After a break from the game, waiting for the meta to stabilize, I return to notice that Blaziken had been banned. As such, my previous team fell apart, so I made this. Brief and to the point.
Initial Look
I had no idea where to start with my new team, so I picked Metagross at complete random, since I like it and it looks viable. At the same time, I decided to build a team based around bulky offense, like I usually do, since I seem to be decent enough at it.
Volcarona and Terrakion seemed to work well with Metagross last time, so I slipped them in this time as well. At this point, I noticed an enormous weakness to status.
Gliscor and Espeon were then added, since the two were able to handle status rather well and didn't overlap weaknesses too much with the rest of the team, except for a rather clear Water weakness. So I looked for something that could handle Rain teams well for the last slot.
As such, Virizion got the last slot, as it can handle most Water-types without too much of an issue. However, testing showed that Virizion wasn't enough on its own.
As such, Rotom Wash Forme replaced Gliscor. Several movesets and EV spreads were also adjusted at this point, in order to get key 2HKOs with Hidden Power Fire. Also, Metagross added Earthquake to its moveset. With this, the team became rather solid.
In-Depth Analysis
Bronze-kun (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 86 Att / 80 Def / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature (+SpD, -Spe)
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Bronzong sets up the rocks, and handles certain threats, mainly ground types, that would sweep the team without effort. It can also tank Draco Meteors from Lati@s. Bronzong runs a 2 Speed IV in order to maximize its Gyro Ball's power. Basically, this Bronzong is glue to keep to keep the team together against the aforementioned issues and serves no other notable purpose. However, without this redundant role, losing to said threats becomes ridiculously easy.
Nickname Origin: An elaborate pun on its English/Japanese name (both of which incidentally mean the same thing).
Manlychomp (Garchomp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Att / 6 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
Whenever there's an opportunity, it puts up a sub. If my opponent is particularly bad and gives me more openings, I use Swords Dance. Then I use this to sweep from behind a sub, where status moves can't go near it. Dragon Claw was selected for reliability, and Earthquake for coverage, not to mention that they's both STAB moves. 6 EVs went into Defense instead of HP in order to allow a 4th sub to be made, which would leave it with 1 HP. Normally, this thing can get a sweep in if I kill all steels and everything that's too fast for this thing, which isn't particularly difficult.
Nickname Origin: Its name clearly contains GAR in it, so I translated.
Pulseman (Rotom-W) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 220 HP / 160 Def / 130 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Att)
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
Rotom’s position in the team is that of an auxiliary Water resistance. Its Speed EVs were selected in order to barely outpace variants of Scizor, Breloom and Gliscor. The remaining EVs were spread out in a way that maximizes its physical defences. Pain Split allows it to laugh at just about anything if it gets weak enough and has an opening to use it. Discharge was chosen over Thunderbolt solely for the chance of Paralysis. The main threat that Rotom cannot handle itself is Dragons in general. As such, any given Dragon coming in means that it needs to switch to something else.
Nickname Origin: Pulseman, a video game character that was also made by Game Freak, and was also inspiration for Rotom's design. The name was chosen because Tsukumogami was 1 letter too long.
Nekobuncle (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Baton Pass
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock
Espeon is basically here to abuse Magic Bounce. Its presence makes Ferrothorn unable to Leech Seed or Thunder Wave it. Jellicent cannot burn it without using Scald, etc. At present, when it’s not using Magic Bounce, it’s just a special-based attacker with 110 base Speed, which is rather handy. Psyshock is the usual attack of choice. Hidden Power Fire is used instead of Hidden Power Fire, in order to defeat the enormous amount of Scizor that seem to be switching in just to U-Turn it for an OHKO, as well as the large amount of Ferrothorn that see it as setup fodder. Baton Pass allows it to escape from Pursuit users, and get some boosts to Virizion, Rotom, or Volcarona. Those three can handle most stops to Espeon rather nicely. I am considering making the EV spread more defensive, and maybe running Substitute in that moveset, but it might not be a good idea.
Nickname Origin: A Nekomata, which Espeon is designed after, and Carbuncles, which are small feline creatures with gems embedded into their foreheads.
