Failure of a Team.

[Arrogance]

WARNING: Below are the thoughts of a newb to 5th Gen battling. Read&Rate at your own risk.

Yes well, everyone that I used to play with seems to have gone onwards to the newer Black and White meta-game, leaving me behind to battle only NPCs and wild Pokémon in 4th Gen. So, I decided to import my 4th Gen team directly to my new, recently finished team to test out 5th Gen. Alright, that's enough chat, let's get to the nitty-gritty.

The Process

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Well, I always try to incorporate my favourite Pokémon into every single one of my teams. This case, it would be Swampert. I went for the Cursepert set with a few modifications to the EVs.
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Alright, so if I have a Swampert, who is 4X weak to Grass, it's a no-brainer as to who I have to have on this here team. Heatran of course, fits in nicely and adds a specially-based threat to this team. This also helpps with the original "Fire, Grass, Water" core.
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Whistle~ Time for that Grass type I was talkin' about to complete my core! Being a newb to Black and White, I originally used Sawsbuck/lol. After testing it out, along with Virizion, I rage-quit and headed for familiar shores. Which in this case, meant Roserade.
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Now, this looks good. I'll be using a Roserade lead, which is awesome. However, as of now, my team is lacking in a wall. I need a good ol' punchbag, capable of taking hits like a bawss. After hearing all the hype about Multiscale Dragonite, I decided to test it out.
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Now, just for teh lulz and the want to even out the amount of Specially and Physically based attackers, I used the Pokemon all furfaggots dream about - Lucario. I don't blame them, he is pretty beastly. Wait, that's not why they like Lucario?! ... (._.)Then I added in a Gengar just for old times sake.

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So that's the team. . . On to the sets!

The Sets​

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"Reborn" the Roserade (♂) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Poison Point
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder

Freshly bred Roserade, directly imported from Sinnoh to poison you. Anyone who played competitive Gen 4 should know this guy. Standard, except for Hidden Power, mine is Dark and unfortunately, I have no way to change it. CURSE YOU FLAWLESS IVS, CURSE YOU! Anyways, mainly to deal with the ever annoying Politoad. Sleep Powder or Toxic Spikes, it's situational. I can never decide whether to use TS or SP when I predict a switch.​

"Lucy" the Heatran (♀) @ Chople Berry/Shuca Berry Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP/4 SPA/ 252 SpD
Modest nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Magma StormLava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Pulse/Earth PowerProtect
- Roar

This Heatran doesn't really focus on hitting the enemy, instead, she acts as support and a trapper. I chose a Chople Berry atm instead of a standard Passho/Shuca Berry because of my bad luck into switching onto fighting attacks. I may replace it later. As you can see, Heatran provides a defensive section to my team. Stealth Rock is there because I can't afford to waste one of Swampert's Attack slots, Magma Storm is to prevent walls from escaping, (so I can set up on them) and Roar is to shuffle my opponent's team around. Dragon Pulse is filler and can be replaced.​

"Lazuli" the Swampert (♀) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 212 HP/252 Atk/40 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- CurseIce Punch
- RestStone Edge
- Superpower/Avalanche
- Earthquake/ Aqua Tail

Under suggestion of BKC, changed to a CBPert.​

"Tiamat" the Dragonite (♀) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EV's: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Heal Bell / Roost
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Extreme Speed

Yay for Dragonite. She never fails me. IMO, for my team, the only reason I chose her over her sexier brethren was - Heal Bell. As my team is very susceptible to status, especially burn, I needed a bulky sweeper, who could also use Heal Bell. Dragonite was the only candidate other than Roserade (Aromatherapy, but very fragile). This set is working for me averagely, as I can come in various times and Heal Bell, then proceed to DD and sweep.​

"Chesire" the Gengar (♀) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 252 SpA/4 HP/252 Spe
Timid nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Pain Split
- Substitute

I hate Evolite. I'd rather prefer my opponent using Bright-powder over Evolite. That's how much I hate it. Thanks to Gengar, I can punish those fools who bring in Chansey and/or Blissey. Pain Split also has useful functions as a semi-reliable way of healing myself, when I'm too damaged from LO recoil. She contributes to my team by getting rid of those annoying walls. She also acts as a backup sweeper if Lucario gets killed.​

