A Team of Science

[Hwang]

I've never been a great team builder in Pokemon. I'd just throw together Pokemon that I thought were fun/good and be done with it. My team synergy was just awful. Today, I sat down and actually thought about a good team, while still being creative. To top it off, since I am kind of a science nerd, I gave my Pokemon names based on famous scientists (and my PO name is Physics). I have tested the team for a while and tweaked it a bit.

My results:

It's relatively offensive team. Its original intent was to be based around Kingdra, but I think I got something even better.

Team Building Process

I’ve used Kingdra in the past and I really enjoy using him. He has good sweeping capabilities and decent defenses to take hits. He doesn’t like other fast Dragon-types though. And Steel-types are problematic too.

Seeing as Kingdra in the Rain is only outrun by Choice Scarfers, I figured that Metagross could tank a Dragon type hit from Pokemon like Latios, or Scarfed/Banded Salamence.

My team doesn’t like Ferrothorn a whole lot, so I bring out my Magnezone set which punishes opponents for using Ferrothorn.

2 of my Pokemon have Ground weaknesses. Gengar is a ground counter to that. His Speed and Special Attack can usually get rid of common Ground-type move abusers.

My team needed a solid revenge killer. Stealth Rocks is always nice. And why get rid of the pressure of making good predictions by using an Arena Trap Dugtrio?

I figured that the team would appreciate another Ground-immunity. Also my team needed a reliable Fire-Type. So a bulky Special Attacker rounds off the team.​

Changes will be in green

Archimedes (Kingdra) @ Leftovers
Adamant-252 Att/128 SpDef/128 Def
Swift Swim
-Rain Dance
-Waterfall
-Outrage
-Dragon Dance (Originally was Return)
He gets plenty of opportunities to set up Rain Dance. Once he does, there is very little that he has to worry about. His high attack stat+Rain boosted Waterfall makes it very hard for other Pokemon to survive. His decent defenses make it hard for him to be 1hko’d. I decided to go with a Physical variant because there are far more Special Walls than Physical Walls out there. Outrage is powerful and takes care of Dragon Pokemon. His physical movepool is a bit of a disappointment so I took Dragon Dance for an additional boosting move if I wanted to go for a sweep. Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and getting caught in Outrage are the only real problems that I have encountered using him.

Mendeleev (Metagross) @ Air Balloon
Adamant-252 Att/240 HP (originally was 240 Def)/16 Spd
Clear Body
-Agility
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
I haven’t used Agility-Metagross a lot previously, but I felt that he would fit nicely into this team. After 1 Agility, not much can outspeed him. I chose high HP EVs because survivability+high Attack+high Speed=Unstoppable. Physical Scarf users like Salamence can deal a huge amount of damage, but because of Metagross's defenses, he can usually survive and go for the KO. Meteor Mash is really powerful and can boost attack. Earthquake for some coverage of common threats. Ice Punch takes care of Gliscor and the likes. Sadly, Scarfed Heatran can really hurt Metagross.

Tesla (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Modest-252 SpAtt/252 Spd/ 4 HP
Magnet Pull
-Charge Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Substitute
-Hidden Power [Ice] (originally was Hidden Power [Fire])
He makes Ferrothorn users cry. Ferrothorn gets trapped by Magnet Pull. Substitute blocks Leech Seed. Charge Beam lets him gain multiple SpAtt boosts. Thunderbolt for more powerful STAB. It takes 2/3 Gyro Balls/Power Whips to break through the Sub. Once I gain enough stat boosts, I put up 1 final Sub and finish off Ferrothorn. From this point on, Magnezone is pretty much guaranteed to bring something else down with it. With pseudo-BoltBeam, not much can survive an attack from a +2/3 Magnezone. Also can screw over Pokemon like Politoed/Jellicent. Only problem is Ground Pokemon, as he can barely touch them and they can crush him.

Pascal (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Timid-252 SpAtt/252 Spd/4 HP
Levitate
-Substitute
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Disable (originally was Hidden Power Fire)
Classic Gengar set. Substitute+Disable+2 Attacks is always great. Considering how 2 of my Pokemon are vulnerable to Ground, I needed a good counter. I also needed a reliable Special Attacker. The 3 attacks I chose are for overall power and coverage. Shadow Ball for STAB, I can also get lucky and lower the opponents Sp.Def. Focus Blast for pesky Dark Types and Normal Types. Disable is to get rid of foes like Conkeldurr whose only move that can hit Gengar is Payback. Disable also comes in handy against Choice users. Substitute makes it so whatever does manage to outspeed Gengar, has to also manage hitting him twice. Oh and it can be helpful when Focus Blast misses.