Aramis (Virizion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Calm Mind
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
When faced with a special-based Water-type, I either send in Volcarona or this, usually this. Giga Drain allows it to out-last most opposing special-based Water-types by healing off of their HP. Hidden Power Ice on this is my main method of eliminating Dragons when Metagross or Volcarona can’t handle it. Focus Blast completes its coverage. As good as this is at what it does, its main downfall appears to be getting Poisoned, Burned or Paralyzed every other battle. I am also considering altering the EV spread to increase its durability against physical attacks, as they’re another major downfall of this.
Nickname Origin: Aramis, the Musketeer which Virizion is designed after.
Atlas (Volcarona) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 98 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Att)
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Rest
This is a rather... different Volcarona than most. 98 Speed EVs lets out outspeed Choice Scarf Terrakion after 2 Quiver Dances. The rest was pumped into its defenses, focusing on having its physical defense not be paper-thin, which catches a lot of things off-guard. Bug/Fire gives it rather nice coverage from double STAB, although I rather liked having Hidden Power Rock to handle Heatran and several Dragons, there is no room for it. Rest allows rather nice use of its bulk, healing it back to full health after it takes a few attacks while setting up Quiver Dances, allowing it to take hits like a champ and outspeed everything at full health. One of the few downfalls to this, outside of Rock moves, is Hydro Pump coming from Politoed in the Rain, which OHKOs even after a boost or two.
Nickname Origin: The Atlas Beetle, a bug which provided the design for Volcarona's wings.
Super X (Metagross) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Att / 192 SpA / 10 Spe
Brave Nature (+Att, -Spe)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Punch
Metagross’ existence in this team is basically as a counter to several things that would normally be troublesome. Ice Punch with Air Balloon makes it so it’s able to easily take out foes like Dragonite and Garchomp with relative ease. Hidden Power Fire with the current EV spread 2HKOs any Standard Ferrothorn that opted for Shed Shell and didn’t successfully Leech Seed Metagross. As an added bonus, it 2HKOs Scizor, which would wall it under normal circumstances (and thus gets switched into it a lot, causing some funny KOs). Earthquake is for general coverage and power. Bullet Punch was chosen over Meteor Mash because Fire/Ice/Ground is only resisted by 2 Rotom Formes, both of which don’t get threatened by Meteor Mash either. Furthermore, the team was having trouble with fast Pokémon that were either fragile to begin with, or had roughly 10% of their HP left after setting up. Bullet Punch allows for some nice cleaning out of those threats that would otherwise sweep the entire team. 10 Speed EVs allow it to out-speed some variants of Tyranitar. The rest was pumped into its Attack for maximum damage. The remainder was casually dropped into its HP. The main weakness this thing has is either Fire attacks or getting Burned.
Nickname Origin: The X on its face, and Super Computers.
Porthos (Terrakion) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Att, -SpA)
- Close Combat
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
Terrakion is supposed to use any given opening to boost its speed whenever possible, and proceed to sweep. Supposed to. As it stands, Terrakion is merely used for its speed to hopefully OHKO anything that’s giving me trouble. When something’s faster, its Focus Sash saves it and it proceeds to hit hard anyways. The main reason why it’s usually not boosting a stat is because of all of the status, passive damage, priority moves, and/or Scizor being thrown around making it a terrible idea. The EVs are rather basic, and the nature chosen was for maximum power.
Nickname Origin: Porthos, the Musketeer which Terrakion is designed after.
JIRACHI (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Att / 218 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
Jirachi basically walls certain threats, Body Slams the switch-in, and Iron Heads it to death. Whenever there's an opening, it uses Stealth Rock/Wish as appropriate. Wish support is greatly appreciated by a bulky team such as this one, especially when most of the members lack a reliable method of recovery. This Jirachi has very little use late-game. Rocks would already be up, and its attacks aren't particularly powerful. As such, it is generally there for the sole purpose of healing my team after it gets switched out the first time.
