The Science Behind Team Building: An Attempt at Understanding the Gen VI Meta Version 2.0
For those of you who might be asking where the first version of this RMT is, here is the link for it.
When I build teams, I always try to install a level of ingenuity or forward thinking behind it in hopes of anticipating possible trends while also simultaneously trying to combat the here and now. Needless to say, this is much easier said than done. However, when everything was set and done, the team that I linked is the team that, from a personal team building standpoint, was my proudest achievement. Even though I do not see myself as an expert level battler, the team itself, I felt covered an abundance of threats that were prevalent at the time. (DeoSharp, Aegislash, Prankster Swag, and Mega Mawile [Duh] were still around at the time)
Whether my RMTs cover a topic like Intimidate Cores, Rain Teams, Greek Mythology, etc... In the end, I always want to walk away from my project as if I left my stamp on it. However, I haven't had the same sense of "peaking" like I did when I created the first version of this thread months ago. Perhaps its just me being hard on myself; but I almost feel like anyone who legitimately strives to achieve something knows what I'm talking about. I always try to be insightful and inject some humor in my RMTs, even at my own expense. However, this is, I hope, the next stepping stone to greater things.
As such I am going to "cheat" a little and use the same components from my original thread to inspire myself, and perhaps others, into hopefully forging something truly powerful and awe inspiring. If you don't want to reread (or in general are already bored thanks to the long prologue) feel free to skip ahead to the Team Building process and Full RMT. Otherwise, I hope you can take a few minutes from your day to sit back and hopefully enjoy the following presentation. With that being said here we go:
"For anyone that either is in or has progressed passed High School has come across in Science Class the Scientific Method. This is composed of the following Steps:
Ask A Question: My title subtly asks the question, but to put it into form. With our knowledge that no team is perfect, the goal of building a team is to compose parts that, though individually might be flawed, but combined can exceed almost all challenges. Other factors play into this such as the individual players skill level, hax and such, however; we are interested in obtaining a team that can answer many questions, albeit, not all of them.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence” – Vince Lombardi
Do Background Research: I will not bore everyone with these details as this is an RMT and I would like to get to it sometime today. But for anyone who plays PS, and to a lesser extent Wi-Fi, knows what the major threats are and the sets and such. However, the metagame is a living thing that is every developing and changing. Stall, Hyper Offense, Heavy Offense, on and on we are all striving to gain another 1% of that “edge” that the rest of the Meta seems to be overlooking.
“The search for objective knowledge about competitive Pokémon gameplay” – Definition of Poké-metrics
Construct a Hypothesis: Even though the metagame has been largely re-defined, will there another shift that can be induced if the right team were to be constructed that can answer a large portion of the current Meta? Would this team cause a trend similar to SwagPlay? Will it receive as negative a backlash as SwagPlay received and still receives?
Test your Hypothesis: Now we will attempt to construct a team that meets what we are trying to accomplish, eventually leading to a new scientific theory
Since Mega Mawile was banned to Ubers, I needed to address my mega slot. I really didn't have to look far as a current member of my team so happens to have a Mega form that can be used effectively: Mega Scizor.
The one allure about Scizor that I ABSOLUTELY love is that it has only one weakness: Fire. Granted its pretty common in the meta with CharY, CharX and Talonflame roaming around and it being 4x weak to it. Therefore why not incorporated a mon that can render fire attacks futile... enter Heatran.
With Heatran, we incorporated weaknesses to Water, Ground and Fighting types. Though we could address those weaknesses, I wanted to give a Heatran a different role from the norm, therefore Gliscor was implemented to fill both Heatran's would be role and cover some of its weaknesses.
The team felt like it needed some versatility. And who better to fits the definition of versatility than Mew itself.
The team looks like it could benefit from a Special Attacker that possesses lots of options for punching holes into the opposing team. Therefore why not go with the badass shinobi of Gen VI himself, Greninja.
Finally, I really wanted someone who can handle Genie Spam and set up rocks guaranteed. The Bionic Ice Truck Mamoswine was chosen to round out the team.
Now on to the detailed RMT.
I Plow Bitches!!!