Richter (Dugtrio) @ Focus Sash (originally was Choice Band)
Jolly-252 Att/252 Spd/4 HP
Arena Trap
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
-Stealth Rocks (originally was Shadow Claw)
Kills Sand Stream/Drought teams. He traps and KOs Ninetails/Tyranitar, then I send in Kingdra to set up Rain. Other than that, he is an amazing revenge killer. Arena Trap prevents his prey from going anywhere. He has a tremendous Speed stat, and with such high Attack, he can pretty much 1hko anything that doesn’t resist the attack. Earthquake is great STAB. Stone Edge destroys those who are immune to Earthquake. Also he provides Sucker Punch for priority, which my team needs desperately to prevent Cloyster and the likes sweeping my team with only 1HP left. He really puts a damper on Heatran's day. Problems include his thin defenses and opposing Stealth Rocks.

Kelvin (Rotom-H) @ Leftovers
Modest-252 SpAtt/136 Spd/120 HP
Levitate
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch (originally was Pain Split)
-Hidden Power [Ice]
His good coverage+High Special Attack go to work on the opponent. I went for a HP and Speed split because I wanted him to outspeed some more common threats, but be bulky enough to take hits from fast Pokemon. In addition to all of that, he blocks Will-O-Wisp (which my team hates with a passion), and is immune to Ground. Thunderbolt provides powerful STAB. Hidden Power Ice can take care of Pokemon like Gliscor or Dragonite. I changed Pain Split to Volt Switch because I wasn't using Pain Split very often. Also, it was brought to my attention that Volt Switch+Dugtrio's Arena Trap is deadly. Overheat is powerful, but I am careful when using it due to its effect​

 

[Jaws]

As soon as magnezone, and maybe Metagross are outta the way, this team is pretty weak to Scizor, Dugtior's paper defenses can't take a Bullet Punch, you can switch in with Rotom-H but not many thing's want to take a Choiced Bullet Punch, from experience G-Gar can't survive Bullet punche's and since it has priority Kingdra's swift swim is useless, and if he's locked into outrage say good bye to it. I suggest you get a good physical wall like skarmory. Beside's that I like this team, one last thing Sub+Disable Gengar is amazing forcing choiced pokemon switche's.

 

[Hwang]

As soon as magnezone, and maybe Metagross are outta the way, this team is pretty weak to Scizor, Dugtior's paper defenses can't take a Bullet Punch, you can switch in with Rotom-H but not many thing's want to take a Choiced Bullet Punch, from experience G-Gar can't survive Bullet punche's and since it has priority Kingdra's swift swim is useless, and if he's locked into outrage say good bye to it. I suggest you get a good physical wall like skarmory. Beside's that I like this team, one last thing Sub+Disable Gengar is amazing forcing choiced pokemon switche's.

Thanks for the feedback! I realized the team was a bit weak to CB Scizor. But I try to keep Magnezone alive as long as possible if I see Pokemon like Ferrothorn or Scizor in the team preview. I did some calculations Rotom-H can tank 10-13 hits from CB Bullet Punch (before Stealth Rock). So I think if I play it smart, Scizor shouldn't be a huge problem. I am actually thinking of running a Sub+Disable Gengar, that's what I've usually run in the past, I'll have to contemplate the pros and cons of the 2 sets.

 

[Smilodon]

I like very much the nicknames of your pokemon.
I don't see any real weakness to Scizor, Rotom just check it, Magnezone too, Metagross will be hard to kill...

Terrakion seems to be much more threatening. You have nothing that resist fighting moves bar the frail Gengar. Dugtrio can take care of non scarfed/rock polish versions, and Metagross will take a hit at full health, but he will be really annoying if you fail to predict exactly the set. With substitute he might be a real pain.
An other tiny problem : Kingdra is good against rain teams, but you have nothing else to take a powerfull Hydropump under rain, they might be hard to deal with.

A few advice :
- What about a sash on Dugtrio ? Less pure power, but it really help to kill a weakened threat. You might give him SR instead of Shadow Claw too.
- Volt Switch could be nice on Rotom, especially to help Dugtrio when he wants to trap something.
- EV : HP instead of Def for Metagross, to be able to take more special hits.
- What about Slowbro instead of Metagross ? A good way to annoy Terrakion, to take water hits, to spread statuses...

 

[Hwang]

I like very much the nicknames of your pokemon.
I don't see any real weakness to Scizor, Rotom just check it, Magnezone too, Metagross will be hard to kill...

