The major arcana. A deck of 22 cards, each symbolizing a point in life. 22 is an interesting number. It's 2 11's, and 22 is the average amount of turns a battle can last, deviance nonwithstanding. A life starts as a blank slate; the Fool card. It can advance until reaching the 22nd card, the end of the journey, World. Numerical motifs are always interesting, but that aside, let's get to the bread and butter of this topic: the team!
AT-A-GLANCE:
IV Emperor (Hippowdon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Fang
- Slack Off
Explanation: The Emperor is seen as a leader. Thus, his goal is to lead the team to victory. Hippowdon is exceptionally bulky, being able to take nearly all manner of hits. Sometimes, a lead matchup might not be favorable, so he'll employ his trusty Chariot to drop some pain before he drops in. The EVs give optimal bulk, alongside the ability to take weaker special hits. Earthquake and Ice Fang help deal with threats like Excadrill, Gliscor, Salamence, Dragonite, etc. Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock, and Slack Off provides some recovery. Sand Stream is needed to counteract the other weathers that can cause this team problems.
Considered changes: I've considered Roar over Ice Fang, but that'd leave me open for something like Balloon Excadrill to try and murder me, and he's an issue as it is.
Considered changes: I've considered Roar over Ice Fang, but that'd leave me open for something like Balloon Excadrill to try and murder me, and he's an issue as it is.
XVII Star (Lucario) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Vacuum Wave
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
Explanation: The Star is seen as a peaceful spirit. Until it has to fight, of course. Lucario is used as an answer to the likes of Doryuuzu, and that's about it. Otherwise, it's a relatively standard Nasty Plot Lucario. Nasty Plot bolsters it's special attack to great levels, from which it can start putting down pain. Vacuum Wave can do 75% to Doryuuzu, and is a form of priority, and Aura Sphere is it's main STAB otherwise. Shadow Ball complements it, providing perfect coverage.
Considered changes: This is honestly the weakest link of the team. He really doesn't do much and really doesn't resist too much outside of helping with the Ice and Bug weakness. Another alternative would be appreciated here.
Considered changes: This is honestly the weakest link of the team. He really doesn't do much and really doesn't resist too much outside of helping with the Ice and Bug weakness. Another alternative would be appreciated here.
VII Chariot (Zapdos) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Explanation: The Chariot card is seen as the dragon to the Emperor, so as such he sets things up for him to rock. Basically, if the lead matchup is unfavorable, I'll have Zapdos lead instead. Scarf Zapdos is very effective in that the EV spread gives it 492 speed. Very little will outspeed this outside of maybe Scarfchomp and Excadrill. Thunderbolt and Volt Switch hit hard, with Volt Switch allowing a hit before going to a counter provided it's not Excadrill or Garchomp (Notice a pattern?) Hidden Power Ice is absolutely required, as Gliscor otherwise is a pain in the ass, and being able to KO non-scarfed Garchomp and other dragons is nice, and Heat Wave lets me dispose of Scizor, Ferrothorn, and other friends.
Considered changes: None at the moment, this thing is amazing.
Considered changes: None at the moment, this thing is amazing.
XV Devil (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Fire Punch
Explanation: The Devil card is seen as a sign of darkness or evil. As his name implies, Jirachi is meant to piss you off and support the team. A specially bulky spread is used to help support Death and sponge Ice attacks that otherwise threaten this team. The EV spread allows it to outspeed all non-Scarf Tyranitar, the highest benchmark it needs to hit. The moveset is fairly self-explanatory. Body Slam was chosen for paralysis support, and Iron Head makes for the fuck-all annoying paraflinch combo that can get you out of a bind. Wish helps with team recovery, and Fire Punch means that Scizor and friends are in for a nice surprise.
Considered changes: Fire Punch CAN be replaced, but if I do replace it, what would I replace it with? Stealth Rock comes to mind if I change out Hippowdon to reduce the Ice weakness.
Considered changes: Fire Punch CAN be replaced, but if I do replace it, what would I replace it with? Stealth Rock comes to mind if I change out Hippowdon to reduce the Ice weakness.
