 83 base speed allows magmortar to outspeed all 95 base speed pokemon that aren't running a boosting speed nature. Naive also allows Magmortar to outspeed the oh so common 80 base speeders that run a boosting speed nature. Life Orb boosts his already powerful attack, and I ran this over a scarf or specs because Magmortar is already a hard pokemon to get in, with SR and all, and a choice item would make Magmortar switch in and out a lot. Magmortar's biggest advantage with this set is his versatility and to hit many pokemon supereffectively or anything that doesn't resist fire blast for loads of damage. I'll run any calc's you want me to. Plz tell me whatcha think. Thanks.
This is pretty much the same as the "Mixed Attacker" set in the analysis, except with different EVs and HP Grass instead of Ice.
What analysis? Like the smogon set? Anyways, this one is meant for UU, and HP ice is kinda useless in UU because the only thing it does more damage against is altaria, who is not seen too often. When was that posted on smogon? I hadn't seen it before. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough. Oh yeah, it also has a different nature because it's speed does a lot for it in UU. Also, the speed EV's are different for taking out the 80 base speeders with a + nature in speed, as well as base 95's without one.
You're right, it isn't exactly in the analysis. I think people assume it is since yours is the most obvious and most used set out there.
Hey guys. You might have seen some of my Rate My Team threads, or have versed me on Shoddy (I'm most often under the name Testnut currently), so hey to those who know me. After my most recent RMT in the UU and Others page, Rolling the Seven-Sided Dice, I really wished that there was a place I could get individual Pokemon rated. Then, I did some actual searching. XD Found this, and I have a new Drapion set that I'd like some critique on. I really feel that with proper support, this could be a potential new common moveset for it and could be considered for analysis. All it needs is some tweaking in the EV's, and a lot of people to test it out. :) Note: I REALLY need help for its EV's. Read the whole thing, and near the end, I'll explain more. Thanks!
While straight-up battling with standard Pokes is fun, I've been lately trying to create different Pokemon sets that provide unexplored ways of using some of my favorite Pokemon (who are generally under-appreciated in the tiers). I might have unorthodox sets, but they're quite effective. In today's UU metagame, we're seeing a lot of the same things: strong, fast priority users, Choice Pokes, and a multitude of walls and such. So, one of the best ways to destroy a game plan is to take away the opponent's anchor, that is, their main methods of attacking. So, what to do then? I introduce to you a Pokemon, and its set, that has only one weakness, a way of countering their weaknesses, and a gambling method that if luck is on your good side, you'll be hard to beat:
Defensive Gambler
Drapion @ Black Sludge
Ability: Battle Armor
EV's: 248 HP/52 Def/42 Spe/172 SpD
Careful Nature
Moveset:
- Torment
- Protect
- Crunch
- Accupressure/Substitute
NOTE: Please wait until after you read the whole description before talking about EV's. I'm not the greatest at determining what they need to be (kind of obvious), but at least I have a good idea on why I chose most of them. XD
This guy has forced so many rage quits and sweeps, it's not even funny. In fact, I've had someone outright accuse me of cheating once, because I was successfully able to get + 4 in Evasion, +2 in the Defenses, and an Attack boost easily. Drapion has become my favorite Generation IV Poke, and I feel that this guy isn't getting enough attention. This set is designed to set up the opportunity to gamble, and reap the rewards of +2 boosts. Drapion comes equipped with one weakness and resistances that are found quite often in UU play, like Grass and Ghost. Torment makes sure that a Pokemon's most powerful attack can be evaded by Protect, which is a huge benefit for the Ground-only weak Drapion. By eliminating the Ground attacks, Drapion becomes incredibly hard to beat. Crunch is chosen over Poison STAB and other attacks because no Pokemon is immune to Dark attacks, and Crunch has a chance to lower Defense, which helps hit Defensive walls even without Accupressure boosts. Crunch also has a good number of PP usage (24 turns), which is chosen in the same fashion as TormenTran's Lava Plume. Accupressure is the preferred option for the last spot, and in my opinion, makes TormentTran forced to ask Santa for a stat-boosting move to make it less jealous of Drapion. While many argue that Accupressure is way too unreliable, let's take a look at what can be boosted and how well Drapion does with the boost:
Attack: Positive: Attack boosts help Crunch hit hard, and combined with an above average Base Attack and possible Defense drops, Drapion becomes pretty powerful for a Defensive Poke.
Defense: Positive: One of the three greatest boosts Drapion can get with Accupressure concerning this set. A +2 Defense makes it hard for anything to 3HKO this thing with Earthquake, let alone any other attack, and two boosts is just ridiculous.
Special Attack: Negative: Obviously ineffective, since Drapion does not have any Special moves.
