Hey Smogon,
I'm relatively new here. I started playing pokemon back in 4th gen, but never really played competitively. I started playing pokemon online when 5th gen came out, but I only played for a little while, since I felt that the metagame was too centralized around Politoed and Tyranitar (and Excadrill). I played a little bit of VGC '11, but felt the metagame to be overly shallow, and focused on a select few pokemon. So I stopped playing until I heard that Excadrill had been banned, at which point my interest in the game renewed.
Original Team at a Glance:
With this team, I peaked at 28th on the Smogon server, although I spent most of my time floating around the 150 mark, once I learnt how to use the team.
Updated Team:
With this team, I peaked at 9th on the Smogon Server (rating 1526), and was much more consistently floating within the top 100.
Team Building Process:
I messed around for a little while, just looking at other people's teams, trying to gather ideas about what was good, and what was bad.
I originally decided that I wanted to make a trick room team, so I set about trying to put something together. Although I quickly discovered that trick room was relatively weak, and that my team needed something to push it along. At which point I decided to try mixing sand with trick room, and that led me to my first team:
Team 1:
This team was ok. Nah wait, it was terrible. Tried setting up trick rooms, but just wasn't doing enough damage. Reuniculus was getting the occasional sweep, but for the most part, I wasn't getting very far. I also found that I needed a solid special wall, but also get the occasional kill. I also had problems breaking walls, such as Gliscor and Ferrothorn. That's when I had an idea.
Team 2:
This team started to do a lot better. Hippowdon for physical threats, and Tyranitar for special threats, both changint the weather. Although I still had a few issues; I could survive relatively well, but had trouble getting the last few kills. Trick room didn't seem to be doing a whole lot, especially with Slowbro and Bronzong. Even if they managed to set up, nothing really would happen, and I'd end up losing in the long run. So I decided that this trick room thing needed to be dumbed down a little bit, and that I also needed someone who could switch in and out of things a little bit easier.
Team 3:
A bit of an improvement. Rotom-W (Scarf) gave me a reliable opener, and someone who could jump in and out of the battle at any point. He also provided a means of killing Gliscor and Skarmory, which was quite a boon to my team. I still had problems with Chansey though, and felt I was still lacking someone to finish of battles.
Team 4:
Here we go. I ditched all but one Trick Room user, which freed my team up significantly, but still meant I could use Trick Room to outspeed certain counters and checks. I started using it a little more actively, not sweeping, but using it to get around things that I didn't have a reliable counter to. Able to counter just about everything that I felt that I couldn't before. I still didn't like Chansey, but at least I had a way to threaten it. Opposing Rotom-W scared me a little; I didn't want anyone to be tricked, but I didn't want my Rotom-W to take a Volt Switch either. So the final small adjustment to my pokemon, and fiddled with a few items and movesets to bring about my finished team:
Team 5:
Good. I was pleased. My Rotom-W weakness was covered much better, unless they predicted and packed Hidden Power Ice/Fire. Leaf Storm also threatened Politoed much harder, and denied a lot of switch-ins. So I started gaining some real success.
Team 6:
My final update was a rather large one. Big thanks to everyone that contributed, and helped me improve this team. 3 pokemon were changed, which actually meant that my team suddenly changed quite a bit, but overall, everyone still retained their original roles.
As much as I didn't want to do it, I changed back to Rotom-W, because, among other things, I didn't a real response to SD Scizor. Normally Reuniclus would get a surprise KO under Trick Room, or sometimes I'd wear it down, not giving it an option to roost, normally by sacrificing a pokemon. I did think of switching HP Ice for HP Fire, but then I'd lose my ability to revenge kill +1 Dragonite, who is equally deadly. I was also having issues with Scarf Landorus, who outspeeds and deals a chunk with U-Turn, often trapping me into switches when partnered with an opposing Rotom-W. So by switching back to Rotom-W, I gave myself a little more leeway, meaning that I play imperfectly and not lose the game. At the same time, I did lose my perfect counter to Rotom-W, which meant I had to come up with other ways to limit his effectiveness.
