Setup Sweep Team:
Introduction:
Not gonna waste time just yet with a fancy intro, because nobody reads it. However, I should state some things first. This team has been doing decently well, much better than I expected. However, I fear that there are a few things about this team that are holding it back. I'll mention them below. Anyway:
Bisharp:
Item: Dread Plate
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Ability: Defiant
EV's: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe
Moves:
Pursuit
Iron Head
Sucker Punch
Swords Dance
Bisharp is the first setup sweeper on my team, and arguably the most controversial one right now. While in concept, a Swords Dance'd Sucker Punch can wreck pretty hard, the problem is how predictable it is. People simply know that when Bisharp is out, he uses Sucker Punch, and because of that, they start to setup and take advantage of the situation. Because Bisharp doesn't have much reliable coverage, he becomes a bit of a burden at times. However, he can become a blessing at times against the likes of Aegislash, who will try to use King's Shield. As you guessed, Iron Head and Sucker Punch act together to give Bisharp neutral coverage, and Pursuit is for Aegislash who try to switch.
Dragonite:
Item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Ability: Multiscale
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Earthquake
Dragonite is the second setup sweeper, and a good one at that. With simply just one Dragon Dance, Dragonite can wreck most unprepared teams. His multiscale provides me with good opportunities to come in and get a free Dragon Dance. This set is pretty standard on Dragonite though, as Dragon Claw hits everything except Fairy and Steel Types, while Fire Punch and Earthquake provide Dragonite with good coverage. Some people will question the lack of Extremespeed on Dragonite, which I will say, specifically, for my team structure, priority isn't that glaring of a need. Earthquake ensures that Dragonite won't get walled by Heatran, which is good enough for me. Overall, I don't have much of a problem with Dragonite.
Excadrill:
Item: Air Balloon
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Ability: Mold Breaker
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves:
Rapid Spin
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Swords Dance
Excadrill is my third setup sweeper, and also serves a key important role as the spinner on my team. With Dragonite and Mega Charizard Y both being weak to Stealth Rock, there has to be some form of support for getting rid of the rocks. Excadrill not only serves as the spinner on my team, but knows how to function well as a setup sweeper of his own. With Swords Dance, his Earthquake and Rockslide do massive amounts of damage, and get neutral coverage at the same time. Excadrill's only downfall is his lack of super high speed, preventing him from completely demolishing on his own. However, his role as a spinner is good enough for me, and has proven my team well.
Mega Charizard Y:
Item: Charizardite Y
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
Ability: Drought
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves:
Fire Blast
Solar Beam
Focus Blast
Roost
Mega Charizard Y offers massive support where other Pokemon cannot. First, you'd think that with 3 Pokemon weak to Fire Type attacks on my team, that using a Pokemon with Drought would be a bad idea. However, as it only lasts 5 turns, including the turn it's set, the opponent rarely ever gets the chance to take advantage of it. In return, I get a Pokemon that can clear the most annoying of threats, including Rotom-W and Azumarill. Fire Blast is his main STAB, which with Sun support, can wreck unprepared Pokemon. Solarbeam hits specific threats such as Rotom-W and Azumarill hard, while Focus Blast hits Heatran and Tyranitar hard. Roost can heal off Mega Charizard Y on a predicted switch. Mega Charizard Y's movepool gives my team the edge it needs to get rid of threats that would otherwise destroy it.
Breloom:
Item: Choice Scarf / Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Ability: Technician
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moves:
Force Palm
Bullet Seed
Mach Punch
Spore
The Sleep Inducer of my team. Breloom with a Choice Scarfed Spore can easily pluck off a threat and put it straight to sleep, giving me time to switch into the setup sweeper of my choice and hit hard with it. I went with Force Palm over Power-Up Punch, as I don't see Breloom being that bulky, making the setup very risky. Also, with a Choice Scarf on him, Power-Up Punch's investment doesn't seem worth it. I would've went Low Sweep, but its Base Power changed to 65 this gen, unfortunately. Bullet Seed provides Breloom with a means to take down Azumarill and Rotom-W, while Mach Punch can pick off weakened threats that cause my team trouble.
Greninja:
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Def)
Ability: Protean
56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves:
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Extrasensory
Shadow Sneak
To be honest, Greninja was simply to fill in a slot that needed to be filled. Something needed to put a stop to Gliscor, and Greninja seemed like a good pick. Also, something needed to pick off a weakened Talonflame, and Greninja also seemed like a good pick. Seeing as I have Breloom and Mega Charizard Y, Grass coverage seemed to be trivial, and with Bisharp on my team, Dark coverage also seemed to be trivial as well. Hydro Pump gives Greninja a good way to hit incredibly hard, while Ice Beam hits Gliscor hard. Extrasensory is a bit more controversial among the group, but something has to hit Mega Venusaur hard, right? Shadow Sneak is simply to hit weakened off Pokemon.
Conclusion:
I like my team, though I feel there's a pressing trouble. Azumarill puts a lot of stress on my team, given the right circumstances. Landorus-T gives my team a lot of stress as well. Rotom-H is incredibly difficult to pick off, because of how easily it can switch in and paralyze any of my setup sweepers (except Excadrill, who gets 0HK0'ed by Overheat anyway). I feel changing Bisharp to a different setup sweeper might give my team better coverage, though I would lose the ability to throw off Sucker Punches and kill off Latios so easily. Breloom's use is trivial, and often depends on the situation. Teams using Mega Venusaur make its role almost useless, and because Mega Venusaur is already difficult for my team to stop, this doesn't help the case either.
Anyway, that's my team. Thanks for reading and rating. I appreciate it.