Special Defense: Positive: Another great boost for Drapion, as Earth Power is more common in UU, and Drapion's below average Special Defense gets better and better. UU's Special Attackers have a hard time with Drapion with this boost.
Speed: Effective: Speed comes in handy for getting in additional boosts before faster enemies can attack, which is a huge plus, and allows Drapion to outspeed things like Mismagius. However, TWave is very common in UU, which while minimally affecting Drapion's overall purpose, it ruins Speed boosts.
Accuracy: Negative: Obviously not useful, as Crunch has 100 accuracy already. No real benefit for me, unless I'm up against Froslass or Glaceon in the Hail.
Evasion: Positive: Winner! Evasion boosts are ridiculous when paired with Torment and Protect, and is one of Drapion's best boosts to deal with RP Rhyperior, his main enemy. You gotta love Evasion boosts!
So, looking at this list, we have four great boosts, one decent boost, and two ineffective boosts. So, five out of seven times, the boost will be effective, thus making Acupressure more viable. Plus, with Battle Armor, there is no worries about Critical Hits ruining my defensive boosts - another thing Heatran is jealous of. Substitute can be an option to prevent Status and to make Drapion more conservatively played, but since its immune to Toxic and moves like Will-O-Wisp are rarely seen in UU (or at least for me), Acupressure seems just more fun and useful to use.
Also, remember that Taunt users in UU are few and far between, with the most being such things as Lead Froslass. Encore might be more common, but that isn't saying a whole lot outside of LeadZam and Clefable.
Now all that's left is creating a team surrounding it. If you would like an idea of what kind of team makes this set successful, check out my thread here (although, I encourage you to use new Pokemon that might help it more. I'm very good at team synergy, but I'm not the greatest at getting the most out of the best Pokes in the tier. However, this team is more than satisfactory.):
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=654306
About the EV's:
The EV's are placed to near max out HP (necessary for staying alive, of course, while stalling for Accupressures), high Special Defense and a Careful nature (to counter his low Special Defense, this makes a STAB Earth Power from Utility Claydol a 3HKO after Black Sludge. Pretty good for a STAB SE move. It can also survive a +1 CM TBolt from Raikou as well.), and Defense EVs for added bulk. Not sure what I'm outspeeding with those Speed EV's, though. Like I said, I really need help determining the EV's for this fella. If I can just get these right, this thing will be awesome.
Problems
Pokemon Problems: Rhyperior and Donphan: Two Ground-based Defensive powerhouses with STAB EQ's. Rhyperior is more threatening, especially RP sets. If I can manage a Defensive boost plus Torment, which can be possible, it's a much more manageable situation. With an Evasion boost, facing Rhyperior under Torment is a lot of fun, as when I use Protect on Earthquake, he'll struggle to hit with the unreliable Megahorn and Aqua Tail or Stone Edge. Donphan has a lot more bulk defensively, but when under Torment, he's left with a paltry Ice Shard and Rapid Spin/Assurance. Crunch helps lower his defense as well over time, which makes him a smaller threat.
Raikou: If Rhyperior is the Physical juggle for this set, then Raikou is the Special. Luckily, unless it's running HP Ground, I can successfully Torment this guy, which makes for either a netrual (and rare) HP Ice or a more common resistance of Shadow Ball or HP Grass. With Special Defense, Evasion, or Attack boosts, this is more easily handled than the bulky Rhyperior. However, its immense power and a lack of luck makes this a pretty overwhelming threat.
Boosting Problems: Curse: Registeel and Quagsire in particular, since they have access to Earthquake. Registeel is more of a problem, since he resists Crunch while boosting his own Defense, and has STAB Iron Head. However, one thing positive coming out of an opponent Cursing is the possible boosts I too can get. Registeel can get six Curses in a row, while in that same time span, I can get six +2 boosts in Defense, Attack, or Evasion. Torment helps keep me alive longer and allow me to get in safe boosts as well. Quagsire is easier, since it doesn't resist Crunch. Don't forget that Drapion can get Critical Hits while they can't due to Battle Armor, so them scoring a Crit is not an issue. Thank goodness Curse is pretty uncommon nowadays.
Thanks again! Have fun playing with this guy, and any comments and critiques would be nice.