Terrakion was exchanged for Scizor. They are quite different, but in essence, they both formed the physical offence of this team. I did lack a solid priority move user, so I lumped Quick Attack onto Terrakion, even though he was a poor user of it. Because I used a Life Orb set (in order to guarantee an OHKO on Ferrothorn), his durability was extremely questionable, and didn't want to get stuck using a choice set. I also really dislike Stone Edge; it is too unreliable to be used to sweep. Scizor checked most of the pokemon Terrakion did anyway, although was a better priority user, is uneffected by Toxic, and forms an amazing combo with Rotom-W.
The final change was also the most dramatic. That Toxic Spikes weakness that destroyed my team became nothing when I swapped Ferrothorn for Tentacruel. I could deal with hazards, and threaten to burn things with scald, at the cost of Spikes and Thunder Wave support. Ferrothorn was my main response to Politoed, and it still is, although it now shares the role with Rotom-W, and against some variants, Tyranitar. This was the main change to my team, and the one that changed things the most. I did miss Ferrothorn, because he checked so many things incredibly well, but at the same time, I couldn't afford to auto-lose to water stall. This meant that every match became winnable.
As far as match strategy goes, I spend most of my time dealing chip damage, using a lot of Roar and Toxic, just trying to get the opponent under full health. Then, after Hippowdon and Tentacruel fall, Reuniclus and Scizor clean up the rest of the mess, together covering more-or-less the entire metagame.
Team in Detail:
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
252 HP, 252 Def, SpD 6
Impish (+Def, -SAtt)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Roar
A very underrated pokemon. My main physical wall, phazer and user of Stealth Rock. And a little bit of weather changing support. Sections of most matches involve a lot of Roaring, giving the chip damage needed for Reuniclus and Scizor to sweep later on. Reliably switched in to any physical sweeper trying to set up, and could roar them away, with the exception of Terrakion (although he could revenge kill). It is also probably the most solid Jirachi counter, even against special variants. Most battles have a reasonable period of time where the opponent is trying to switch in a counter, only to be roared away, eating Stealth Rock damage. Deals the chip damage necessary for Scizor and Reuniclus to guarantee more OHKOs, obviously helpful towards a sweep. Also a great check for Heatran and Tyranitar (even Ice Beam sets), limiting those who resist Reuniclus’ set. Just a very useful pokemon to have on board, and covered physical threats extremely well.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
252 HP, 172 Att, 64 SDef, 22 Spd
Brave (+Att, -Spd)
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
The special wall and one of the wall breakers of my team. Tyraniboah is probably the most useful Tyranitar around, as it's often unexpected, and gives issues to many of the usual counters. Switch into something that can't break a sub, then Focus Punch away. Ice Beam helped cover my Gliscor weakness, although it didn't eleviate it immediately. I also had to be aware of Skarmory, but Rotom-W covered that option quite well. That being said, Skarmory cannot switch into Tyraniboah more than once, unless it heals, as Focus Punch disallows Roost, and the Skarmory uses Brave Bird, it will kill itself before Tyranitar dies. Also, Tyraniboah loves Trick Room. It allows him to set up on heaps of status users, and denies Landorus and Gliscor an opportunity to switch in. Amazing little combination.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
252 HP, 252 SAtt, 6 Def (0 Spd IV)
Quiet (+SAtt, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Hidden Power (Fire)
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
The special sweeper. Switch into something that needs to switch out, Trick Room, then watch as they squirm. It appears to have terrible coverage, and sometimes it does, but it will destroy Scizor reliably, who is easily the most common response to Reuniclus. Most fear a Focus Blast anyway, so they're reluctant to switch in Tyranitar/Heatran, who otherwise wall this set. Typical good players will spend the next 4 turns switching between pokemon, hoping not to get predicted. Trick room can also be used by Tyranitar, Scizor and even Hippowdon, so more reliably counter their common switch-ins. Despite the coverage issues, Tyraniboah, Scizor and Hippowdon effectively check Heatran/Tyranitar/Hydreigon, who otherwise wall this set. In a typical match, I aim to destroy these three Pokemon before Reuniclus comes out, hoping to then claim 4KOs in 4 turns.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
