Blah blah introductions blah blah OK here we go!
I wanted to base a team around something really unpredictable in today's metagame; something that is anti-metagame, effective, and unexpected. As all of you should know, Heatran is the #1 most used Pokémon in OU, and rightfully so, as it is an amazing Pokémon. With all of the teams that have Heatran in them for various roles and whatnot, I decided to base my team on something which causes Heatran to enter the battle right away when my opponent is facing it. Jirachi, Jirachi, Jirachi... with HP [Ground]? What? But it WORKS! I am, by the way, not taking credit for coming up with the idea to use HP [Ground] as it is the primary 4th slot in its Superachi analysis, but it is so unexpected and rare that it easily baits in Heatran and disposes of it. Of course, to pull this strategy off effectively, I would need team support which leads me to the perfect transition (yeah not really) to my inevitable team building process, hooray!
As stated previously, Jirachi would be my main focus in this team, and by the way, I'm not going to say something dumb and cliche like "Jirachi, enter the fray! zomgroflcopterlollshidmtamsfoXDXD" so now that I have cleared that up, onto the second Pokémon choice...
Looking over Jirachi's main checks and counters, realized that Swampert could combat roughly two-thirds of them, and I bet you can't guess what comes next!
You: "Oh, well since you are so cool and original I know you will pick Whiscash because you know that UU Pokémon are awesome and underrated!"
Haha I was right! You can't guess what Pokémon I will pick! And by the way, Whiscash is NU, not UU you moron. This is what it really should look like!
Now that emo-fish has seated itself comfortably next to our cute friend with the weird star hat thing, I can move on with my life. After Swampert started taking care of threats like Dragonite, Flygon, Tyranitar, and Scarf Tran, a few Pokémon still were bothering me... Those Pokémon were: Celebi, Infernape, Hippowdon and a few other bulky Grass and Ground Pokémon. I figured that a combination of Dragonite and Skarmory could handle all of these Pokémon with ease. I realized quickly that I now only have two slots left, and one of them would need to be a lead, one of them would have to have Stealth Rock, one of them would have to be a Rapid Spinner if D-Nite had to switch in all the time to save Jirachi's behind, etc... Therefore, with too many roles to fill with two slots left, I decided that I could say "Dragonite, you're fired... and you haven't even started working yet!
A Rapid Spinner for one Pokémon seemed too much for me, so D-Nite was gone. I soon realized that Flygon actually could provide the same resistances that Dragonite provided that were necessary to the team as well as add some Speed to the team while reliably checking both Infernape and Celebi, among many other Pokémon such as SD Luke.
A lead and a Stealth Rocker was now necessary... I wanted to fill the lead spot with something reliable, a bit unexpected, and a Stealth Rocker. Well, Heatran fit these characteristics quite well, and with the new Choice Specs lead Heatran I have been readng about all over lately, I decided to give it a shot. I am currently testing Modest LO Heatran over my previous Specs Tran, and I am liking the results a lot. It gets up SR much easier and I haven't missed the Speed yet.
Looking over Jirachi's main checks and counters, realized that Swampert could combat roughly two-thirds of them, and I bet you can't guess what comes next!
Haha I was right! You can't guess what Pokémon I will pick! And by the way, Whiscash is NU, not UU you moron. This is what it really should look like!
Now that emo-fish has seated itself comfortably next to our cute friend with the weird star hat thing, I can move on with my life. After Swampert started taking care of threats like Dragonite, Flygon, Tyranitar, and Scarf Tran, a few Pokémon still were bothering me... Those Pokémon were: Celebi, Infernape, Hippowdon and a few other bulky Grass and Ground Pokémon. I figured that a combination of Dragonite and Skarmory could handle all of these Pokémon with ease. I realized quickly that I now only have two slots left, and one of them would need to be a lead, one of them would have to have Stealth Rock, one of them would have to be a Rapid Spinner if D-Nite had to switch in all the time to save Jirachi's behind, etc... Therefore, with too many roles to fill with two slots left, I decided that I could say "Dragonite, you're fired... and you haven't even started working yet!
A Rapid Spinner for one Pokémon seemed too much for me, so D-Nite was gone. I soon realized that Flygon actually could provide the same resistances that Dragonite provided that were necessary to the team as well as add some Speed to the team while reliably checking both Infernape and Celebi, among many other Pokémon such as SD Luke.
A lead and a Stealth Rocker was now necessary... I wanted to fill the lead spot with something reliable, a bit unexpected, and a Stealth Rocker. Well, Heatran fit these characteristics quite well, and with the new Choice Specs lead Heatran I have been readng about all over lately, I decided to give it a shot. I am currently testing Modest LO Heatran over my previous Specs Tran, and I am liking the results a lot. It gets up SR much easier and I haven't missed the Speed yet.