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
EV: 252 Atk /4 Def / 252 Spe
Ability: Oblivious
Jolly Nature (+Spe,-SpA)
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
Role: Stealth Rock User / Suicide Lead / Genie Spam Check
Mamoswine leads off the team and was chosen for many reasons. Guarantees rocks thanks to Focus Sash and its ability making him immune to Taunts. Can Check Genie Spam culprits Thundurus and Landorus pretty efficiently. Can operate in the sand without receiving residual damage. And if we really wanted to get cute; Endeavor + Ice Shard its the closest thing to a Desting Bond without the part where you have to faint that we can possibly achieve. Love the big fella... he's like the Center on an offensive line. If you are not noticing him, that's because he's doing his job; blocking pass rusher, making line calls, snapping the ball without fault (a lot harder than it looks... trust) he just ROCKS.
Versatility Dude
Mew @ Leftovers
EV: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe (Props to PandaDuckHybrid for the speed creep)
Ability: Synchronize
Impish Nature (+Def,-SpA)
- Knock Off
- Will-o-Wisp
- Defog
- Softboiled
Role: Defog User / Status Inducer / Bitch Slaps Items
Hey Mew, remove these rocks for me will you. Done. Hey Mew, burn that dude over there will ya. Done. Mew, bitch slap this cat who got some shady item with him. Done. And just when think you've worn Mew down... Softboiled eggs coming up. Excellent Mega Medicham counter who is getting more play with each passing week it seems. Gotta love what Mew brings to the table.
Kakashi Hatake
Greninja @ Life Orb
EV: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ability: Protean
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
IV: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- HP Grass
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
Role: Revenge Killer
Extrasensory for Mega Venusaur, HP Grass for Quagsire and Azumarill, Ice Beam for Gliscor and Landorus and Hydro Pump for Heatran and Talonflame. Basically tried to cover as many threats and nuisances as possible. Yes, Kakashi is frail, but speed kills, and this guy definitely speed personified.
JUST BRING IT!!!
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
EV: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ability: Flash Fire
Modest Nature (+SpA,-Atk)
IV: 0 Atk
- Ancient Power (Props to PandaDuckHybrid for the change)
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
Role: Surprise Revenge Killer
I call Heatran a surprise revenge killer because something like Greninja would prolly stay in on him 11 times out of 10. (Yes this is how sure people are at times about this.) only to get pwned by Heatran immediately afterwards. Thanks to Heatran's immunity to Fire and Poison moves while resisting Fairy mons is what makes this set awesome. As the raw power Flash Cannon brings is amazing. HP Rock was chosen over Stone Edge cause, quite frankly, Stone Edge sucks and HP Rock still OHKOs things like Char Y and Talonflame and 2HKOing CharX. Here are some calcs to digest; but otherwise Heatran is truly fearsome.
HE HATE ME!!!
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
EV: 244 HP / 192 SpD / 72 Spe
Ability: Poison Heal
Careful Nature (+SpD,-SpA)
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Roost
- Toxic
Role: Special Defense Wall / Status Inducer / Stall Breaker
Gliscor is just a friggin' nuisance. Every team I build has to have one of these guys. Its kind of like having a go to move when playing sports. Whatever that might be, you call it your "go to" move because it works always without fail. That's what Gliscor does for me ad pulls the team together pretty well. Stall breaking, Toxic Stall and SpD Wall wrapped into a lovely package. Sign me up.
Big Red Machine
Scizor @ Scizorite
EV: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpD
Ability: Light Metal -> Technician
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpA)
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- U-Turn
Role: The Main Man
With the banning of Mega Mawile to Ubers, Scizor is my favorite mega form to use and I really try hard to fit him into a team. He has so many roles and uses that one cannot truly determine his place until the game has unfolded. Chose Pursuit > Knock Off to Trap Lati@s while U-Turn is here to avoid getting trapped by Magnezone. BP is obvious while Roost provides the longevity necessary to remain in the game as long as possible. In the end, the Main Man puts in work... and I just love it.
I hope you enjoyed looking over the team and, as always, any critiques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, once again, for reading guys and gals.
Sincerely,
Prof. R. Feliciano
Director of Metagame Studies, Smogon University, New York Campus
Director of Archaeological Studies, Smogon University, Chicago Campus
Lead Archaeologist of the Ruins of Alph excavation, Summer 2014
Selected: Lead Archaeologist for the Cave of Origin excavation, circa Fall 2014
For those of you who might be asking where the first version of this RMT is, here is the link for it.
