Manectric for President 2014

[Oyster]

So I started playing the XY meta yesterday, and I thought I'd start with something that is both familiar and fairly simple to use. To that end, what better choice is there than VoltTurn?

I admit though, the biggest reason I wanted to make a VoltTurn team wasn't for easing myself into the meta; it was because of this guy:

Yeah, Mega Manectric. I knew from what I had seen before that he wasn't one of the top-tier Megas, but Ligntingrod into Intimidate alongside a strong-ass Volt Switch seemed much cooler to me than whatever Charizard, Venusaur, or Pinsir had to offer. Plus, my first Pokemon game was Emerald so there was the nostalgia factor too.

With Manectric as my starting point, my next objective was to figure out a win condition that would suit him well. I knew my team was going to be a VoltTurn team, but I had to figure out what flavor it was going to be before I settled on Manectric's partner(s). Considering Manectric's Indimidate, I decided to go for a bulky team based on forcing switches and racking up hazard damage, then finishing with a strong priority sweeper.

My means for setting hazards being the most prominent thing on my mind, I decided to go with another pokemon close to my heart from my Emerald days: Deoxys-S.

Deoxys is a suicide lead, meant to set up rocks and at least a layer of Spikes before dying, while ruining the opponent's setup with Taunt. My reasoning for using a suicide lead is to allow me to keep momentum after setting up my hazards, which is crucial for a VoltTurn team.

With my win condition set, the next step was to create my means for carrying out the win condition, starting with Manectric's partner. I really enjoyed the concept of a VoltTurner with Intimdate, and I wanted to counter Manectric's crippling weakness to ground, so the logical choice was to use Landorus-T.

Volt-Turn core set, my next objective was finding my cleaner. I knew from gen 5 that Azumarill was a monster with Aqua Jet, and I heard that it's new fairy typing had only enhanced its effectiveness, so I thought, "Why not?"

I admit, I was not entirely comfortable having my only cleaner being locked into an attack, and I was sure I would want to be able to use Azumarill as a revenge killer as well, so I thought it would serve me well to have another cleaner who operates slightly differently from Azumarill. One who could possibly assist the team in other ways as well, like by spinblocking. I think you guys know who I'm talking about. It's that snazzy new sword thingy, Aegislash!

I wasn't quite sure originally what to put in this last spot, so to start I decided to just throw in another VoltTurner (Scizor) and see what weaknesses needed patching. A while of playtesting revealed that I had a glaring weakness to Rotom-W, water/ground types like Gastrodon, and stall pokemon like, I'm ashamed to admit, Shell Smash Contrary Shuckle. I tried a few means of patching these holes, but it eventually became clear that I needed a specially bulky grass-type who could force stall and setup pokemon out, preferably one who didn't mind status either. Only one poke I know truly fits this bill: the onion fairy Celebi.

The team:

Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Knock Off

The suicide lead. I usually eat an attack while setting up rocks, then get down a layer of Spikes before dying, but I always Taunt first if the opponent's lead looks like it's trying to set something up. Sometimes, due to a poorly placed taunt or priority attacks or whatever, I only have one turn to set up hazards, but even then I'm usually content with having rocks up.

Manectric (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]

The man. People are often surprised to see a Mega Manectric and aren't familiar with what can take it on 1v1, and so end up losing their best attackers. For example, Manectric can eat a Quick Attack from Mega Pinsir even when under 50% and OHKO with Thunderbolt, and it outspeeds Mega Gyarados even after a Dragon Dance. Overheat and HP Ice are there for coverage, but I can't imagine using any other moves in their place as both have saved my ass multiple times. Volt Switch is obviously one of the most important moves on the team, and puts a serious dent in anything that doesn't resist it.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

The second half of my Intimidate VoltTurn core, Landorus has impressed me time and time again with the sheer number of things it can take on and not die (obviously ice moves are not one of those things). Intimidate and Assault Vest make for a very bulky 'mon, And between Earthquake and U-Turn he does a very good job wearing down the opponent. Stone Edge is for coverage and a nice "fuck you" to Charizard and Talonflame, and Knock Off helps deal with counters like Poison Heal Gliscor.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Perish Song
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- U-turn

This little guy alone deals with so many of my team's weaknesses. Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and setup or stall pokemon are the most notable ones, but he also does well straight up tanking due to his special bulk and Intimidate support from Manectric and Landorus. Perish Song is a poor man's phazing move, but I haven't had any problems with it so far. The one thing I wonder about is if a support move like Heal Bell might serve me better than U-turn in the last slot. I suppose I'll have to test it a little more.

Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Being totally unfamiliar with 6th gen pokemon before putting together this team, I wasn't quite sure how this whole Stance Change thing would work, but it ended up being rather simple. I like simple. Anyways, this guy typically comes in on something he resists or is immune to, Swords Dances on the switch, and then punches holes in the opponent with Shadow Sneak or Sacred Sword until he dies. Whether this happens early game or late game depends on what my opponent's team makeup is, really hinging on whether or not I'll need Azumarill as a revenge killer. He's also super dandy to have as a spinblocker, although he can't really do his job against Donphan due to Earthquake troubles. Plus Defog is a bitch.

Azumarill (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

My cleaner and revenge killer. I've won several games simply due to my opponent not having an answer for Aqua Jet. All three of her other moves are incredibly useful and have pulled my ass out of the fire multiple times; it's just a shame that I can't use more than one per switch-in. Between her priority and Aegislash's my team can still be very fast despite only two of my pokemon having max investment in speed. If only she had priority on her other attacks.

Anyways, to sum it up, my team hinges on a few important features:
-Suicide lead to set up hazards and keep momentum
-Double Intimidate and max HP investment in most of my 'mons for bulk
-VoltTurn to keep momentum and rack up hazard damage through switches
-'Mons who resist one another's weaknesses to force more switches
-Strong priority attacks to clean up

I hope you guys like it so far, and I can't wait to hear how it can be improved further.

Exportable:
Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Knock Off

Manectric (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Perish Song
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- U-turn

Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Azumarill (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

 

[VanguardSoul]

Looks like a good team. No major flaws, fairly solid. I like what you've done with Celebi too, I agree that it definitely glues your team together. The only thing I can see being an issue fighting would be Greninja, but even that Celebi can handle. I'm not a big fan of suicide leads personally, but you really make it work and I like it. Nice.

 

[Mystletainn]

To be fair, Swords Dance Aegislash is quite straightforward, just as you've said. However, that's the problem, and it's dealt with rather easily, through physical bulk and Earthquake threats. A way around this is to go for Mixed Aegislash. It's simply replacing your ability to boost via Swords Dance and turning Aegislash into a strong threat that can hit from both sides of the attacking spectrum. When a switch-in comes, usually a physical tank, they get severely dented by Shadow Ball. From there, you can either King's Shield to get back into Shield Form and gain Lefties recovery while now being able to tank a hit before a second Shadow Ball ends them, or just Shadow Sneak right away if they are in kill range. This set isn't meant to just stay in until it dies, which kind of goes against the playstyle of Volt-Turn. It's got excellent resistances, and can definitely switch-in many times against many threats, as you may have already noticed. However, going mixed means Aegislash is no longer one-dimensional and predictable.

Some might disagree with my choice of nature, but I do like being able to actually hurt with Sacred Sword and Shadow Sneak over the ability to have slightly stronger Shadow Balls. Most of the time, it won't change the fact that you'll 2HKO, and the Shadow Sneak will have a slightly larger kill range.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Brave Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

 

[VanguardSoul]

Nicely thought out. I can see you definitely know any flaws or threats to your team, and how to deal with them! It might just be me, but I think your team here is pretty solid. Even a Trick Room team would have a couple struggles. I might even use this team sometime and see how I like it in a real battle! Looks pretty cool, again my only personal complaint is suicide lead, but that's just my personal preference, I wouldn't say it's a flaw at all! Just not my style! But I really like it lol nice job! This is what happens when you really think out a team haha

 

[Oyster]

Thanks for the praise VanguardSoul, it makes me feel good to hear some affirmation of my teambuilding skills!