"Amaterasu" the Lucario (♂) @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 HP/252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, - Atk)
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Extremespeed
- Swords Dance

This is my janitor. Come in on a wall with no WoW, Swords Dance, then go to town. Ice Punch for dat Gliscor with Poison Heal, CC = STAB and Extremespeed for picking off damaged foes. I'm thinking of running Bullet Punch over Extremespeed for Tyranitar.​

I'm not even sure this made sense, I'm high on Internet right now. Will EDIT with Threat List later, just needed to get this rated first. Please no removing Swampert. XD Even though Skarmory is very much more useful.

IMPORTABLE:

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"Reborn" the Roserade (♂) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Poison Point
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder

"Lucy" the Heatran (♀) @ Chople Berry/Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP/4 SPA/ 252 SpD
Modest nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Pulse/Earth Power
- Roar

"Lazuli" the Swampert (♀) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Curse
- Rest
- Superpower/Avalanche
- Earthquake/ Aqua Tail

"Tiamat" the Dragonite (♀) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EV's: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Heal Bell / Roost
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Extreme Speed

"Chesire" the Gengar (♀) @ Life Orb/Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 252 SpA/4 HP/252 Spe
Timid nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Pain Split
- Substitute

"Amaterasu" the Lucario (♂) @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 HP/252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, - Atk)
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Extremespeed
- Swords Dance

​

 

[Arrogance]

Dammit, what a nub mistake. Clicked submit instead of preview. . . Sorry guys, I'll be editing the first post now, don't lock this please.
EDIT: Okay, have edited. Thanks in advance guys&girls. Flame as much as you want, only be sure to add something constructive to it.

 

[nite skye]

you don't seem to have a physical wall. if you opt for heal bell over roost on dragonite (who doesn't have multiscale btw), he'll not quite fill the role i think you're wanting to use him for when it comes to taking multiple hits. if you've got problems with status, using natural cure over poison point on roserade might lessen that a bit. poison point is fairly redundant when you're laying t-spikes anyway. and i'm sure it's just a typo, but you have "Timid nature (+SpA, -Atk)" on gengar.

 

[Arrogance]

you don't seem to have a physical wall. if you opt for heal bell over roost on dragonite (who doesn't have multiscale btw), he'll not quite fill the role i think you're wanting to use him for when it comes to taking multiple hits. if you've got problems with status, using natural cure over poison point on roserade might lessen that a bit. poison point is fairly redundant when you're laying t-spikes anyway. and i'm sure it's just a typo, but you have "Timid nature (+SpA, -Atk)" on gengar.

Whoops, forgot to add in Multiscale. I don`t know, Roserade seems to die too early to absorb status, but I`ll take that into consideration. Yeh, I`ll have to edit, pretty sure there are lotsa typos in there. Thanks for the rate!

 

[BKC]

First off, Heatran definitely wants Leftovers. As an avid SpD Tran user myself, I can tell you first-hand that the 6% recovery is more helpful than any resist berry out there. I'd also like you to consider swapping his two attacking moves for Lava Plume and Protect. While Magma Storm is by no means a bad move, it's more suited to a Heatran running a dedicated trapping set; its low PP is not ideal for a wall. Lava Plume is great for its high PP and 30% burn rate, which at first may look like it conflicts with Toxic Spikes but think about the things that switch into Heatran - Dragonite, Gyarados, Salamence - they're not affected by TS and do not appreciate being burned. As for Protect, it's a great move that racks up residual damage from burn/poison, gives you an extra turn of Lefties recovery, and scouts the intentions of choice users.

Next, I recommend running an EV spread of 252 HP | 40 SpA | 216 SpD on Roserade, with a Calm nature, and using Giga Drain over Leaf Storm. Reason being, you heavily rely on Rossy to tank dangerous threats such as Politoed and Rotom-W; using the lead set from DPP is not the way to do it, you need bulk, and the set I recommended extends Rossy's longevity as much as possible.