252 SAtt, , 128 HP, 128 Speed
Timid(+Speed, -Att)
- Trick
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
Standard Rotom-W is standard. Most often used as an opening pokemon, unless the oppoenent lacks a proper response to Hippowdon. Scout for a while, then Trick when they're least expecting. HP Ice allows me to thoroughly check Gliscor and Dragonite, who may otherwise cause issues. Hydro Pump and Volt Switch are obligatory. Slight HP investment for a little extra bulk, as the speed evs outspeed all legal OU pokemon except Accelgor, and still outspeed Dragonite and Gyarados after one Dragon Dance. Obviously forms a lovely offensive combo with Scizor, and spends a large amount of time Volt Switching. I dislike Hydro Pump, given its inaccuracy, and have considered replacing it with another move, although would severely restrict his offensive potential. Functions well after Trick also, still dealing damage and threatening water teams, and can also function in Trick Room, in order to defeat (and often OHKO) faster threats.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician
252 Att, 244 HP, 12 Speed
Adamant (+Att, -Speed)
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
Almost a standard Scizor. Obviously works really well with Rotom-W, and is a very useful scouter and revenge killer. Covers most sweepers under 60% quite well, which is a good pairing Hippowdon, who tends to rack up Stealth Rock damage with Roar. Fire moves are also walled by Tentacruel and Tyranitar, so he generally has an easy time getting in and getting out. That being said, I normally leave him be until the battle is near its end. Quick Attack was chosen over Pursuit because I needed a way of keeping Volcarona (OHKO after Stealth Rock), Starmie and Gyarados honest, and found that the pokemon affected by Pursuit never really gave me problems anyway, as such Pokemon could often OHKO Scizor if they outsped him and carried HP Fire.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Liquid Ooze
252 HP, 240 SDef, 16 Speed
Calm (+SDef, -Att)
- Toxic
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
The saviour from stall. Obviously used as a Rapid Spinner, and as a means of getting rid of Toxic Spikes. But that is not all. Given that I swapped him for Tentacruel for Ferrothorn, he also became my Politoed counter. Which means very large amount of SDef EVs. He also counters a few random things that beat standard variations, like Gengar and some Celebi. Toxic over Toxic Spikes because most teams have a safe way of getting rid of Toxic Spikes, however, most teams do not have a cleric. It also punishes the ever-popular Rotom-W switch-in hard, and can wear down a large proportion of the OU cast. Protect is an excellent means of scouting, especially against Rotom-W after he's been poisoned, since it will forcefully reveal his set, and allow the appropriate counter. And finally, Liquid Ooze was chosen over Rain Dish, given that I don't have a Drizzle user, but also as a means to reply to Conkeldurr, Celebi, Drain Punch Breloom and sub-seed users. It often comes a surprise, and promises to take a chunk of their health away, removing threats unusually quickly.
Past Members:
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
252 HP, 252 SDef, 6 Def (0 Spd IV)
Sassy (+SDef, -Spd)
- Thunder Wave
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Bulldoze
My response to Politoed. Switch in, paralyze something. Gyro Ball for large amounts of damage (even on paralyzed opponents, and he's still normally slower anyway). Spikes if they refused to switch, and Bulldoze to destroy Magnezone. Bait Magnezone to switch into a Thunder Wave (normally by using it to paralyze something, then again on the switch), then 2HKO it with Bulldoze. It seems like a troll, but it actually works. Also switch it into physical threats that need to be finished off.
Rotom-C @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
252 SAtt, 252 Spd, 6 HP
Timid (+Spd, -Att)
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Hidden Power (Ice)
My standard opener and revenge killer. Volt Switch constantly, and respond with a counter. Leaf Storm keeps Politoed honest, and the threat will often attract a Chansey/Ferrothorn out, which can be tricked if predicted. It's still faster than Dragonite after a Dragon Dance, and will OHKO after Stealth Rock damage. Such a useful pokemon, and capable of giving the chip damage required for Terrakion/Reuniclus to sweep.
