Yesterday, I got up to around the 550's with my previous team: "Hunting for Shark Food". In fact, this team was so successful that I'm celebrating its success by trying to come up with one that's even better.
I've been looking into Kyurem, you know the Ice/Dragon guy. Most 5th gen newbs would probably consider it an Uber because it's a Legendary, it has more than 600 BST and a good ability in Pressure. I, on the other hand, don't think it's Uber because its weak against Stealth Rock, its STABs have hopeless coverage, it doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as stuff like Rayquaza, Palkia and Kyogre and there are plenty of hard hitters in this metagame that are ready to oppose it. But maybe I'm underestimating Kyurem's potential. That's why I'm basing a team around it... to find out!
The team at a glance:
So yeah, there it is. And no, there aren't any glaring weaknesses to each individual types. So without further ado, here it is. And again, I know about the whole extra 2 EVs not actually doing anything, but I'm throwing them in there anyway 'cause I can. That's the end of it. Besides, Pokemon Online automatically "fixes" it anyway.
Evil Homer
Gengar@Focus Sash
Levitate
Timid: 6HP, 252SpA, 252Spe
Shadow Ball
Focus Blast
Destiny Bond
Hypnosis
This is a classic Poke that was used a lot back in the day where Hypnosis' accuracy was up to 70%, making it a reliable Sleep move. Now its back down to 60%. That doesn't matter anyway; what matters is that Gengar will be my lead most of the time. Of course, since most battles will be under the Wifi Clause, I might switch to Metagross in case I come across a bulky lead instead... unless its something like Hippowdon.
Shadow Ball is there for STAB, whilst Focus Blast completes one of the most powerful comboes of the game, providing coverage that is second to none. This left me with TWO free slots that I could use in an attempt to wreak havoc onto opposing leads. I decided to go with Hypnosis to render whatever's hit by it practically useless, thanks entirely to the new game mechanics, and Destiny Bond in case Gengar's about to die, in which case it'll be much more useful than the greatly nerfed Explosion.
Black Widow
Metagross@Choice Scarf
Clear Body
Jolly: 6HP, 252Atk, 252Spe
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Ice Punch
Trick
My spare lead, in case I desire a change of pace, or if I suspect Gengar won't do so well against a certain lead. However, if I do decide to stick with Gengar as my lead for a match, Metagross will serve mostly as a revenge killer instead. It's pretty reliable for the most part, since it's got decent natural bulk and plenty of resistances to come in on... like Outrage for example.
Meteor Mash has a chance to upgrade Meta's Attack Power, so that makes for a good STAB. Earthquake takes care of other Steels and some Fire guys that think they can switch in... hopefully not on that friggin' Balloon! Ice Punch helps against Gliscor and Trick helps it dispose of its Choice Scarf: in case I decide it doesn't actually need it anymore, such as when I've only got slow and bulky stuff to kill off such as Blissey and Skarmory. Also proves to be an annoyance to my opponent as well, which I like.
Solid Snake
Gyarados@Leftovers
Intimidate
Adamant: 178HP, 252Atk, 80SDf
Waterfall
Earthquake
Dragon Tail
Dragon Dance
At first I was planning on making this guy a classic DDdos, but then I remembered that I should probably have at LEAST two mons to fall back on at all times, so I went for a bulkier variant instead. Some major changes include Leftovers instead of a Life Orb and, instead of ANY FORM of Speed EVs, a small investment in Special Defense EVs and a much larger investment in HP EVs. Gyarados is still maintaining its Intimidate ability, so it should be fine in the physical defense department.
One more change is in the moveset. Yes, it contains Waterfall for STAB, yes it contains Earthquake for weakness coverage and yes it certainly contains Dragon Dance in order to threaten entire annihilation of my opposition (also known as a sweep). But what's this? My usual Ice Fang has been replaced by a peculiar attack known as Dragon Tail! Before anyone shouts "YOU IDIOT!!!11!!1! Ice Fang is not only slightly stronger than Dragon Tail, but it also has a FUCKLOAD better coverage!", I just wanna say this: I know. BUT, Dragon Tail has a distinct advantage: the ability to phaze while dealing damage at the same time. How awesome is that? =D Bound to come in handy at some time or another, methinks.
Desert Raider
Krookodile@Leftovers
Anger Point
Jolly: 184HP, 37Def, 37SDf, 252Spe
Earthquake
Crunch
Fire Fang
Rest
Proof that I have NOT given up on 5th gen experimentation is right here... in the palm of my hand. This time, I'm trying to utilize Anger Point. Krookodile here knows this ability, and has some good STABs that can be used to punish anyone that triggers it off. I've left its Attack untouched, since if it does get critted, it'll have 1080 Attack Points at its disposal anyway, which is more than enough for a sweep, and instead focused on bulk and speed.