While straight-up battling with standard Pokes is fun, I've been lately trying to create different Pokemon sets that provide unexplored ways of using some of my favorite Pokemon (who are generally under-appreciated in the tiers). I might have unorthodox sets, but they're quite effective. In today's UU metagame, we're seeing a lot of the same things: strong, fast priority users, Choice Pokes, and a multitude of walls and such. So, one of the best ways to destroy a game plan is to take away the opponent's anchor, that is, their main methods of attacking. So, what to do then? I introduce to you a Pokemon, and its set, that has only one weakness, a way of countering their weaknesses, and a gambling method that if luck is on your good side, you'll be hard to beat:
Defensive Gambler
Drapion @ Black Sludge
Ability: Battle Armor
EV's: 248 HP/52 Def/42 Spe/172 SpD
Careful Nature
Moveset:
- Torment
- Protect
- Crunch
- Accupressure/Substitute
NOTE: Please wait until after you read the whole description before talking about EV's. I'm not the greatest at determining what they need to be (kind of obvious), but at least I have a good idea on why I chose most of them. XD
This guy has forced so many rage quits and sweeps, it's not even funny. In fact, I've had someone outright accuse me of cheating once, because I was successfully able to get + 4 in Evasion, +2 in the Defenses, and an Attack boost easily. Drapion has become my favorite Generation IV Poke, and I feel that this guy isn't getting enough attention. This set is designed to set up the opportunity to gamble, and reap the rewards of +2 boosts. Drapion comes equipped with one weakness and resistances that are found quite often in UU play, like Grass and Ghost. Torment makes sure that a Pokemon's most powerful attack can be evaded by Protect, which is a huge benefit for the Ground-only weak Drapion. By eliminating the Ground attacks, Drapion becomes incredibly hard to beat. Crunch is chosen over Poison STAB and other attacks because no Pokemon is immune to Dark attacks, and Crunch has a chance to lower Defense, which helps hit Defensive walls even without Accupressure boosts. Crunch also has a good number of PP usage (24 turns), which is chosen in the same fashion as TormenTran's Lava Plume. Accupressure is the preferred option for the last spot, and in my opinion, makes TormentTran forced to ask Santa for a stat-boosting move to make it less jealous of Drapion. While many argue that Accupressure is way too unreliable, let's take a look at what can be boosted and how well Drapion does with the boost:
Attack: Positive: Attack boosts help Crunch hit hard, and combined with an above average Base Attack and possible Defense drops, Drapion becomes pretty powerful for a Defensive Poke.
Defense: Positive: One of the three greatest boosts Drapion can get with Accupressure concerning this set. A +2 Defense makes it hard for anything to 3HKO this thing with Earthquake, let alone any other attack, and two boosts is just ridiculous.
Special Attack: Negative: Obviously ineffective, since Drapion does not have any Special moves.
Special Defense: Positive: Another great boost for Drapion, as Earth Power is more common in UU, and Drapion's below average Special Defense gets better and better. UU's Special Attackers have a hard time with Drapion with this boost.
Speed: Effective: Speed comes in handy for getting in additional boosts before faster enemies can attack, which is a huge plus, and allows Drapion to outspeed things like Mismagius. However, TWave is very common in UU, which while minimally affecting Drapion's overall purpose, it ruins Speed boosts.
Accuracy: Negative: Obviously not useful, as Crunch has 100 accuracy already. No real benefit for me, unless I'm up against Froslass or Glaceon in the Hail.
Evasion: Positive: Winner! Evasion boosts are ridiculous when paired with Torment and Protect, and is one of Drapion's best boosts to deal with RP Rhyperior, his main enemy. You gotta love Evasion boosts!
So, looking at this list, we have four great boosts, one decent boost, and two ineffective boosts. So, five out of seven times, the boost will be effective, thus making Acupressure more viable. Plus, with Battle Armor, there is no worries about Critical Hits ruining my defensive boosts - another thing Heatran is jealous of. Substitute can be an option to prevent Status and to make Drapion more conservatively played, but since its immune to Toxic and moves like Will-O-Wisp are rarely seen in UU (or at least for me), Acupressure seems just more fun and useful to use.
Now all that's left is creating a team surrounding it. If you would like an idea of what kind of team makes this set successful, check out my thread here (although, I encourage you to use new Pokemon that might help it more. I'm very good at team synergy, but I'm not the greatest at getting the most out of the best Pokes in the tier. However, this team is more than satisfactory.):
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=654306
About the EV's:
The EV's are placed to near max out HP (necessary for staying alive, of course, while stalling for Accupressures), high Special Defense and a Careful nature (to counter his low Special Defense, this makes a STAB Earth Power from Utility Claydol a 3HKO after Black Sludge. Pretty good for a STAB SE move. It can also survive a +1 CM TBolt from Raikou as well.), and Defense EVs for added bulk. Not sure what I'm outspeeding with those Speed EV's, though. Like I said, I really need help determining the EV's for this fella. If I can just get these right, this thing will be awesome.