Nickname Origin: Jirachi have only been available in events up to gen 4 so far, and nicknaming them is impossible, so the name can only be Jirachi in all caps.
Initial Look
I had no idea where to start with my new team, so I picked Metagross at complete random, since I like it and it looks viable. At the same time, I decided to build a team based around bulky offense, like I usually do, since I seem to be decent enough at it.
Volcarona and Terrakion seemed to work well with Metagross last time, so I slipped them in this time as well. At this point, I noticed an enormous weakness to status.
Gliscor and Espeon were then added, since the two were able to handle status rather well and didn't overlap weaknesses too much with the rest of the team, except for a rather clear Water weakness. So I looked for something that could handle Rain teams well for the last slot.
As such, Virizion got the last slot, as it can handle most Water-types without too much of an issue. However, testing showed that Virizion wasn't enough on its own.
As such, Rotom Wash Forme replaced Gliscor. Several movesets and EV spreads were also adjusted at this point, in order to get key 2HKOs with Hidden Power Fire. Also, Metagross added Earthquake to its moveset. With this, the team became rather solid.
In-Depth Analysis
Bronze-kun (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 86 Att / 80 Def / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature (+SpD, -Spe)
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
Bronzong sets up the rocks, and handles certain threats, mainly ground types, that would sweep the team without effort. It can also tank Draco Meteors from Lati@s. Bronzong runs a 2 Speed IV in order to maximize its Gyro Ball's power. Basically, this Bronzong is glue to keep to keep the team together against the aforementioned issues and serves no other notable purpose. However, without this redundant role, losing to said threats becomes ridiculously easy.
Nickname Origin: An elaborate pun on its English/Japanese name (both of which incidentally mean the same thing).
Manlychomp (Garchomp) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Att / 6 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
Whenever there's an opportunity, it puts up a sub. If my opponent is particularly bad and gives me more openings, I use Swords Dance. Then I use this to sweep from behind a sub, where status moves can't go near it. Dragon Claw was selected for reliability, and Earthquake for coverage, not to mention that they's both STAB moves. 6 EVs went into Defense instead of HP in order to allow a 4th sub to be made, which would leave it with 1 HP. Normally, this thing can get a sweep in if I kill all steels and everything that's too fast for this thing, which isn't particularly difficult.
Nickname Origin: Its name clearly contains GAR in it, so I translated.
Pulseman (Rotom-W) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 220 HP / 160 Def / 130 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Att)
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
Rotom’s position in the team is that of an auxiliary Water resistance. Its Speed EVs were selected in order to barely outpace variants of Scizor, Breloom and Gliscor. The remaining EVs were spread out in a way that maximizes its physical defences. Pain Split allows it to laugh at just about anything if it gets weak enough and has an opening to use it. Discharge was chosen over Thunderbolt solely for the chance of Paralysis. The main threat that Rotom cannot handle itself is Dragons in general. As such, any given Dragon coming in means that it needs to switch to something else.
Nickname Origin: Pulseman, a video game character that was also made by Game Freak, and was also inspiration for Rotom's design. The name was chosen because Tsukumogami was 1 letter too long.
Nekobuncle (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Baton Pass
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock
Espeon is basically here to abuse Magic Bounce. Its presence makes Ferrothorn unable to Leech Seed or Thunder Wave it. Jellicent cannot burn it without using Scald, etc. At present, when it’s not using Magic Bounce, it’s just a special-based attacker with 110 base Speed, which is rather handy. Psyshock is the usual attack of choice. Hidden Power Fire is used instead of Hidden Power Fire, in order to defeat the enormous amount of Scizor that seem to be switching in just to U-Turn it for an OHKO, as well as the large amount of Ferrothorn that see it as setup fodder. Baton Pass allows it to escape from Pursuit users, and get some boosts to Virizion, Rotom, or Volcarona. Those three can handle most stops to Espeon rather nicely. I am considering making the EV spread more defensive, and maybe running Substitute in that moveset, but it might not be a good idea.
Nickname Origin: A Nekomata, which Espeon is designed after, and Carbuncles, which are small feline creatures with gems embedded into their foreheads.