To be fair, Swords Dance Aegislash is quite straightforward, just as you've said. However, that's the problem, and it's dealt with rather easily, through physical bulk and Earthquake threats. A way around this is to go for Mixed Aegislash. It's simply replacing your ability to boost via Swords Dance and turning Aegislash into a strong threat that can hit from both sides of the attacking spectrum. When a switch-in comes, usually a physical tank, they get severely dented by Shadow Ball. From there, you can either King's Shield to get back into Shield Form and gain Lefties recovery while now being able to tank a hit before a second Shadow Ball ends them, or just Shadow Sneak right away if they are in kill range. This set isn't meant to just stay in until it dies, which kind of goes against the playstyle of Volt-Turn. It's got excellent resistances, and can definitely switch-in many times against many threats, as you may have already noticed. However, going mixed means Aegislash is no longer one-dimensional and predictable.

Some might disagree with my choice of nature, but I do like being able to actually hurt with Sacred Sword and Shadow Sneak over the ability to have slightly stronger Shadow Balls. Most of the time, it won't change the fact that you'll 2HKO, and the Shadow Sneak will have a slightly larger kill range.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Brave Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

I hadn't really thought about it before, but considering it now I do often feel compelled to keep Aegislash in after Swords Dancing, which is counterproductive to the idea of a VoltTurn team like you said. A mixed Aegislash might be just what I need to improve the flow of my team, so I'll test it out and see how it goes. Thanks!

 

[Frost22]

First off, I would like to complement you on your team. It seems very balanced and could do quite a bit of damage. However, your team has a bit of a serious weakness. Standard swords dance Bisharp can come close to sweeping your entire team. Only Azumarill can kill it before it kills whatever else opposes it seeing as Deo-S is a suicide lead. Even then, if the Bisharp gets to +1, it has a 50-ish% chance to OHKO after stealth rock. To combat this, it is likely that you would have to replace a member of your team. Options could include replacing Deoxys with a bulkier hazard setter, or replacing one of your attackers with something that can take a sucker punch and KO back. As it is, though, you will have to sack a member of your team to bring in Azumarill because it can't sponge a hit and survive another one.

 

[MarkWahlbergIsAPin]

Deoxys-S is a suicide lead, but if ever you get to use that one attack that he has, I would suggest Knock Off. It doesn't make that much of a difference considering you'll rarely use it, but if you have a screener or something like that against you, you taunt them, then knock off their light clay, and it actually makes a big difference on the outcome of the game.

 

[Oyster]

First off, I would like to complement you on your team. It seems very balanced and could do quite a bit of damage. However, your team has a bit of a serious weakness. Standard swords dance Bisharp can come close to sweeping your entire team. Only Azumarill can kill it before it kills whatever else opposes it seeing as Deo-S is a suicide lead. Even then, if the Bisharp gets to +1, it has a 50-ish% chance to OHKO after stealth rock. To combat this, it is likely that you would have to replace a member of your team. Options could include replacing Deoxys with a bulkier hazard setter, or replacing one of your attackers with something that can take a sucker punch and KO back. As it is, though, you will have to sack a member of your team to bring in Azumarill because it can't sponge a hit and survive another one.

It's funny that you mention this now, because I just lost a battle today due to not having a good answer for Bisharp. I'll start by experimenting with movesets rather than outright changing a member of the team just to counter Bisharp, since any roster change is bound to open up new holes for me to plug. I'll be sure to explore my options though. Replacing Aegislash with something that carries Mach Punch is a possible route I could take, and then perhaps I could replace Deoxys with Skarmory. We'll see...

Deoxys-S is a suicide lead, but if ever you get to use that one attack that he has, I would suggest Knock Off. It doesn't make that much of a difference considering you'll rarely use it, but if you have a screener or something like that against you, you taunt them, then knock off their light clay, and it actually makes a big difference on the outcome of the game.

This is a great idea! I'll make the change immediately.