Swampert needs a moveset change as well. Not only is Curse + Superpower extremely counterproductive, Pert is simply not going to be sweeping with a Curse set in this metagame full of Pokemon that can take advantage of him and turn him into a liability for you - off the top of my head, this includes Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Celebi, Roserade, Breloom, Latios, Latias, Dragonite, and Gengar. How about trying a Choice Band set instead? Simply change to an Adamant nature and shift your current SpD EVs into Attack, using a moveset of Waterfall | Earthquake | Superpower | Ice Punch. This set can surprise many of its common switch-ins with its unexpected power, and with team preview, you'll have no trouble predicting the switch-in and smacking it with the appropriate attack.

The last change I think you should make is changing Dragonite's ability to Multiscale, and dropping ExtremeSpeed for Roost. MS is an incredible ability, especially for something as bulky as Dnite, and Roost abuses it to the fullest. The lack of priority shouldn't be a problem since you're gradually boosting your speed anyway, and without a couple of attack boosts, ES won't be doing much. Plus, you've already got some great priority with Lucario.

Hope I helped, good luck with the team.

 

[Arrogance]

First off, Heatran definitely wants Leftovers. As an avid SpD Tran user myself, I can tell you first-hand that the 6% recovery is more helpful than any resist berry out there. I'd also like you to consider swapping his two attacking moves for Lava Plume and Protect. While Magma Storm is by no means a bad move, it's more suited to a Heatran running a dedicated trapping set; its low PP is not ideal for a wall. Lava Plume is great for its high PP and 30% burn rate, which at first may look like it conflicts with Toxic Spikes but think about the things that switch into Heatran - Dragonite, Gyarados, Salamence - they're not affected by TS and do not appreciate being burned. As for Protect, it's a great move that racks up residual damage from burn/poison, gives you an extra turn of Lefties recovery, and scouts the intentions of choice users.

Ah, okay. So, should I drop Dragon Pulse for Protect and swap Magma Storm for Lava Plume?

Next, I recommend running an EV spread of 252 HP | 40 SpA | 216 SpD on Roserade, with a Calm nature, and using Giga Drain over Leaf Storm. Reason being, you heavily rely on Rossy to tank dangerous threats such as Politoed and Rotom-W; using the lead set from DPP is not the way to do it, you need bulk, and the set I recommended extends Rossy's longevity as much as possible.

Actually, I'm thinking of swapping it out for Ferrothorn. Good?

Swampert needs a moveset change as well. Not only is Curse + Superpower extremely counterproductive, Pert is simply not going to be sweeping with a Curse set in this metagame full of Pokemon that can take advantage of him and turn him into a liability for you - off the top of my head, this includes Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Celebi, Roserade, Breloom, Latios, Latias, Dragonite, and Gengar. How about trying a Choice Band set instead? Simply change to an Adamant nature and shift your current SpD EVs into Attack, using a moveset of Waterfall | Earthquake | Superpower | Ice Punch. This set can surprise many of its common switch-ins with its unexpected power, and with team preview, you'll have no trouble predicting the switch-in and smacking it with the appropriate attack.

Sounds good on paper. I'll test it out, thanks for rating my team.

 

[Arrogance]

I'm afraid I have yet to learn how to bump, so I must double-post. Changes are in red, looking for more rates, thanks in advance!

 

[Joeyboy]

Pretty cool team. Just thought you should know that Heal Bell is illegal with multiscale as it was a special move from purifying Dragonite in XD.

I suggest you try running this Dragonite over your current one, as it plays a similar role.

Dragonite (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 16 SDef / 160 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

This Dragonite uses Sub to block status as opposed to Heal Bell.

Good luck!

 

[Arrogance]

Dragonite (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 16 SDef / 160 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

This Dragonite uses Sub to block status as opposed to Heal Bell.

Mistake on my part, thanks for pointing that out. It wasn't really supposed to block status, moreover cure status overall for my team. I will test this set out though, thank you! To anyone else, I was maybe thinking about a Celebi with Heal Bell, but that would leave me with another fire weakness...

 

[Dead Optimist]

You cannot have heal bell and multiscale sadly.

 

[Arrogance]

You cannot have heal bell and multiscale sadly.

Yes, someone already pointed that out for me, thank you. I'll get around to editing that in a moment, just wanted to test out a new Dragonite set. ;)