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Justified
252 Att, 252 Spd, 6 HP
Jolly (+Spd, -SAtt)
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
The game winner. Come in after my walls fall, and pick up the pieces. Substitute is the real game winner; it eases the burden of prediction, and gives status users a real headache. Life Orb robs Skarmory of the luxury of switching in, as Close Combat does around 50%. It also ensures that Ferrothorn is OHKOed, despite how bulky it is. Stone Edge is a bit dodgy; I ran Rock Slide for a little while for added accuracy, but couldn't rationalize the power drop. Quick Attack gives him a means of finishing faster sweepers off, although it is weaker than I would like. All in all, this team wouldn't work without Terrakion to finish the battle.
Team 5 Checks:
Team 6 Checks:
I have not yet found anything that particularly hard-counters this team, but there are a few things that can be troublesome.
SkarmBliss can be annoying, but I normally find I wear them down eventually. Tyranitar can be used to stop either from healing quite effectively.
Breloom can cause issues, since only Scarf Rotom outspeeds it. I can’t stop the Spore, although setting up a Trick Room or giving him a scarf is a good way to limit his potential.
Celebi can cause issues, although I normally switch in Reuniclus, and set up a Trick Room. This completely disallows a sweep, although Reuniclus normally dies in the process. Either that or switching him a Choice Scarf, since this also ruins his fun. If the Trick Room is already up, Tyraniboah normally forces a switch and is allowed to set up.
Jirachi can be troublesome if it haxes a lot, but I suppose this is a problem for more or less everyone. It can’t do a whole lot to Hippowdon, unless it gets really lucky with that hax (which sometimes does happen).
If Rotom-W is down, SD Scizor can pose problems. Reuniclus may be able to take him down if he switches into a Trick Room, but if he sets up and Hippowdon has less than 80% health, the match is over. Shell Smash users function quite similarly, although they are normally completely countered by Trick Room.
Hydreigon is something I’ve noticed recently, and something to which I don’t have a good response. It could potentially hit anything for Super-Effective damage, although it could potentially do nothing. Scizor also hits it really hard after a few switch-ins to Stealth Rock.
I don't have good switch-ins to Mamoswine, but it can't really come in on anything either.
Toxic Gliscor can be annoying to deal with, since it poisons Hippowdon (who would otherwise wall it), so Rotom-W normally has to deal with it. Either than or Tentacruel/Tyranitar in Trick Room.
Conclusion:
The process of building this team and rising with it went for about a month, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I played with the original model of this team over the course of about a month, evolving it during that time. I then pulled away and experimented with Drought for about another month, before coming back and trying to fix the problems I couldn’t before.
In some ways I felt that my Team 5 was stronger, although it was simply too weak to water stall. And in fixing that giant problem, I opened up a few, more minor holes, but overall created a far more balanced team.
I thoroughly enjoy playing this team, as it is engineered to only really use two sweepers, with the other Pokemon fostering the conditions for a full sweep. This means that I am often able to come back and win a match, despite losing a Pokemon to a Critical Hit right at the start. This team really capitalizes on any misread from the opponent, and due to the non-standard Tyranitar and Reuniclus sets, this actually happens pretty often. And Trick Room in general gives my team something that most are lacking, and makes it play quite differently, keeping everything fresh and active.
This team is now retired, although I still play to use it from time to time, and intend to build it on my game.
I look forward to everyone's comments.
Attila
I'm relatively new here. I started playing pokemon back in 4th gen, but never really played competitively. I started playing pokemon online when 5th gen came out, but I only played for a little while, since I felt that the metagame was too centralized around Politoed and Tyranitar (and Excadrill). I played a little bit of VGC '11, but felt the metagame to be overly shallow, and focused on a select few pokemon. So I stopped playing until I heard that Excadrill had been banned, at which point my interest in the game renewed.
Original Team at a Glance:
With this team, I peaked at 28th on the Smogon server, although I spent most of my time floating around the 150 mark, once I learnt how to use the team.
Updated Team:
With this team, I peaked at 9th on the Smogon Server (rating 1526), and was much more consistently floating within the top 100.