Introduction:
Not gonna waste time just yet with a fancy intro, because nobody reads it. However, I should state some things first. This team has been doing decently well, much better than I expected. However, I fear that there are a few things about this team that are holding it back. I'll mention them below. Anyway:
Bisharp:
Item: Dread Plate
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Ability: Defiant
EV's: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe
Moves:
Pursuit
Iron Head
Sucker Punch
Swords Dance
Bisharp is the first setup sweeper on my team, and arguably the most controversial one right now. While in concept, a Swords Dance'd Sucker Punch can wreck pretty hard, the problem is how predictable it is. People simply know that when Bisharp is out, he uses Sucker Punch, and because of that, they start to setup and take advantage of the situation. Because Bisharp doesn't have much reliable coverage, he becomes a bit of a burden at times. However, he can become a blessing at times against the likes of Aegislash, who will try to use King's Shield. As you guessed, Iron Head and Sucker Punch act together to give Bisharp neutral coverage, and Pursuit is for Aegislash who try to switch.
Dragonite:
Item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Ability: Multiscale
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Earthquake
Dragonite is the second setup sweeper, and a good one at that. With simply just one Dragon Dance, Dragonite can wreck most unprepared teams. His multiscale provides me with good opportunities to come in and get a free Dragon Dance. This set is pretty standard on Dragonite though, as Dragon Claw hits everything except Fairy and Steel Types, while Fire Punch and Earthquake provide Dragonite with good coverage. Some people will question the lack of Extremespeed on Dragonite, which I will say, specifically, for my team structure, priority isn't that glaring of a need. Earthquake ensures that Dragonite won't get walled by Heatran, which is good enough for me. Overall, I don't have much of a problem with Dragonite.
Excadrill:
Item: Air Balloon
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Ability: Mold Breaker
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moves:
Rapid Spin
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Swords Dance
Excadrill is my third setup sweeper, and also serves a key important role as the spinner on my team. With Dragonite and Mega Charizard Y both being weak to Stealth Rock, there has to be some form of support for getting rid of the rocks. Excadrill not only serves as the spinner on my team, but knows how to function well as a setup sweeper of his own. With Swords Dance, his Earthquake and Rockslide do massive amounts of damage, and get neutral coverage at the same time. Excadrill's only downfall is his lack of super high speed, preventing him from completely demolishing on his own. However, his role as a spinner is good enough for me, and has proven my team well.
Mega Charizard Y:
Item: Charizardite Y
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
Ability: Drought
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves:
Fire Blast
Solar Beam
Focus Blast
Roost
Mega Charizard Y offers massive support where other Pokemon cannot. First, you'd think that with 3 Pokemon weak to Fire Type attacks on my team, that using a Pokemon with Drought would be a bad idea. However, as it only lasts 5 turns, including the turn it's set, the opponent rarely ever gets the chance to take advantage of it. In return, I get a Pokemon that can clear the most annoying of threats, including Rotom-W and Azumarill. Fire Blast is his main STAB, which with Sun support, can wreck unprepared Pokemon. Solarbeam hits specific threats such as Rotom-W and Azumarill hard, while Focus Blast hits Heatran and Tyranitar hard. Roost can heal off Mega Charizard Y on a predicted switch. Mega Charizard Y's movepool gives my team the edge it needs to get rid of threats that would otherwise destroy it.
Breloom:
Item: Choice Scarf / Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Ability: Technician
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moves:
Force Palm
Bullet Seed
Mach Punch
Spore
The Sleep Inducer of my team. Breloom with a Choice Scarfed Spore can easily pluck off a threat and put it straight to sleep, giving me time to switch into the setup sweeper of my choice and hit hard with it. I went with Force Palm over Power-Up Punch, as I don't see Breloom being that bulky, making the setup very risky. Also, with a Choice Scarf on him, Power-Up Punch's investment doesn't seem worth it. I would've went Low Sweep, but its Base Power changed to 65 this gen, unfortunately. Bullet Seed provides Breloom with a means to take down Azumarill and Rotom-W, while Mach Punch can pick off weakened threats that cause my team trouble.
Greninja:
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Def)
Ability: Protean
56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves:
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Extrasensory
Shadow Sneak
To be honest, Greninja was simply to fill in a slot that needed to be filled. Something needed to put a stop to Gliscor, and Greninja seemed like a good pick. Also, something needed to pick off a weakened Talonflame, and Greninja also seemed like a good pick. Seeing as I have Breloom and Mega Charizard Y, Grass coverage seemed to be trivial, and with Bisharp on my team, Dark coverage also seemed to be trivial as well. Hydro Pump gives Greninja a good way to hit incredibly hard, while Ice Beam hits Gliscor hard. Extrasensory is a bit more controversial among the group, but something has to hit Mega Venusaur hard, right? Shadow Sneak is simply to hit weakened off Pokemon.
Conclusion:
I like my team, though I feel there's a pressing trouble. Azumarill puts a lot of stress on my team, given the right circumstances. Landorus-T gives my team a lot of stress as well. Rotom-H is incredibly difficult to pick off, because of how easily it can switch in and paralyze any of my setup sweepers (except Excadrill, who gets 0HK0'ed by Overheat anyway). I feel changing Bisharp to a different setup sweeper might give my team better coverage, though I would lose the ability to throw off Sucker Punches and kill off Latios so easily. Breloom's use is trivial, and often depends on the situation. Teams using Mega Venusaur make its role almost useless, and because Mega Venusaur is already difficult for my team to stop, this doesn't help the case either.
Anyway, that's my team. Thanks for reading and rating. I appreciate it.
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