Terrakion seems to be much more threatening. You have nothing that resist fighting moves bar the frail Gengar. Dugtrio can take care of non scarfed/rock polish versions, and Metagross will take a hit at full health, but he will be really annoying if you fail to predict exactly the set. With substitute he might be a real pain.
An other tiny problem : Kingdra is good against rain teams, but you have nothing else to take a powerfull Hydropump under rain, they might be hard to deal with.

A few advice :
- What about a sash on Dugtrio ? Less pure power, but it really help to kill a weakened threat. You might give him SR instead of Shadow Claw too.
- Volt Switch could be nice on Rotom, especially to help Dugtrio when he wants to trap something.
- EV : HP instead of Def for Metagross, to be able to take more special hits.
- What about Slowbro instead of Metagross ? A good way to annoy Terrakion, to take water hits, to spread statuses...

Thanks. You're completely right about Terrakion, I'd have to make some real good predictions to beat him. You're also right about the Rain issue. However, I can usually lead with Magnezone against Politoed and setup a sub on the switch and hopefully get a sweep (But banking on Politoed to switch will cause problems). So far that strategy has gotten me 2 6-0 Sweeps with Magnezone, but it is very risky.

I'll switch Pain Split for Volt Switch on Rotom. Thanks for bringing that combo to my attention. Same goes for switching Metagross's Defense EVs to HP EVs.

Sash on Dugtrio is a good idea, but I feel that it might be wasted. Entry hazards are still popular and I have no spinner.

As for switching Metagross for Slowbro, that's another excellent idea. However, I am a terrible defensive player. I'll test the team a bit more, and if I am having major problems with the things that you mentioned, I might switch Metagross for Slowbro.

 

[cosmicfinch]

My team has a similar issue with the rain that I made. I tried leading out with Magnezone as well, but that makes a ton of issues if he takes a specs hydro pump or surf in the rain. He either dies, or is no longer good at trapping anything steel as in rain fire is useless. That being said, you will sweep bad players. Once I got over 1200, that was no longer viable.
Some suggestions I have for you.
- I dont see you using Return much on anything, I think Dragon Dance would be much better on Kingdra.
- You have no stealth rock layer. Which makes you really weak to Volcarona and Dragonite. I'd drop Shadow Claw and your band on Dugtrio, give him a sash and rocks. He wont miss the power, and wont be stuck on a stupid move like eq that everyone has 2 or 3 pokes immune to. Even Balloon tran who he is supposed to counter.
- I dont see the point of fire on gengar here. You have Rotom and Magnezone for steel pokes. A gengar with substitute needs disable. It destroys all things choiced. That is 90% terrakions, and 50% scizors.
-Personal opinion with magnezone, I really find reflect useful over charge beam. When you do switch into scizors, gives you a chance to set up before killing him. Makes magnezone useful after dispatching the steel foe. Especially if you have a sub up. Lets you scout the counter, as opposed switching right away.
Cool team though. Good luck with it.

 

[Hwang]

My team has a similar issue with the rain that I made. I tried leading out with Magnezone as well, but that makes a ton of issues if he takes a specs hydro pump or surf in the rain. He either dies, or is no longer good at trapping anything steel as in rain fire is useless. That being said, you will sweep bad players. Once I got over 1200, that was no longer viable.
Some suggestions I have for you.
- I dont see you using Return much on anything, I think Dragon Dance would be much better on Kingdra.
- You have no stealth rock layer. Which makes you really weak to Volcarona and Dragonite. I'd drop Shadow Claw and your band on Dugtrio, give him a sash and rocks. He wont miss the power, and wont be stuck on a stupid move like eq that everyone has 2 or 3 pokes immune to. Even Balloon tran who he is supposed to counter.
- I dont see the point of fire on gengar here. You have Rotom and Magnezone for steel pokes. A gengar with substitute needs disable. It destroys all things choiced. That is 90% terrakions, and 50% scizors.
-Personal opinion with magnezone, I really find reflect useful over charge beam. When you do switch into scizors, gives you a chance to set up before killing him. Makes magnezone useful after dispatching the steel foe. Especially if you have a sub up. Lets you scout the counter, as opposed switching right away.
Cool team though. Good luck with it.

Alright, thanks for the feedback. I have never used Return on Kingdra once, so I'll switch that to DD. And after testing the team a bit more, I think the Dugtrio would be pretty good with Focus Sash+Stealth Rocks. Also, I haven't used HP fire much with Gengar, so I will switch that to Disable as well. I think that SubDisable Gengar will help with my Terrakion issue.