Team Building Process:
I messed around for a little while, just looking at other people's teams, trying to gather ideas about what was good, and what was bad.
I originally decided that I wanted to make a trick room team, so I set about trying to put something together. Although I quickly discovered that trick room was relatively weak, and that my team needed something to push it along. At which point I decided to try mixing sand with trick room, and that led me to my first team:
Team 1:
This team was ok. Nah wait, it was terrible. Tried setting up trick rooms, but just wasn't doing enough damage. Reuniculus was getting the occasional sweep, but for the most part, I wasn't getting very far. I also found that I needed a solid special wall, but also get the occasional kill. I also had problems breaking walls, such as Gliscor and Ferrothorn. That's when I had an idea.
Team 2:
This team started to do a lot better. Hippowdon for physical threats, and Tyranitar for special threats, both changint the weather. Although I still had a few issues; I could survive relatively well, but had trouble getting the last few kills. Trick room didn't seem to be doing a whole lot, especially with Slowbro and Bronzong. Even if they managed to set up, nothing really would happen, and I'd end up losing in the long run. So I decided that this trick room thing needed to be dumbed down a little bit, and that I also needed someone who could switch in and out of things a little bit easier.
Team 3:
A bit of an improvement. Rotom-W (Scarf) gave me a reliable opener, and someone who could jump in and out of the battle at any point. He also provided a means of killing Gliscor and Skarmory, which was quite a boon to my team. I still had problems with Chansey though, and felt I was still lacking someone to finish of battles.
Team 4:
Here we go. I ditched all but one Trick Room user, which freed my team up significantly, but still meant I could use Trick Room to outspeed certain counters and checks. I started using it a little more actively, not sweeping, but using it to get around things that I didn't have a reliable counter to. Able to counter just about everything that I felt that I couldn't before. I still didn't like Chansey, but at least I had a way to threaten it. Opposing Rotom-W scared me a little; I didn't want anyone to be tricked, but I didn't want my Rotom-W to take a Volt Switch either. So the final small adjustment to my pokemon, and fiddled with a few items and movesets to bring about my finished team:
Team 5:
Good. I was pleased. My Rotom-W weakness was covered much better, unless they predicted and packed Hidden Power Ice/Fire. Leaf Storm also threatened Politoed much harder, and denied a lot of switch-ins. So I started gaining some real success.
Team 6:
My final update was a rather large one. Big thanks to everyone that contributed, and helped me improve this team. 3 pokemon were changed, which actually meant that my team suddenly changed quite a bit, but overall, everyone still retained their original roles.
As much as I didn't want to do it, I changed back to Rotom-W, because, among other things, I didn't a real response to SD Scizor. Normally Reuniclus would get a surprise KO under Trick Room, or sometimes I'd wear it down, not giving it an option to roost, normally by sacrificing a pokemon. I did think of switching HP Ice for HP Fire, but then I'd lose my ability to revenge kill +1 Dragonite, who is equally deadly. I was also having issues with Scarf Landorus, who outspeeds and deals a chunk with U-Turn, often trapping me into switches when partnered with an opposing Rotom-W. So by switching back to Rotom-W, I gave myself a little more leeway, meaning that I play imperfectly and not lose the game. At the same time, I did lose my perfect counter to Rotom-W, which meant I had to come up with other ways to limit his effectiveness.
Terrakion was exchanged for Scizor. They are quite different, but in essence, they both formed the physical offence of this team. I did lack a solid priority move user, so I lumped Quick Attack onto Terrakion, even though he was a poor user of it. Because I used a Life Orb set (in order to guarantee an OHKO on Ferrothorn), his durability was extremely questionable, and didn't want to get stuck using a choice set. I also really dislike Stone Edge; it is too unreliable to be used to sweep. Scizor checked most of the pokemon Terrakion did anyway, although was a better priority user, is uneffected by Toxic, and forms an amazing combo with Rotom-W.