EQ and Crunch will be Krookodile's main form of Attack. Fire Fang's there in case Skamory or Bronzong try to stop its Anger boosted sweep, and Rest is, unfortunately, the only way Krookodile can regain its health in any way, shape or form, which it needs to do in order to have any chance of surviving a crit. Well, at least it also serves as a stat absorber, somewhat. But it still leaves me with one question: WHY DID THEY NOT GIVE HIM SLEEP TALK??!! D=
Ice
Kyurem@Choice Specs
Pressure
Naive: 6Atk, 252SAt, 252Spe
Outrage
Draco Meteor
Ice Beam
Focus Blast
This is it, the guy I've been waiting to test. I'm still adamant that he's not Uber though, but maybe he'll be top tier OU. Or maybe even just high tier? Well, there only one way to found out IMO: employ him onto the team, slap on some Choice Specs and let it rip!
Draco Meteor will probably blow through anything better than a SE hit from any of Kyurem's other attacks... by which I mean those that AREN'T on this movelist. Ice Beam proves more powerful against certain Dragons, like Garchomp and Dragonite, Focus Blast against Steels and Outrage against that one Pokemon that I have a major legacy against: Blissey. I'll probably have this legacy against Chansey too, since apparently its trying to steal its evolved cousin's niche, but w/e.
The Aviator
Blaziken@Leichi Berry
Speed Boost
Adamant: 6HP, 252Atk, 252Spe
Fire Punch
Hi Jump Kick
Shadow Claw
Substitute
A final thing I always like to add is a Fighting guy, for all my Blissey killing needs. Blaziken is my hit-man today, and now that he gains Speed Boost through Dream World, he makes a much superior option over Infernape, whereas in 4th gen, it was the other way round.
Fire Punch and Hi Jump Kick act as the almighty STABs. Hi Jump Kick was too good to pass up, but I decided against Flare Blitz because I find the recoil damage completely unnecessary for this build. Substitute does two things: Protect me from attacks, thus practically giving me a free boost in Speed, and safely activate my Leichi Berry. I was thinking about taking advantage of the situation with Acrobat, but decided against that since it offers poor coverage. Instead, I have Shadow Claw to damage any Jellicants or Chandelures that switch in while I have my Substitute up.
So there you have it. I'll be testing this team in a few moments, but any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism will be taken into account.
OK, So far Krookodile is failing me. Any ideas for a replacement?
I've been looking into Kyurem, you know the Ice/Dragon guy. Most 5th gen newbs would probably consider it an Uber because it's a Legendary, it has more than 600 BST and a good ability in Pressure. I, on the other hand, don't think it's Uber because its weak against Stealth Rock, its STABs have hopeless coverage, it doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as stuff like Rayquaza, Palkia and Kyogre and there are plenty of hard hitters in this metagame that are ready to oppose it. But maybe I'm underestimating Kyurem's potential. That's why I'm basing a team around it... to find out!
The team at a glance:
So yeah, there it is. And no, there aren't any glaring weaknesses to each individual types. So without further ado, here it is. And again, I know about the whole extra 2 EVs not actually doing anything, but I'm throwing them in there anyway 'cause I can. That's the end of it. Besides, Pokemon Online automatically "fixes" it anyway.
Evil Homer
Gengar@Focus Sash
Levitate
Timid: 6HP, 252SpA, 252Spe
Shadow Ball
Focus Blast
Destiny Bond
Hypnosis
This is a classic Poke that was used a lot back in the day where Hypnosis' accuracy was up to 70%, making it a reliable Sleep move. Now its back down to 60%. That doesn't matter anyway; what matters is that Gengar will be my lead most of the time. Of course, since most battles will be under the Wifi Clause, I might switch to Metagross in case I come across a bulky lead instead... unless its something like Hippowdon.
Shadow Ball is there for STAB, whilst Focus Blast completes one of the most powerful comboes of the game, providing coverage that is second to none. This left me with TWO free slots that I could use in an attempt to wreak havoc onto opposing leads. I decided to go with Hypnosis to render whatever's hit by it practically useless, thanks entirely to the new game mechanics, and Destiny Bond in case Gengar's about to die, in which case it'll be much more useful than the greatly nerfed Explosion.
Black Widow
Metagross@Choice Scarf
Clear Body
Jolly: 6HP, 252Atk, 252Spe
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Ice Punch
Trick
My spare lead, in case I desire a change of pace, or if I suspect Gengar won't do so well against a certain lead. However, if I do decide to stick with Gengar as my lead for a match, Metagross will serve mostly as a revenge killer instead. It's pretty reliable for the most part, since it's got decent natural bulk and plenty of resistances to come in on... like Outrage for example.