Problems
Pokemon Problems: Rhyperior and Donphan: Two Ground-based Defensive powerhouses with STAB EQ's. Rhyperior is more threatening, especially RP sets. If I can manage a Defensive boost plus Torment, which can be possible, it's a much more manageable situation. With an Evasion boost, facing Rhyperior under Torment is a lot of fun, as when I use Protect on Earthquake, he'll struggle to hit with the unreliable Megahorn and Aqua Tail or Stone Edge. Donphan has a lot more bulk defensively, but when under Torment, he's left with a paltry Ice Shard and Rapid Spin/Assurance. Crunch helps lower his defense as well over time, which makes him a smaller threat.
Raikou: If Rhyperior is the Physical juggle for this set, then Raikou is the Special. Luckily, unless it's running HP Ground, I can successfully Torment this guy, which makes for either a netrual (and rare) HP Ice or a more common resistance of Shadow Ball or HP Grass. With Special Defense, Evasion, or Attack boosts, this is more easily handled than the bulky Rhyperior. However, its immense power and a lack of luck makes this a pretty overwhelming threat.
Boosting Problems: Curse: Registeel and Quagsire in particular, since they have access to Earthquake. Registeel is more of a problem, since he resists Crunch while boosting his own Defense, and has STAB Iron Head. However, one thing positive coming out of an opponent Cursing is the possible boosts I too can get. Registeel can get six Curses in a row, while in that same time span, I can get six +2 boosts in Defense, Attack, or Evasion. Torment helps keep me alive longer and allow me to get in safe boosts as well. Quagsire is easier, since it doesn't resist Crunch. Don't forget that Drapion can get Critical Hits while they can't due to Battle Armor, so them scoring a Crit is not an issue. Thank goodness Curse is pretty uncommon nowadays.
Thanks again! Have fun playing with this guy, and any comments and critiques would be nice.
I don't think the set needs any speed at all. Extra Speed cannot outspeed any extra Taunters, and fast offensive pokemon can be handled with Torment/Protect and Acupressure boosts. Because this set has no recovery outside of Black Sludge, and does not have the extra bulkiness Substitute gives like on Torment Tran, I suggest 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SDef Careful nature for maximum bulkiness (also, Drapion doesn't mind having an HP divisible by 8 because it's not weak to Stealth Rock and has Black Sludge). I think it's a good set.
@Ich777Ich; Altaria is a very good reason to have hp ice, it is far more common than quagsire/gastroden which are the main reason for the change to hp grass. Hp Ice also has far wider utility than hp grass and can ease prediction (a minor point). I also think it is a benefit to have a move that can land SE hits on Venusaur (amongst others) that has a 100% accuracy, it can be priceless when you need it.
@DarkSlay; I think i have faced you using that set. My problem with it is it really doesnt do much to alot of common sets that dont mind changing moves. Registeel might set up SR,Twave or Iron head. It obviously loses to haze milotic. I think its biggest problem is with setup sweepers such as SD Venusaur. Sure you stop an EQ but it only means an extra SD. All that said i do like the set, its original and has surprise factor (at least untill you see torment as its opening move).
@DarkSlay; I think i have faced you using that set. My problem with it is it really doesnt do much to alot of common sets that dont mind changing moves. Registeel might set up SR,Twave or Iron head. It obviously loses to haze milotic. I think its biggest problem is with setup sweepers such as SD Venusaur. Sure you stop an EQ but it only means an extra SD. All that said i do like the set, its original and has surprise factor (at least untill you see torment as its opening move).
HP Ice can definitely have a place, for those fearful of defensive Altaria, but the more common Dragon Dance variants are taken care of by Thunderbolt as it is (so long as Stealth Rocks are in play). 40.8% - 47.9% to a 72 HP / 0 SpDef Altaria. You have good odds with Fire Blast as well, landing a cool 38.5% - 45.6% on the same Flying Dragon.
HP Grass means you're not walled by the bulky SpDef variants (typically Curse, or Stockpile) of Gastrodon and Quagsire. Gastrodon is particular spells trouble with its higher Special Defense. Even 252 HP / 0 SpDef Gastrodon can outstall Fire Blast. It's also your only hope against the fairly common (compared to Quagsire and Gastrodon), Lanturn.
So, if you're really worried about Altaria (or lack SR), have at it, but you're limiting the coverage for sure.
Yes, you are right, hp ice does take care of altaria, but that is only ONE pokemon. As mentioned by evil mario and godsend, hp grass gives me much, much more coverage than hp ice, hitting whiscash, quagsire, gastrodon (None of those are really used), and Rhyperior (Who is seen quite a lot). Also, Rhyperior is more used than Altaria, Rhyperior being the 10th most used and altaria being the 23rd.