The final change was also the most dramatic. That Toxic Spikes weakness that destroyed my team became nothing when I swapped Ferrothorn for Tentacruel. I could deal with hazards, and threaten to burn things with scald, at the cost of Spikes and Thunder Wave support. Ferrothorn was my main response to Politoed, and it still is, although it now shares the role with Rotom-W, and against some variants, Tyranitar. This was the main change to my team, and the one that changed things the most. I did miss Ferrothorn, because he checked so many things incredibly well, but at the same time, I couldn't afford to auto-lose to water stall. This meant that every match became winnable.
As far as match strategy goes, I spend most of my time dealing chip damage, using a lot of Roar and Toxic, just trying to get the opponent under full health. Then, after Hippowdon and Tentacruel fall, Reuniclus and Scizor clean up the rest of the mess, together covering more-or-less the entire metagame.
Team in Detail:
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
252 HP, 252 Def, SpD 6
Impish (+Def, -SAtt)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Roar
A very underrated pokemon. My main physical wall, phazer and user of Stealth Rock. And a little bit of weather changing support. Sections of most matches involve a lot of Roaring, giving the chip damage needed for Reuniclus and Scizor to sweep later on. Reliably switched in to any physical sweeper trying to set up, and could roar them away, with the exception of Terrakion (although he could revenge kill). It is also probably the most solid Jirachi counter, even against special variants. Most battles have a reasonable period of time where the opponent is trying to switch in a counter, only to be roared away, eating Stealth Rock damage. Deals the chip damage necessary for Scizor and Reuniclus to guarantee more OHKOs, obviously helpful towards a sweep. Also a great check for Heatran and Tyranitar (even Ice Beam sets), limiting those who resist Reuniclus’ set. Just a very useful pokemon to have on board, and covered physical threats extremely well.
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Sand Stream
252 HP, 172 Att, 64 SDef, 22 Spd
Brave (+Att, -Spd)
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
The special wall and one of the wall breakers of my team. Tyraniboah is probably the most useful Tyranitar around, as it's often unexpected, and gives issues to many of the usual counters. Switch into something that can't break a sub, then Focus Punch away. Ice Beam helped cover my Gliscor weakness, although it didn't eleviate it immediately. I also had to be aware of Skarmory, but Rotom-W covered that option quite well. That being said, Skarmory cannot switch into Tyraniboah more than once, unless it heals, as Focus Punch disallows Roost, and the Skarmory uses Brave Bird, it will kill itself before Tyranitar dies. Also, Tyraniboah loves Trick Room. It allows him to set up on heaps of status users, and denies Landorus and Gliscor an opportunity to switch in. Amazing little combination.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
252 HP, 252 SAtt, 6 Def (0 Spd IV)
Quiet (+SAtt, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Hidden Power (Fire)
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
The special sweeper. Switch into something that needs to switch out, Trick Room, then watch as they squirm. It appears to have terrible coverage, and sometimes it does, but it will destroy Scizor reliably, who is easily the most common response to Reuniclus. Most fear a Focus Blast anyway, so they're reluctant to switch in Tyranitar/Heatran, who otherwise wall this set. Typical good players will spend the next 4 turns switching between pokemon, hoping not to get predicted. Trick room can also be used by Tyranitar, Scizor and even Hippowdon, so more reliably counter their common switch-ins. Despite the coverage issues, Tyraniboah, Scizor and Hippowdon effectively check Heatran/Tyranitar/Hydreigon, who otherwise wall this set. In a typical match, I aim to destroy these three Pokemon before Reuniclus comes out, hoping to then claim 4KOs in 4 turns.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
252 SAtt, , 128 HP, 128 Speed
Timid(+Speed, -Att)
- Trick
- Hidden Power (Ice)
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