When I build teams, I always try to install a level of ingenuity or forward thinking behind it in hopes of anticipating possible trends while also simultaneously trying to combat the here and now. Needless to say, this is much easier said than done. However, when everything was set and done, the team that I linked is the team that, from a personal team building standpoint, was my proudest achievement. Even though I do not see myself as an expert level battler, the team itself, I felt covered an abundance of threats that were prevalent at the time. (DeoSharp, Aegislash, Prankster Swag, and Mega Mawile [Duh] were still around at the time)
Whether my RMTs cover a topic like Intimidate Cores, Rain Teams, Greek Mythology, etc... In the end, I always want to walk away from my project as if I left my stamp on it. However, I haven't had the same sense of "peaking" like I did when I created the first version of this thread months ago. Perhaps its just me being hard on myself; but I almost feel like anyone who legitimately strives to achieve something knows what I'm talking about. I always try to be insightful and inject some humor in my RMTs, even at my own expense. However, this is, I hope, the next stepping stone to greater things.
As such I am going to "cheat" a little and use the same components from my original thread to inspire myself, and perhaps others, into hopefully forging something truly powerful and awe inspiring. If you don't want to reread (or in general are already bored thanks to the long prologue) feel free to skip ahead to the Team Building process and Full RMT. Otherwise, I hope you can take a few minutes from your day to sit back and hopefully enjoy the following presentation. With that being said here we go:
"For anyone that either is in or has progressed passed High School has come across in Science Class the Scientific Method. This is composed of the following Steps:
Ask A Question: My title subtly asks the question, but to put it into form. With our knowledge that no team is perfect, the goal of building a team is to compose parts that, though individually might be flawed, but combined can exceed almost all challenges. Other factors play into this such as the individual players skill level, hax and such, however; we are interested in obtaining a team that can answer many questions, albeit, not all of them.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence” – Vince Lombardi
Do Background Research: I will not bore everyone with these details as this is an RMT and I would like to get to it sometime today. But for anyone who plays PS, and to a lesser extent Wi-Fi, knows what the major threats are and the sets and such. However, the metagame is a living thing that is every developing and changing. Stall, Hyper Offense, Heavy Offense, on and on we are all striving to gain another 1% of that “edge” that the rest of the Meta seems to be overlooking.
“The search for objective knowledge about competitive Pokémon gameplay” – Definition of Poké-metrics
Construct a Hypothesis: Even though the metagame has been largely re-defined, will there another shift that can be induced if the right team were to be constructed that can answer a large portion of the current Meta? Would this team cause a trend similar to SwagPlay? Will it receive as negative a backlash as SwagPlay received and still receives?
Test your Hypothesis: Now we will attempt to construct a team that meets what we are trying to accomplish, eventually leading to a new scientific theory
Since Mega Mawile was banned to Ubers, I needed to address my mega slot. I really didn't have to look far as a current member of my team so happens to have a Mega form that can be used effectively: Mega Scizor.
The one allure about Scizor that I ABSOLUTELY love is that it has only one weakness: Fire. Granted its pretty common in the meta with CharY, CharX and Talonflame roaming around and it being 4x weak to it. Therefore why not incorporated a mon that can render fire attacks futile... enter Heatran.
With Heatran, we incorporated weaknesses to Water, Ground and Fighting types. Though we could address those weaknesses, I wanted to give a Heatran a different role from the norm, therefore Gliscor was implemented to fill both Heatran's would be role and cover some of its weaknesses.
The team felt like it needed some versatility. And who better to fits the definition of versatility than Mew itself.
The team looks like it could benefit from a Special Attacker that possesses lots of options for punching holes into the opposing team. Therefore why not go with the badass shinobi of Gen VI himself, Greninja.
Finally, I really wanted someone who can handle Genie Spam and set up rocks guaranteed. The Bionic Ice Truck Mamoswine was chosen to round out the team.
Now on to the detailed RMT.
I Plow Bitches!!!