Meteor Mash has a chance to upgrade Meta's Attack Power, so that makes for a good STAB. Earthquake takes care of other Steels and some Fire guys that think they can switch in... hopefully not on that friggin' Balloon! Ice Punch helps against Gliscor and Trick helps it dispose of its Choice Scarf: in case I decide it doesn't actually need it anymore, such as when I've only got slow and bulky stuff to kill off such as Blissey and Skarmory. Also proves to be an annoyance to my opponent as well, which I like.
Solid Snake
Gyarados@Leftovers
Intimidate
Adamant: 178HP, 252Atk, 80SDf
Waterfall
Earthquake
Dragon Tail
Dragon Dance
At first I was planning on making this guy a classic DDdos, but then I remembered that I should probably have at LEAST two mons to fall back on at all times, so I went for a bulkier variant instead. Some major changes include Leftovers instead of a Life Orb and, instead of ANY FORM of Speed EVs, a small investment in Special Defense EVs and a much larger investment in HP EVs. Gyarados is still maintaining its Intimidate ability, so it should be fine in the physical defense department.
One more change is in the moveset. Yes, it contains Waterfall for STAB, yes it contains Earthquake for weakness coverage and yes it certainly contains Dragon Dance in order to threaten entire annihilation of my opposition (also known as a sweep). But what's this? My usual Ice Fang has been replaced by a peculiar attack known as Dragon Tail! Before anyone shouts "YOU IDIOT!!!11!!1! Ice Fang is not only slightly stronger than Dragon Tail, but it also has a FUCKLOAD better coverage!", I just wanna say this: I know. BUT, Dragon Tail has a distinct advantage: the ability to phaze while dealing damage at the same time. How awesome is that? =D Bound to come in handy at some time or another, methinks.
Desert Raider
Krookodile@Leftovers
Anger Point
Jolly: 184HP, 37Def, 37SDf, 252Spe
Earthquake
Crunch
Fire Fang
Rest
Proof that I have NOT given up on 5th gen experimentation is right here... in the palm of my hand. This time, I'm trying to utilize Anger Point. Krookodile here knows this ability, and has some good STABs that can be used to punish anyone that triggers it off. I've left its Attack untouched, since if it does get critted, it'll have 1080 Attack Points at its disposal anyway, which is more than enough for a sweep, and instead focused on bulk and speed.
EQ and Crunch will be Krookodile's main form of Attack. Fire Fang's there in case Skamory or Bronzong try to stop its Anger boosted sweep, and Rest is, unfortunately, the only way Krookodile can regain its health in any way, shape or form, which it needs to do in order to have any chance of surviving a crit. Well, at least it also serves as a stat absorber, somewhat. But it still leaves me with one question: WHY DID THEY NOT GIVE HIM SLEEP TALK??!! D=
Ice
Kyurem@Choice Specs
Pressure
Naive: 6Atk, 252SAt, 252Spe
Outrage
Draco Meteor
Ice Beam
Focus Blast
This is it, the guy I've been waiting to test. I'm still adamant that he's not Uber though, but maybe he'll be top tier OU. Or maybe even just high tier? Well, there only one way to found out IMO: employ him onto the team, slap on some Choice Specs and let it rip!
Draco Meteor will probably blow through anything better than a SE hit from any of Kyurem's other attacks... by which I mean those that AREN'T on this movelist. Ice Beam proves more powerful against certain Dragons, like Garchomp and Dragonite, Focus Blast against Steels and Outrage against that one Pokemon that I have a major legacy against: Blissey. I'll probably have this legacy against Chansey too, since apparently its trying to steal its evolved cousin's niche, but w/e.
The Aviator
Blaziken@Leichi Berry
Speed Boost
Adamant: 6HP, 252Atk, 252Spe
Fire Punch
Hi Jump Kick
Shadow Claw
Substitute
A final thing I always like to add is a Fighting guy, for all my Blissey killing needs. Blaziken is my hit-man today, and now that he gains Speed Boost through Dream World, he makes a much superior option over Infernape, whereas in 4th gen, it was the other way round.
Fire Punch and Hi Jump Kick act as the almighty STABs. Hi Jump Kick was too good to pass up, but I decided against Flare Blitz because I find the recoil damage completely unnecessary for this build. Substitute does two things: Protect me from attacks, thus practically giving me a free boost in Speed, and safely activate my Leichi Berry. I was thinking about taking advantage of the situation with Acrobat, but decided against that since it offers poor coverage. Instead, I have Shadow Claw to damage any Jellicants or Chandelures that switch in while I have my Substitute up.
So there you have it. I'll be testing this team in a few moments, but any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism will be taken into account.
OK, So far Krookodile is failing me. Any ideas for a replacement?