Standard Rotom-W is standard. Most often used as an opening pokemon, unless the oppoenent lacks a proper response to Hippowdon. Scout for a while, then Trick when they're least expecting. HP Ice allows me to thoroughly check Gliscor and Dragonite, who may otherwise cause issues. Hydro Pump and Volt Switch are obligatory. Slight HP investment for a little extra bulk, as the speed evs outspeed all legal OU pokemon except Accelgor, and still outspeed Dragonite and Gyarados after one Dragon Dance. Obviously forms a lovely offensive combo with Scizor, and spends a large amount of time Volt Switching. I dislike Hydro Pump, given its inaccuracy, and have considered replacing it with another move, although would severely restrict his offensive potential. Functions well after Trick also, still dealing damage and threatening water teams, and can also function in Trick Room, in order to defeat (and often OHKO) faster threats.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician
252 Att, 244 HP, 12 Speed
Adamant (+Att, -Speed)
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
Almost a standard Scizor. Obviously works really well with Rotom-W, and is a very useful scouter and revenge killer. Covers most sweepers under 60% quite well, which is a good pairing Hippowdon, who tends to rack up Stealth Rock damage with Roar. Fire moves are also walled by Tentacruel and Tyranitar, so he generally has an easy time getting in and getting out. That being said, I normally leave him be until the battle is near its end. Quick Attack was chosen over Pursuit because I needed a way of keeping Volcarona (OHKO after Stealth Rock), Starmie and Gyarados honest, and found that the pokemon affected by Pursuit never really gave me problems anyway, as such Pokemon could often OHKO Scizor if they outsped him and carried HP Fire.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Liquid Ooze
252 HP, 240 SDef, 16 Speed
Calm (+SDef, -Att)
- Toxic
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
The saviour from stall. Obviously used as a Rapid Spinner, and as a means of getting rid of Toxic Spikes. But that is not all. Given that I swapped him for Tentacruel for Ferrothorn, he also became my Politoed counter. Which means very large amount of SDef EVs. He also counters a few random things that beat standard variations, like Gengar and some Celebi. Toxic over Toxic Spikes because most teams have a safe way of getting rid of Toxic Spikes, however, most teams do not have a cleric. It also punishes the ever-popular Rotom-W switch-in hard, and can wear down a large proportion of the OU cast. Protect is an excellent means of scouting, especially against Rotom-W after he's been poisoned, since it will forcefully reveal his set, and allow the appropriate counter. And finally, Liquid Ooze was chosen over Rain Dish, given that I don't have a Drizzle user, but also as a means to reply to Conkeldurr, Celebi, Drain Punch Breloom and sub-seed users. It often comes a surprise, and promises to take a chunk of their health away, removing threats unusually quickly.
Past Members:
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
252 HP, 252 SDef, 6 Def (0 Spd IV)
Sassy (+SDef, -Spd)
- Thunder Wave
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Bulldoze
My response to Politoed. Switch in, paralyze something. Gyro Ball for large amounts of damage (even on paralyzed opponents, and he's still normally slower anyway). Spikes if they refused to switch, and Bulldoze to destroy Magnezone. Bait Magnezone to switch into a Thunder Wave (normally by using it to paralyze something, then again on the switch), then 2HKO it with Bulldoze. It seems like a troll, but it actually works. Also switch it into physical threats that need to be finished off.
Rotom-C @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
252 SAtt, 252 Spd, 6 HP
Timid (+Spd, -Att)
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Hidden Power (Ice)
My standard opener and revenge killer. Volt Switch constantly, and respond with a counter. Leaf Storm keeps Politoed honest, and the threat will often attract a Chansey/Ferrothorn out, which can be tricked if predicted. It's still faster than Dragonite after a Dragon Dance, and will OHKO after Stealth Rock damage. Such a useful pokemon, and capable of giving the chip damage required for Terrakion/Reuniclus to sweep.
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Justified
252 Att, 252 Spd, 6 HP
Jolly (+Spd, -SAtt)
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
The game winner. Come in after my walls fall, and pick up the pieces. Substitute is the real game winner; it eases the burden of prediction, and gives status users a real headache. Life Orb robs Skarmory of the luxury of switching in, as Close Combat does around 50%. It also ensures that Ferrothorn is OHKOed, despite how bulky it is. Stone Edge is a bit dodgy; I ran Rock Slide for a little while for added accuracy, but couldn't rationalize the power drop. Quick Attack gives him a means of finishing faster sweepers off, although it is weaker than I would like. All in all, this team wouldn't work without Terrakion to finish the battle.