I Magician (Reuniclus) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
Explanation: The Magician is seen as the, well, magician of the team. This thing is a nightmare to teams that do not prepare for it. The EV spread provided allows for ridiculous physical bulk, to where nothing short of a CB Tyranitar Crunch or CB Escavalier Megahorn can OHKO it, and the former's case isn't guaranteed, with the extra 4 EVs appended to Speed to outspeed other Reuniclii. Magic Guard is one sexy ability, allowing it to be a status absorber. As for the movepool, Calm Mind and Recover allow it to bolster it's power or heal off, and from there, Psyshock can allow it to win CM wars and still deal heavy damage to the likes of Conkeldurr and Machamp. Focus Blast is a must, as with the Life Orb, it can OHKO Tyranitar on the switch, something it loves to do.
Considered changes: Maybe HP Fighting over Focus Blast, as the shaky accuracy has fucked me over on a few occasions.
Considered changes: Maybe HP Fighting over Focus Blast, as the shaky accuracy has fucked me over on a few occasions.
XIII Death (Hydreigon) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Taunt
- U-turn
Explanation: The 13th card in the tarot deck, Death, is very self-explanatory, because you know shit's gonna die when he comes up. Death and Devil cards go great together, as does Hydreigon and Jirachi. Both can nearly cover each other's weaknesses barring Fighting perfectly. This Hydreigon aims to stallbreak through sheer force, and it works wonders. Not even Blissey can take a hit from this thing too well, or it risks dying. Draco Meteor does 40% easily to Bold Blissey. Taunt can then stop it from healing, and U-turn gets you a light hit as you go to your counter. After all of this is done, Blissey will be in a spot to where with Stealth Rock factored in, Blissey cannot come back in on this thing or else it dies to another Draco Meteor. With the fat pink blob out of the way, very little can take the onslaught this thing provides. Opponents generally have a horrible time countering this thing, and entry hazards don't worry it much. The last moveslot is Fire Blast, to hurt the Steels that resist DM barring Heatran. Residual damage is this thing's worst enemy.
Considered changes: U-turn MIGHT be replaceable with Focus Blast, as it'd make dealing with Heatran easier, at the cost of not having a scouting option.
~~~
Major threats that need addressing:
Excadrill: Major pain in the ass. I usually have to rely on Lucario VW'ing it so something else can come in to KO it, mainly Hippowdon.
Garchomp: Stupidly fucking powerful sand shark that's the root of this team's issues almost. It's a pain in the ass to answer until I can figure out the set. Scarf variants can be played around, but that's only shaky at best. Non-Yache variants can be revenged by Zapdos. Major problem pokemon unless I can get a paralyze with Jirachi.
Quagsire: Odd threat, but a legitimate one nonetheless. Curse variants can spell doom to this team if it can get anything going. Zapdos might kill it if it runs HP Grass, but HP Ice is needed badly. Perhaps replacing Lucario might help...
Mamoswine: Okay, he's dangerous. He can easily KO everything with SE hits seeing how 5/6ths of the team is weak to him. I've gotta find an answer to him.
Rain and Sun teams: Both of these are a pain in the ass, again. I have to generally rely on keeping my weather controller alive until theirs bites it. I've gotta find a good answer to them.
Conclusion:
Not much else to say, but help is appreciated. Feel free to rate, criticize, steal, whatever.
Considered changes: U-turn MIGHT be replaceable with Focus Blast, as it'd make dealing with Heatran easier, at the cost of not having a scouting option.
~~~
Major threats that need addressing:
Excadrill: Major pain in the ass. I usually have to rely on Lucario VW'ing it so something else can come in to KO it, mainly Hippowdon.
Garchomp: Stupidly fucking powerful sand shark that's the root of this team's issues almost. It's a pain in the ass to answer until I can figure out the set. Scarf variants can be played around, but that's only shaky at best. Non-Yache variants can be revenged by Zapdos. Major problem pokemon unless I can get a paralyze with Jirachi.
Quagsire: Odd threat, but a legitimate one nonetheless. Curse variants can spell doom to this team if it can get anything going. Zapdos might kill it if it runs HP Grass, but HP Ice is needed badly. Perhaps replacing Lucario might help...
Mamoswine: Okay, he's dangerous. He can easily KO everything with SE hits seeing how 5/6ths of the team is weak to him. I've gotta find an answer to him.
Rain and Sun teams: Both of these are a pain in the ass, again. I have to generally rely on keeping my weather controller alive until theirs bites it. I've gotta find a good answer to them.
Conclusion:
Not much else to say, but help is appreciated. Feel free to rate, criticize, steal, whatever.
