This is my second RMT thread; the last one got no responses for whatever reason. As before, I'm aiming to make a team that's easy to breed in-game. That means no legendaries (hence "atheist") and no Hidden Powers. Went with bulky offense because HO is too luck-based for my taste and I find stall vs. stall really awkward.
Proof of peak:
Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 208 HP / 252 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
The first thing I decided on was a hazard remover. Not having hazard removal significantly limits options both in battle and in team building. Defog is hard to get legitimately and the best defoggers, the Latis, are legendaries anyway, so I looked at spinners. Of them, I decided on Excadrill for the many potential roles it could fill. It discourages electric attacks just by existing, it kills fairies, it can bluff Scarf sometimes and also maybe look like my Stealth Rock user. I went with a specially defensive AV set to be able to take Rotom-W's Hydro Pumps and Clefable's Flamethrowers, to ease the effect of mispredictions. Speed EVs are to outspeed most Rotom-Ws. Even without investment, Mold Breaker Earthquake hits Rotom-W hard enough to make it a non-issue to my sweepers, obviously it kills Heatran, Iron Head is still a 2HKO on fairies, and Rock Slide still kills Talonflame.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
Another versatile pokemon, Azu can potentially win games by itself. I went with the BD set because I don't like how the AV set can't switch into Scald, and I've already used Banded Azumarill in the past.
Talonflame (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Combined with Azumarill and Excadrill, Talonflame completes a core that has perfect defensive type coverage, resisting literally every type except Ghost. If Talonflame sets up and my opponent uses Rotom-W to stop it, I can sac Talonflame on the Rotom-W and that's another potential stop to an Azu sweep down. Will-O-Wisp is great on predicted switch-ins like Lando-T and Tyranitar, and lets the rest of the team handle physical attackers a lot better than it would otherwise.
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
I think for a team like this, the mega slot is best used for a powerful sweeper, and Gyarados fits for a couple of reasons. One, it has counters in common with BD Azumarill, like Keldeo and Breloom. Second, it's the only thing I have that resembles a physical pivot. I also like that it bypasses Unaware Clefable and, together with Mold Breaker Excadrill, invalidates teams that use a Levitate mon for their ground resist (which is none of them because Lando-T is on every team, lel). I find that the type-change on mega evolving adds a lot of pseudo bulk, since you'll sometimes get hit by NVE Hammer Arms, or neutral Stone Edges. Until recently I used Substitute+2 attacks instead of 3 attacks, but I didn't often find myself in situations where the sub couldn't be broken in one hit. This was really driven home for me when an Intimidated Ferrothorn broke 3 subs in a row with Gyro Ball. Most competent opponents tended to assume I ran Taunt or Sub anyway because the penalty for giving Megados a free sub is pretty harsh. I'm not so sure about Gyarados; sometimes it takes out a mon before going down but a lot of the time I just can't seem to bait Keldeo or various physical walls into taking a hit from the rest of the team, and scarf Lando-T switch-ins are a pain in the butt.
Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Synthesis
- Taunt
Serperior has been my favorite Pokemon ever since I got back into the series in Gen 5 (the last game I touched was Blue) and I positively jumped at the chance to use it competitively. Without Hidden Power, it can't sweep very well, so I'm using it as support instead. Besides, as far as support + mono-attacking options go, it has possibly the best mono-attack, on par with Sylveon. Ironically I tend to get more sweeps with Serperior than Azumarill or Gyarados. Taunt makes it my only dedicated anti-stall Pokemon, instead of Gyarados as one would expect. Synthesis to heal off Chansey's Seismic Tosses, get most of my HP back after Scarf Lando-T U-turns, and generally prolong Serperior's lifespan as a pivot. Contrary kind of turns it into a poor man's Bisharp, picking up a +1 evasion boost on Defog, which, between Glare, Synthesis, and Taunt, can actually be surprisingly helpful, stopping phazing and giving free turns to heal up. It is also notable as a Taunt user that can beat Mega Sableye. The special attack EVs allow it to 3HKO Latias and 2HKO Lando-T. Serp almost always brings in opposing Ferrothorns, Heatrans, and Scizors. I usually Glare them on switch-in, but it's not that great of an option since these are not exactly speedy Pokemon anyway. Ferrothorn at least gets Taunted but I lose momentum against the other two. For that reason I'm trying out SubSeed instead of Taunt + Synthesis, but it really compromises Serperior's effectiveness against stall.