Team 5 Checks:
Gliscor/Skarmory give me issues when paired with Chansey/Blissey. Status doesn't work if Chansey/Blissey heal it, and I have trouble getting the KO without prediction.
This issue is magnified when those pokemon are used on a water stall team; Toxic Spikes will normally kill before I can break the walls.
In fact, Toxic Spikes in general can give me a real headache. But only if I can't break the necessary walls in time, or if I let them set up without taking enough.
Ulgamoth turns into an issue if I let it in without Stealth Rock, or if it comes in against Ferrothorn and is carrying a Lum Berry. Cloyster/Gorebyss are the same, although I just have to deny them the opportunity to set up.
Aside from top players who use good water stall teams, I felt that I only lost if I was the worse player, or if I made a mistake.
This issue is magnified when those pokemon are used on a water stall team; Toxic Spikes will normally kill before I can break the walls.
In fact, Toxic Spikes in general can give me a real headache. But only if I can't break the necessary walls in time, or if I let them set up without taking enough.
Ulgamoth turns into an issue if I let it in without Stealth Rock, or if it comes in against Ferrothorn and is carrying a Lum Berry. Cloyster/Gorebyss are the same, although I just have to deny them the opportunity to set up.
Aside from top players who use good water stall teams, I felt that I only lost if I was the worse player, or if I made a mistake.
Team 6 Checks:
I have not yet found anything that particularly hard-counters this team, but there are a few things that can be troublesome.
SkarmBliss can be annoying, but I normally find I wear them down eventually. Tyranitar can be used to stop either from healing quite effectively.
Breloom can cause issues, since only Scarf Rotom outspeeds it. I can’t stop the Spore, although setting up a Trick Room or giving him a scarf is a good way to limit his potential.
Celebi can cause issues, although I normally switch in Reuniclus, and set up a Trick Room. This completely disallows a sweep, although Reuniclus normally dies in the process. Either that or switching him a Choice Scarf, since this also ruins his fun. If the Trick Room is already up, Tyraniboah normally forces a switch and is allowed to set up.
Jirachi can be troublesome if it haxes a lot, but I suppose this is a problem for more or less everyone. It can’t do a whole lot to Hippowdon, unless it gets really lucky with that hax (which sometimes does happen).
If Rotom-W is down, SD Scizor can pose problems. Reuniclus may be able to take him down if he switches into a Trick Room, but if he sets up and Hippowdon has less than 80% health, the match is over. Shell Smash users function quite similarly, although they are normally completely countered by Trick Room.
Hydreigon is something I’ve noticed recently, and something to which I don’t have a good response. It could potentially hit anything for Super-Effective damage, although it could potentially do nothing. Scizor also hits it really hard after a few switch-ins to Stealth Rock.
I don't have good switch-ins to Mamoswine, but it can't really come in on anything either.
Toxic Gliscor can be annoying to deal with, since it poisons Hippowdon (who would otherwise wall it), so Rotom-W normally has to deal with it. Either than or Tentacruel/Tyranitar in Trick Room.
Conclusion:
The process of building this team and rising with it went for about a month, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I played with the original model of this team over the course of about a month, evolving it during that time. I then pulled away and experimented with Drought for about another month, before coming back and trying to fix the problems I couldn’t before.
In some ways I felt that my Team 5 was stronger, although it was simply too weak to water stall. And in fixing that giant problem, I opened up a few, more minor holes, but overall created a far more balanced team.
I thoroughly enjoy playing this team, as it is engineered to only really use two sweepers, with the other Pokemon fostering the conditions for a full sweep. This means that I am often able to come back and win a match, despite losing a Pokemon to a Critical Hit right at the start. This team really capitalizes on any misread from the opponent, and due to the non-standard Tyranitar and Reuniclus sets, this actually happens pretty often. And Trick Room in general gives my team something that most are lacking, and makes it play quite differently, keeping everything fresh and active.
This team is now retired, although I still play to use it from time to time, and intend to build it on my game.
I look forward to everyone's comments.
Attila