Aramis (Virizion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Calm Mind
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
When faced with a special-based Water-type, I either send in Volcarona or this, usually this. Giga Drain allows it to out-last most opposing special-based Water-types by healing off of their HP. Hidden Power Ice on this is my main method of eliminating Dragons when Metagross or Volcarona can’t handle it. Focus Blast completes its coverage. As good as this is at what it does, its main downfall appears to be getting Poisoned, Burned or Paralyzed every other battle. I am also considering altering the EV spread to increase its durability against physical attacks, as they’re another major downfall of this.
Nickname Origin: Aramis, the Musketeer which Virizion is designed after.
Atlas (Volcarona) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 98 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Att)
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Rest
This is a rather... different Volcarona than most. 98 Speed EVs lets out outspeed Choice Scarf Terrakion after 2 Quiver Dances. The rest was pumped into its defenses, focusing on having its physical defense not be paper-thin, which catches a lot of things off-guard. Bug/Fire gives it rather nice coverage from double STAB, although I rather liked having Hidden Power Rock to handle Heatran and several Dragons, there is no room for it. Rest allows rather nice use of its bulk, healing it back to full health after it takes a few attacks while setting up Quiver Dances, allowing it to take hits like a champ and outspeed everything at full health. One of the few downfalls to this, outside of Rock moves, is Hydro Pump coming from Politoed in the Rain, which OHKOs even after a boost or two.
Nickname Origin: The Atlas Beetle, a bug which provided the design for Volcarona's wings.
Super X (Metagross) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Att / 192 SpA / 10 Spe
Brave Nature (+Att, -Spe)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Punch
Metagross’ existence in this team is basically as a counter to several things that would normally be troublesome. Ice Punch with Air Balloon makes it so it’s able to easily take out foes like Dragonite and Garchomp with relative ease. Hidden Power Fire with the current EV spread 2HKOs any Standard Ferrothorn that opted for Shed Shell and didn’t successfully Leech Seed Metagross. As an added bonus, it 2HKOs Scizor, which would wall it under normal circumstances (and thus gets switched into it a lot, causing some funny KOs). Earthquake is for general coverage and power. Bullet Punch was chosen over Meteor Mash because Fire/Ice/Ground is only resisted by 2 Rotom Formes, both of which don’t get threatened by Meteor Mash either. Furthermore, the team was having trouble with fast Pokémon that were either fragile to begin with, or had roughly 10% of their HP left after setting up. Bullet Punch allows for some nice cleaning out of those threats that would otherwise sweep the entire team. 10 Speed EVs allow it to out-speed some variants of Tyranitar. The rest was pumped into its Attack for maximum damage. The remainder was casually dropped into its HP. The main weakness this thing has is either Fire attacks or getting Burned.
Nickname Origin: The X on its face, and Super Computers.
Porthos (Terrakion) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Att, -SpA)
- Close Combat
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
Terrakion is supposed to use any given opening to boost its speed whenever possible, and proceed to sweep. Supposed to. As it stands, Terrakion is merely used for its speed to hopefully OHKO anything that’s giving me trouble. When something’s faster, its Focus Sash saves it and it proceeds to hit hard anyways. The main reason why it’s usually not boosting a stat is because of all of the status, passive damage, priority moves, and/or Scizor being thrown around making it a terrible idea. The EVs are rather basic, and the nature chosen was for maximum power.
Nickname Origin: Porthos, the Musketeer which Terrakion is designed after.
JIRACHI (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Att / 218 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
Jirachi basically walls certain threats, Body Slams the switch-in, and Iron Heads it to death. Whenever there's an opening, it uses Stealth Rock/Wish as appropriate. Wish support is greatly appreciated by a bulky team such as this one, especially when most of the members lack a reliable method of recovery. This Jirachi has very little use late-game. Rocks would already be up, and its attacks aren't particularly powerful. As such, it is generally there for the sole purpose of healing my team after it gets switched out the first time.
Nickname Origin: Jirachi have only been available in events up to gen 4 so far, and nicknaming them is impossible, so the name can only be Jirachi in all caps.