So I was looking through the new megas wanting to make a VGC 2015 team with one in it (assuming XY and ORAS is ok for VGC 2015), and I stumbled upon Mega Steelix. On first glance, it's almost exactly the same as Mega Aggron. But when you actually look a bit closer, you see what makes Mega Steelix a god: Sand Force. So, I decided to make a team around it because Steelix has always been one of my favorites. I've tested this team a lot in Showdown, and the win to lose ratio is very pleasing. Still, I want to know what I can do to make it better, so tell me what you think:
Steelix @ Steelixite "Goldmember"
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Curse
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
The heart of the team. The first two pokemon out are more than likely always going to be Steelix and Gardevoir, so I always curse first turn, raising speed in trick room and boosting defense and attack. From there it's mostly OHKO's all over the board! Then after Sand Force comes into play, all you need to worry about is trick room running out.
Xatu Focus sash "Totem"
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Night Shade
-Ally Switch
-Confuse Ray
Xatu is awesome. The first thing that stood out to me was that God-like Magic Bounce ability. This makes it so that there won't be any rocks, spikes, or status ailments happening quickly (unless they aim for my partner). The Magic Bounce also means no taunts, which means operation trick room setup is a go. The focus sash is just there to make sure that a trick room is set up. Night shade and confuse ray are just to help protect your team and take down walls. Ally switch is nice because if you think a willo is coming your way, you can switch the target to Xatu and bounce that sucker right back. It ain't no rage powder, but it works effectively enough.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock "Godzilla"
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Protect
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
It immediately activates M-Steelix's Sand Force and has always been an OU threat, so it seemed at home here. It can deal some major damage, move quickly in trick room, and has a lot of coverage. All in all, it's an awesome pokemon to use.
Clawitzer Life Orb "Red Lobster"
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Water Pulse
- Dragon Pulse
- Heal Pulse
- Aura Sphere / Sludge Wave
Talonflame @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Natural Gift
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Roost
Talonflame... Well, I'll start by saying that it has priority brave bird and roost, like most of them. Flare blitz is also pretty common. Here's where things get funky: Natural gift becomes a physical grass type move with 100 base damage. This benefits Talonflame in so many ways, like a move to counter water types, rock types and Rotom-W, good coverage, and when it's at 1/4 health, its attack will be raised one stage thanks to the liechi berry. It's great for sweeping after Gardevoir faints and trick room is gone.
Note: After the new move tutor moves are added, I'm going to try replacing Talonflame with this Hawlucha set:
Hawlucha @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Acrobatics
- Helping Hand
- Thunder Punch / Drain Punch / Poison Jab
Hawlucha was an amazing pokemon during the 2014 season. Now with a full roster of new moves, it's become a quicker choice that doesn't require a constant gamble. Last year, to activate Unburden people would usually put a power herb on it and turn one sky attack. The problem with this strategy is the fact that if you really need sky attack in the moment, after that power herb was gone, you'd have to wait a turn to use it, and one turn can sometimes be the decider between a win or a loss. When looking at Hawlucha's new moves, I saw a gem among them: superpower. It immediately made me think of shell smash Cloyster who constantly used a white herb to regain lost stats. The beauty about having superpower on a Hawlucha that is holding a white herb is the fact that unburden will activate and a powerful move is ready at your disposal right when you need it. Acrobatics' power goes to 110 after that white herb is gone, helping hand will help M-Steelix / Tyranitar / Jellicent when it's one of the last two in the trick room, and the last move adds coverage. All around, I'm excited to try it.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Spore
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
Pretty much just a defender like normal. I wanted to emphasize on special attack mainly because Gardevoir isn't really for attacking on this team, so bombs (and drains) away!
Jellicent (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Hydro Pump
- Energy Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
Jellicent actually has a lot of power behind it which complements its bulk quite nicely. Hydro pump is for STAB while dazzling gleam makes up for the recently retired Gardevoir's fairy element on the team. Instead of shadow ball I decided to put in energy ball to neutralize the large amounts of lead Azumarills and Rotom-W's.
Not done editing yet. More coming in a few.
Steelix @ Steelixite "Goldmember"
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Curse
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
The heart of the team. The first two pokemon out are more than likely always going to be Steelix and Gardevoir, so I always curse first turn, raising speed in trick room and boosting defense and attack. From there it's mostly OHKO's all over the board! Then after Sand Force comes into play, all you need to worry about is trick room running out.
Xatu Focus sash "Totem"
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Night Shade
-Ally Switch
-Confuse Ray
Xatu is awesome. The first thing that stood out to me was that God-like Magic Bounce ability. This makes it so that there won't be any rocks, spikes, or status ailments happening quickly (unless they aim for my partner). The Magic Bounce also means no taunts, which means operation trick room setup is a go. The focus sash is just there to make sure that a trick room is set up. Night shade and confuse ray are just to help protect your team and take down walls. Ally switch is nice because if you think a willo is coming your way, you can switch the target to Xatu and bounce that sucker right back. It ain't no rage powder, but it works effectively enough.
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock "Godzilla"
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Protect
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
It immediately activates M-Steelix's Sand Force and has always been an OU threat, so it seemed at home here. It can deal some major damage, move quickly in trick room, and has a lot of coverage. All in all, it's an awesome pokemon to use.
Clawitzer Life Orb "Red Lobster"
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Water Pulse
- Dragon Pulse
- Heal Pulse
- Aura Sphere / Sludge Wave
Talonflame @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Natural Gift
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Roost
Talonflame... Well, I'll start by saying that it has priority brave bird and roost, like most of them. Flare blitz is also pretty common. Here's where things get funky: Natural gift becomes a physical grass type move with 100 base damage. This benefits Talonflame in so many ways, like a move to counter water types, rock types and Rotom-W, good coverage, and when it's at 1/4 health, its attack will be raised one stage thanks to the liechi berry. It's great for sweeping after Gardevoir faints and trick room is gone.
Note: After the new move tutor moves are added, I'm going to try replacing Talonflame with this Hawlucha set:
Hawlucha @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Acrobatics
- Helping Hand
- Thunder Punch / Drain Punch / Poison Jab
Hawlucha was an amazing pokemon during the 2014 season. Now with a full roster of new moves, it's become a quicker choice that doesn't require a constant gamble. Last year, to activate Unburden people would usually put a power herb on it and turn one sky attack. The problem with this strategy is the fact that if you really need sky attack in the moment, after that power herb was gone, you'd have to wait a turn to use it, and one turn can sometimes be the decider between a win or a loss. When looking at Hawlucha's new moves, I saw a gem among them: superpower. It immediately made me think of shell smash Cloyster who constantly used a white herb to regain lost stats. The beauty about having superpower on a Hawlucha that is holding a white herb is the fact that unburden will activate and a powerful move is ready at your disposal right when you need it. Acrobatics' power goes to 110 after that white herb is gone, helping hand will help M-Steelix / Tyranitar / Jellicent when it's one of the last two in the trick room, and the last move adds coverage. All around, I'm excited to try it.
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Spore
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
Pretty much just a defender like normal. I wanted to emphasize on special attack mainly because Gardevoir isn't really for attacking on this team, so bombs (and drains) away!
Jellicent (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Hydro Pump
- Energy Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
Jellicent actually has a lot of power behind it which complements its bulk quite nicely. Hydro pump is for STAB while dazzling gleam makes up for the recently retired Gardevoir's fairy element on the team. Instead of shadow ball I decided to put in energy ball to neutralize the large amounts of lead Azumarills and Rotom-W's.
Not done editing yet. More coming in a few.
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