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
For some reason I keep coming back to Infernape as my SR setter. It makes a great double switch from Serperior, handily beating Serp's 3 most common counters. It's also a solid lead, notably with a favorable matchup against Lando-T, which either U-turns and does nothing, uses Knock Off and does nothing, Earthquakes and gets annihilated by Blaze Overheat, or hits me with a scarfed Earthquake which is also a huge liability against my 2 ground immunities and 1 ground resistance, all of which have setup moves. Like Talonflame and Gyarados, Sash Infernape benefits hugely from having hazards off the field, which Excadrill can do for free against fairy and electric types. Infernape's Endeavor also has a 50/50 against Keldeo (speed tie) and Azumarill (Aqua Jet or not Aqua Jet?), two common stops to my water sweepers. I'm also considering Life Orb, which allows a 1HKO on Heatran with Close Combat, makes it depend less on Excadrill's Rapid Spin, and lets me run a third attack instead of Endeavor.
Problems
I lean really hard on Infernape to even touch common OU mons like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Scizor, but Infernape dies really fast. If Infernape is dead then pretty much my only hope to touch these mons is to get off a Belly Drum on Azu, which is just a once in a while thing. I could run Flare Blitz on Talonflame, but without Tflame spreading Will-O-Wisps my team just can't take physical attacks. I'm considering swapping out the Serperior + Infernape pair for Ferrothorn and something else, but I can't think of what that something else should be. Also I wonder if there's another mega that would fit better than Gyarados; I feel that its niche is Mold Breaker Taunt, which is wasted on a team that already has three answers to Mega Sableye (Azumarill, Talonflame, Serperior).
Proof of peak:
Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 208 HP / 252 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
The first thing I decided on was a hazard remover. Not having hazard removal significantly limits options both in battle and in team building. Defog is hard to get legitimately and the best defoggers, the Latis, are legendaries anyway, so I looked at spinners. Of them, I decided on Excadrill for the many potential roles it could fill. It discourages electric attacks just by existing, it kills fairies, it can bluff Scarf sometimes and also maybe look like my Stealth Rock user. I went with a specially defensive AV set to be able to take Rotom-W's Hydro Pumps and Clefable's Flamethrowers, to ease the effect of mispredictions. Speed EVs are to outspeed most Rotom-Ws. Even without investment, Mold Breaker Earthquake hits Rotom-W hard enough to make it a non-issue to my sweepers, obviously it kills Heatran, Iron Head is still a 2HKO on fairies, and Rock Slide still kills Talonflame.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
Talonflame (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Combined with Azumarill and Excadrill, Talonflame completes a core that has perfect defensive type coverage, resisting literally every type except Ghost. If Talonflame sets up and my opponent uses Rotom-W to stop it, I can sac Talonflame on the Rotom-W and that's another potential stop to an Azu sweep down. Will-O-Wisp is great on predicted switch-ins like Lando-T and Tyranitar, and lets the rest of the team handle physical attackers a lot better than it would otherwise.
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
I think for a team like this, the mega slot is best used for a powerful sweeper, and Gyarados fits for a couple of reasons. One, it has counters in common with BD Azumarill, like Keldeo and Breloom. Second, it's the only thing I have that resembles a physical pivot. I also like that it bypasses Unaware Clefable and, together with Mold Breaker Excadrill, invalidates teams that use a Levitate mon for their ground resist (which is none of them because Lando-T is on every team, lel). I find that the type-change on mega evolving adds a lot of pseudo bulk, since you'll sometimes get hit by NVE Hammer Arms, or neutral Stone Edges. Until recently I used Substitute+2 attacks instead of 3 attacks, but I didn't often find myself in situations where the sub couldn't be broken in one hit. This was really driven home for me when an Intimidated Ferrothorn broke 3 subs in a row with Gyro Ball. Most competent opponents tended to assume I ran Taunt or Sub anyway because the penalty for giving Megados a free sub is pretty harsh. I'm not so sure about Gyarados; sometimes it takes out a mon before going down but a lot of the time I just can't seem to bait Keldeo or various physical walls into taking a hit from the rest of the team, and scarf Lando-T switch-ins are a pain in the butt.
Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Synthesis
- Taunt
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
Problems
I lean really hard on Infernape to even touch common OU mons like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Scizor, but Infernape dies really fast. If Infernape is dead then pretty much my only hope to touch these mons is to get off a Belly Drum on Azu, which is just a once in a while thing. I could run Flare Blitz on Talonflame, but without Tflame spreading Will-O-Wisps my team just can't take physical attacks. I'm considering swapping out the Serperior + Infernape pair for Ferrothorn and something else, but I can't think of what that something else should be. Also I wonder if there's another mega that would fit better than Gyarados; I feel that its niche is Mold Breaker Taunt, which is wasted on a team that already has three answers to Mega Sableye (Azumarill, Talonflame, Serperior).