Right about now I was thinking about a Fire/Water/Grass core to build good defensive synergy and especially to take on opposing Water types, as nothing on my team currently has a reliable way of beating them. My good options were Shaymin and Celebi. In the end, Shaymin won because of its pure Grass typing and access to Seed Flare. I am willing to test out a Celebi set if someone wants me to try it out over Shaymin. Over time, Shaymin just wasn't too useful in most battles, and since I needed a spin blocker, Shaymin was replaced by a scarf Rotom-W, my second favorite version. Yes, Rotom-F is just so adorable; I mean he is very manly, yeah! Muscles and Scurvy =)
The N00b Scrubs -
Mov3sets (I actually completely accidentally hit the 3 instead of e, but I'm keeping it anyways =P)
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA 234 Spe
Overheat / HP [Grass] / Stealth Rock / Earth Power
Heatran is here to set up Stealth Rock and to help mitigate my Machamp weakness as it OHKOs standard Machamp leads 66% of the time factoring in Overheat's accuracy. The move itself has about a 74% chance of OHKOing Machamp leads, which is not bad considering that Jirachi's Iron Head has a 60% chance to flinch you and it ALWAYS FLINCHES YOU lol. 24HP EVs rounds down LO recoil from 33 damage to 32 damage, and the 234 Speed EVs out speed max speed Tyranitar, as well as the Pokémon who aim to out speed Tyranitar by a point or two. I like this set much much more than the Choice Specs set as I usually got Stealth Rock up by the middle of the battle or very late, and while the power was nice, Stealth Rock is the main reason Heatran is in the lead position. I have not missed the Speed yet, either, as I usually do not stay in on the speed tie with opposing Heatran anyways, and there are not many other Pokémon who lurk around the Modest Heatran - Timid Heatran range.
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpD
Earthquake / Roar / Rest / Sleep Talk
Since Swampert is Jirachi's #1 go-to muddy critter, I opted for a set that would actually help him survive for most of the battle, while also providing me with a status absorber, specifically sleep. The EVs are pretty standard for a defensive Swampert... Enough defense to survive a +1 LO Outrage from Dragonite and Roar it out with some SpD EVs for random Heatran Fire Blasts and Flygon Draco Meteors (I have actually survived a Draco Meteor when I was at 70% HP with 1% left, so the EVs aren't worthless!). Sometimes I wish that I had Ice Beam or Avalanche to deal with Gliscor and Dragonite, respectively, as they shut me down even though I'm supposed to be countering them. Roar's utility has been extremely useful, though, so I'm not sure which to go with.
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Spikes / Whirlwind / Roost / Brave Bird
I opted for a specially defensive Skarmory to allow it to set up easier on random defensive Pokémon who use special attacks such as Tentacruel and Shaymin. I have not yet missed the lack of defense EVs, so I intend to keep using this EV spread. One thing that I don't like about this team is its lack of a spin-blocker. Skarmory is the most subject to change as I know there have to be other Pokémon who can counter Jirachi's counters that fit in with the team well. The moveset is fairly standard, well, fairly is an understatement because it is the standard... I actually run more Speed than this so I can Whirlwind opposing Skarmori, or Skramories, or Skarmorys... whatever... before they can Whirlwind me but speed creeps are no fun =P
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Outrage / Earthquake / U-Turn / Thunderpunch
Flygon was necessary on this team to check many threats such as DD Tar and Infernape. It even takes care of offensive Starmie at around half HP with U-Turn. Adamant over Jolly because with a Scarf there really is no need to run Jolly besides tying with another Jolly Choice Scarf Jirachi or Flygon, and in that case I would just switch out to take the Ice Punch or Outrage coming my way. Thunderpunch is useful for Gyarados and Togekiss who, in my experience, has been getting a bit more popular.
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt / Hydro Pump / Will-O-Wisp / Trick
I needed a spin blocker very badly, and Rotom-W actually fits the team pretty well with this moveset. Shaymin was originally here to fend off pesky Starmie's and Suicunes, but Rotom, with 252 HP EVs and an access to Trick and STAB Thunderbolt makes him still a decent switch-in to both of these Pokémon if I really need him to. The moves are odd, yes, but they serve a good purpose. Thunderbolt is Rotom's best STAB move, as Shadow Ball is really just for other Rotom forms and Gengar and it is set up bait for quite a few Pokémon when I am locked into it. Hydro Pump covers Pokémon like Heatran and Tyranitar who love to switch in to Rotom. Will-O-Wisp has great utility when I have tricked my scarf away, and even when I haven't it's still a great move for "Oh Crap" moments. Trick is obvious... Sure it has drawbacks, such as making Rotom feel inferior when Blissey now has a cool and stylish blue scarf, which lowers his confidence and makes him hit less hard... But, it's still a great move to have for Suicune, Blissey, Skarmory, and even some variants of Tyranitar.
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Calm Mind / Wish / Psychic / Thunderbolt
Here comes the star of the show! Yeah, bad pun not intended, but that's quite alright with me! I changed Jirachi's set from an offensive CM Jirachi with HP [Ground] because it did not really live up to my expectations as far as even getting into battle goes. Most of the time I would not even get a chance to switch in Jirachi, and if a good opportunity came up, the same opportunity would have been greater for my other members to switch in. For example, there is a Flygon locked into Thunderpunch. I could have switched in Jirachi and CMed up a bit, but I saw a better opportunity in switching in Swampert who is at ~20% HP so I could rest up. Yeah, these things might seem situational, but they did give Jirachi less battle time. However, with this version, Jirachi is much more defensive, giving him many opportunities to switch in and pass Wish around, as well as destroy most stall teams with a Scarf Gon or a Tyranitar. If anyone has a good reason why I should use Flash Cannon over Psychic just tell me and I can test it! I run a bit more Speed than this to beat other base 100s with 32 Speed such as some variants of Celebi and Shaymin as well as Pokémon who aim to out speed max speed Tyranitar by one point, such as Gyarados, but you know... SPEED CREEPS.
Past Members...
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Spe / 76 SpD
IVs: 10 Atk / 30 Def
Seed Flare / HP [Ice] / Leech Seed / Substitute
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Spe / 76 SpD
IVs: 10 Atk / 30 Def
Seed Flare / HP [Ice] / Leech Seed / Substitute
Shaymin was originally here to take hits from things like Starmie and to provide a general safety net against bulky Waters. However, my need for a spin blocker was much more important, so Shaymin, as the least valuable member, was replaced ='(