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
EV: 252 Atk /4 Def / 252 Spe
Ability: Oblivious
Jolly Nature (+Spe,-SpA)
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
Role: Stealth Rock User / Suicide Lead / Genie Spam Check
Mamoswine leads off the team and was chosen for many reasons. Guarantees rocks thanks to Focus Sash and its ability making him immune to Taunts. Can Check Genie Spam culprits Thundurus and Landorus pretty efficiently. Can operate in the sand without receiving residual damage. And if we really wanted to get cute; Endeavor + Ice Shard its the closest thing to a Desting Bond without the part where you have to faint that we can possibly achieve. Love the big fella... he's like the Center on an offensive line. If you are not noticing him, that's because he's doing his job; blocking pass rusher, making line calls, snapping the ball without fault (a lot harder than it looks... trust) he just ROCKS.
Versatility Dude
Mew @ Leftovers
EV: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe (Props to PandaDuckHybrid for the speed creep)
Ability: Synchronize
Impish Nature (+Def,-SpA)
- Knock Off
- Will-o-Wisp
- Defog
- Softboiled
Role: Defog User / Status Inducer / Bitch Slaps Items
Hey Mew, remove these rocks for me will you. Done. Hey Mew, burn that dude over there will ya. Done. Mew, bitch slap this cat who got some shady item with him. Done. And just when think you've worn Mew down... Softboiled eggs coming up. Excellent Mega Medicham counter who is getting more play with each passing week it seems. Gotta love what Mew brings to the table.
Kakashi Hatake
Greninja @ Life Orb
EV: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ability: Protean
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
IV: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- HP Grass
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
Role: Revenge Killer
Extrasensory for Mega Venusaur, HP Grass for Quagsire and Azumarill, Ice Beam for Gliscor and Landorus and Hydro Pump for Heatran and Talonflame. Basically tried to cover as many threats and nuisances as possible. Yes, Kakashi is frail, but speed kills, and this guy definitely speed personified.
JUST BRING IT!!!
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
EV: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ability: Flash Fire
Modest Nature (+SpA,-Atk)
IV: 0 Atk
- Ancient Power (Props to PandaDuckHybrid for the change)
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
Role: Surprise Revenge Killer
I call Heatran a surprise revenge killer because something like Greninja would prolly stay in on him 11 times out of 10. (Yes this is how sure people are at times about this.) only to get pwned by Heatran immediately afterwards. Thanks to Heatran's immunity to Fire and Poison moves while resisting Fairy mons is what makes this set awesome. As the raw power Flash Cannon brings is amazing. HP Rock was chosen over Stone Edge cause, quite frankly, Stone Edge sucks and HP Rock still OHKOs things like Char Y and Talonflame and 2HKOing CharX. Here are some calcs to digest; but otherwise Heatran is truly fearsome.
252+ SpA Heatran Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 392-464 (131.9 - 156.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Heatran Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 256-304 (86.1 - 102.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Heatran Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 166-196 (55.8 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Heatran Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 256-304 (86.1 - 102.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Heatran Hidden Power Rock vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 166-196 (55.8 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
HE HATE ME!!!
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
EV: 244 HP / 192 SpD / 72 Spe
Ability: Poison Heal
Careful Nature (+SpD,-SpA)
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Roost
- Toxic
Role: Special Defense Wall / Status Inducer / Stall Breaker
Gliscor is just a friggin' nuisance. Every team I build has to have one of these guys. Its kind of like having a go to move when playing sports. Whatever that might be, you call it your "go to" move because it works always without fail. That's what Gliscor does for me ad pulls the team together pretty well. Stall breaking, Toxic Stall and SpD Wall wrapped into a lovely package. Sign me up.
Big Red Machine
Scizor @ Scizorite
EV: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpD
Ability: Light Metal -> Technician
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpA)
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- U-Turn
Role: The Main Man
With the banning of Mega Mawile to Ubers, Scizor is my favorite mega form to use and I really try hard to fit him into a team. He has so many roles and uses that one cannot truly determine his place until the game has unfolded. Chose Pursuit > Knock Off to Trap Lati@s while U-Turn is here to avoid getting trapped by Magnezone. BP is obvious while Roost provides the longevity necessary to remain in the game as long as possible. In the end, the Main Man puts in work... and I just love it.
I hope you enjoyed looking over the team and, as always, any critiques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, once again, for reading guys and gals.
Sincerely,
Prof. R. Feliciano
Director of Metagame Studies, Smogon University, New York Campus
Director of Archaeological Studies, Smogon University, Chicago Campus
Lead Archaeologist of the Ruins of Alph excavation, Summer 2014
Selected: Lead Archaeologist for the Cave of Origin excavation, circa Fall 2014
Last edited:
