10,000 Day Eulogy

fatty

is a Tiering Contributor
NUPL Champion

10,000 Day Eulogy


'Some say the end is near, Some say we'll see armageddon soon, I certainly hope we will...'Aenema, Tool





Intolerant Introduction

Before I go over the actual team, I'd like to take this time to shed some light on what I believe to be one of the most overall talented bands out there, Tool. Often underrated, Tool actually was and is one of the most innovative bands for the Metal genre. Their blend of dark underground metal and art rock has brought something to the table that has never been seen before. This is probably why me, along with many others, continue to be intrigued by each and every song of their's. Although Tool is more of an 'underground' type of band, they are certainly no slouch in the public eye. With 7 total Grammy nominations, spanning across 10 years, Tool has been thrilling all kinds of listeners throughout their existence. So far Tool has officially released four albums consisting of Undertow, Ænema, Lateralus, and 10,000 days, If you're an avid fan of all kinds of rock music, I highly encourage you to look into each album and find a song that you like, as I firmly believe that with Tool's amazing range of versatility, there is atleast one song appealing to everyone.

Anyways, enough ranting, now onto the actual Intro. First off, just to make things clear, this team has no real laddering achievements, as I personally feel there is no substantial merit to it at the moment. Both shoddy amd PO OU ladders have been scarce of 'competition' as we all know, so I'd rather not bother with that. In fact, I've really only used this team for random PO tourney's and random battles with close, yet still very challenging, friends. Nonetheless, I still feel this is my best team to date, and has definitely been the most enjoyable to use. It took me a while, with many tests/changes throughout the process, but as previously stated I'm very happy with the outcome. Those changes, along with the selection process of the current team, will be thoroughly covered in the Team Building Process below. Feel free to skip straight to the team summary.

Team Building Process

With the banning of Latias and Salamence, there were numerous metagame changes, and like most people, I wanted to take advantage of this. Heatran took the number one spot in OU, as Scizor slightly fell. Countless people took notice and started using things like DD Tyranitar and Kingdra. This in turn sparked the use of specific checks, like Scarf Flygon. Using this information, I wanted to use a poke which was as anti-metagame as possible, while still retaining a sort of 'surprise' factor. Aftrer going through an abundance of pokes like Superachi, Sub CM Suicune, and even CM Mismagius, I finally stumbled upon the perfect set. Tyranitar always seemed to lure in the same mon's now and days, Flygon, Swampert, Hippowdon, etc. What better thing to do than use a set that could eventually beat almost all of it's common 'counters'? Cue Cursetar.



Next, I wanted the perfect partner for Tar. One that could not only check Tar's counters, but at the same time, set-up on them. I tested out Sub Roost Zapdos, CM Wish Rachi, SD Gliscor, and Resttalk Gyarados, but in the end it simply came down to Gyara filling that spot best. He can follow the style of play set by CurseTar by playing defensively early game, while still retaining the ability to set-up on most of Tar's counters and sweep late game.



I looked at my bulky sweepers and try'd thinking of Mon's that could give me trouble. I also wanted the third poke to contribute to helping a CurseTar sweep in some way. Eventually, Scarf Magnezone was chosen. Zone could trap pokes like Skarmory, Jirachi, and Lucario, as well as provide some key resistances and an already fairly reliable revenge killer. After testing the final team for quite some time, this spot was inevitably taken over by by Scarf Magneton. Spike-stacking teams coupled with LO Starmie could decimate my team as I had no Mon's faster than it, and Tar was a very risky switch-in. Magneton's extra base 10 speed allowed me to outspeed and KO Starmie, in addition to DD Tyranitar, and some Gyarados's/Dragonite's.



Magneton and Tyranitar shared some common weaknesses, so more padding against Ground and Fighting-type attacks seemed logical. The team would also appreciate some speed and immediate offensive power. In the end, it basically came down to Rotom-A or Gengar. Gengar could help against Infernape, Lucario, and Gliscor more so than a Scarfless Rotom, so Gar was in.



I thought I had a pretty good base for a team, so it was time to dedicate a spot to patching up some weaknesses while continually supporting a Tar sweep. Various physical based pokes like Gyara, Tyranitar, and Dragonite could have their way with me. On top of that, I realized that the defensive nature of my team really appreciated added residual damage in the form of entry hazards. This would help wear down offensive, balanced, and stall team alike. With that line of thinking, the poke for the job was kinda obvious. Skarmory could wall Gyara and Tar to no end, and gave me a key dragon resist. It could also lay down crucial spikes for the team, while simultaneously using its pHazing abilities to wear down opposing teams, and support my own.



Ok so one spot left. The team seemed pretty solid, but there was still some glaring weaknesses along with slight rough area's that needed to be patched up. Bulky Waters could be a major pain, especially Suicune. An added way to beat Gliscor couldn't hurt, and a simple SkarmBliss had the ability to easily wear me down. After many more tests, a Bulky Shaymin set proved to be the perfect fit. Leech Seed + Seed Flare + HP Fire could help a lot in weakening numerous defensive cores, and Shaymin obviously helped with Waters/Gliscor.



So once I had the final product, I did what I do with all my teams and selected a lead. I feel it's a waste of time to dedicate a whole slot to making sure you lead does good against other leads. A lot of times players who worry too much about the lead position end up with a great 'anti-lead', but not a lead that still supports the flow for the rest of the team. Taking that into consideration, I liked how the team looked, so I just chose whoever I believed functioned in the lead spot best. Skarmory could deal with common leads like Forretress, Swampert(lol), and Metagross, while early spikes would help immensely. Skarm was in.

That team worked well for the most part, but I felt like I may still be able to make it better. For one, lacking Stealth Rock proved to be very annoying at best. Secondly, Magneton was very underwhelming in both the bulk department, and not helping too much outside the occasional Skarmory/Scizor trap. Soon after, Magneton was finally replaced with Scarf Heatran. Tan managed to check the same things Magneton did, help more against Shaymin, and provide SR. Now ironically this adding Tran made me a bit more weak to certain steels, but I feel the Pro's outweight the Con's. And with that, the team was finished.



The Pot: Team Analysis




Skarmory (Wing's Of Marie) @Leftovers
248 HP/ 232 Def/ 24 Spe
Impish
• Brave Bird
• Roost
• Spikes
• Whirlwind

Set Analysis: Like I said in the Team Building section, Skarmory is only in the lead position because it functions better as a lead than the rest of my team. It's main job, on the other hand, is fairly simple. Skarm acts as my primary check to physical threats, namely Gyarados, Tyranitar, and Dragonite lacking Fire Blast or Flamethrower. Because of this, I basically have to run Brave Bird. Without it I'd automatically lose lose to Taunt Gyara, especially Bounce variants. I do sometimes miss the ability to stop opposing Metagross, Forry, and Swampert from setting up early hazards with Taunt, but so far BB hasn't failed me. Skarm's importance isn't limited to walling shit though. The early Spikes provided by the little steel bird kickstart the stallish style of the team. Once a couple layers are down, I can start to build up damage over time through constant pHazing, sandstorm, and a little pinch of offensive pressure. Some of CurseTar's primary checks like Pert, Gross, Rachi, Lucario, CB Scizor, and Machamp are easily worn down by Spikes, so it has proven to be invaluable. Othe than that, Skarm is nothing special. It does for my team basically what it does for everyone elses.

EVs and Additional Comments: Pretty standard Physical Wall Skarmory. I need almost max defense to counter the thing I need to, and also continually switch into physical threats. For example, you may notice that I don't have a rock resistance (which admittedly has bit me in the ass sometimes), but Skarm kinda makes up for it. Rock attacks are almost always physical, and the only poke I really need to worry about is CB Tyranitar, so the defense is mandatory to make sure I can keep switching into Skarm. 24 Speed EVs let me 'speedcreep' to beat most Leech Seed Breloom, and CB Tar's




Gengar (Cold And Ugly) @Life Orb
252 SpA/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Timid
• Substitute
• Pain Split
• Shadow Ball
• Focus Blast

Set Analysis: What good would spikes and SR be without a spin blocker? Truthfully though, Gengar was chosen before either Skarmory or Heatran. In fact, being a spin blocker wasn't even on my mind. No, Gengar was picked for its great synergy with Tyranitar. It's immunity to Ground and Fighting attacks let it switch into many common Tar counters with near impunity. From there, Gar can either set-up a sub, or take them out entirely. Some of these pokes include Lucario, Machamp, Breloom, Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Infernape, all who can greatly trouble Tar. Gengar's immunities are not its only good traits though. Using the SubSplit set, Gar brings some much needed immediate offensive power and speed, which compliments my other slow, bulky set-uppers. This specific set also helps me deal with Stall easier, specifically SkarmBliss cores.

EVs and Additional Comments: On other teams that have opposing Gengars covered well, I've moved a little bit of EVs from both Speed and SpA to SpD to ensure Tinkerbell Celebi can't break a sub with a -2 HP Fire. This is not the case for this team, as I feel speed tieing with other SubSplit Gengars, and outspeeding HP Fire variants is way too important. So with that, this is just a standard sweeper set, with max speed and 252 SpA. Nothing really much to change, Gengar has done exactly what it was put on the team for.




Heatran (Vicarious) @Choice Scarf
4 Atk/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Naive
• Fire Blast
• Earth Power
• Explosion
• Stealth Rock

Set Analysis: Magneton used to fill this spot, but so far Heatran has surpassed Magneton's usefulness. I do lose out on the rare Skarm trap, but taking into consideration that the steel I'm trying to take out may have shed shell, then Tran out does Magneton in virtually every way. Heatran can provide the ever so helpful Stealth Rock, outspeed threats Magneton couldn't, and is an overall better revenge killer. No other Tran set has been considered to be honest, as Scarf has helped the team stay together better than any other set could. It gives extra insurance against things like SD Lucario, Infernape, and various Dragon Dancers, all while retaining the bulk and excellent typing Tran's known for. Fire Blast and Earth Power make up the brunt of my offense, while Explosion is for when I'm low on health or need a last ditch KO.

EVs and Additional Comments: Naive is used to let Explosion do as much damage as possible. Other than that it's a standard ScarfTran with 252 Speed and SpA.




Gyarados (Flood) @Leftovers
248 HP/ 196 Def/ 64 SpD
Careful
• Waterfall
• Dragon Dance/ Roar
• Rest
• Sleep Talk

Set Analysis: One of the best CurseTar out there if you ask me. Almost every poke that beats one is easily set-up on by the other. Breloom, Champ, Nape, Lucario, Physical Jirachi, or Metagross giving Tar trouble? Send in Gyara and get a couple DDs. Rotom, Zapdos, Most Electrics, or Vaporeon messing with Gyara? Easy Curses for Tar. Now this doesn't mean there are no exceptions to the 'perfect duo' rule. Skarmory, Roar Vappy, Shaymin, Offensive Cune, and the group of Dragon Dancers dismantle this core. But that's what the other four members are there for, right? Getting back on subject, Gyara is just running a simple Resttalk set, with Dragon Dance over Roar. I do run Roar sometimes when I feel my opponent will be using a team susceptible to constant pHazing and residual damage, but DD is the more common choice. It's hard to give up the ability to actually set up on Tar's counters. The defensive nature of the Resttalk set also helps a ton against the never ending battering of Lucarios, Infernapes, and Gengars.

EVs and Additional Comments: The moveset may be close to standard, but the EV spread and nature definitely aren't. Then again, there are so many different Resttalk Gyara spreads that it's hard to call any of them standard. I originally was using a simple 248/ 252 Impish spread, but a slight Gengar weakness emerged. I then came up with this spread to deal with Gar, and because you can never have enough enough Nape coverage. Careful and 64 SpD EVs guarantee that NP Nape can never OHKO with a +2 GK, as well as making sure Gengar can never 2HKO with Shadow Ball, even if the first SB gets a SpD drop.





Tyranitar (Right In Two) @Leftovers
252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 SpD
Careful
• Crunch
• Curse
• Rest
• Sleep Talk

Set Analysis: "So here we are, the star of the show". Ugh, I hate to use such a common opening line, but there really is no other way to describe Tyranitar's role, he's just a beast. One of the great things about CurseTar is that he isn't limited to Early/Mid/Late game. I use him throughout the match; Early and Mid as a status absorber/general counter to special threats, and Late game as a deadly last poke sweeper. Usually near the beginning of the match I switch into Mon's Tar handles with ease, and start spamming Crunches to help build up damage and scout CurseTar counters. From there I work to weaken these counters until a potential sweep opportunity arises. It's as simple as that.

Throughout the RMT, I've been mentioning how CurseTar can eventually beat its supposed counters, and it's true. Because Curse boosts both Attack and Defense, usual checks like Swampert, Hippowdon, Gliscor, Metagross, and Bronzong are not only dealt with, but potentially set-up on(with the exception of Gliscor, but once I get 2 Curses I 2HKO anyways). This does take some time though, and counters still exist. Skarmory can wall Tar the entire match, and most other Tar checks can still beat me if I don't have a Curse or two up. That's why it's so important to scout for and eliminate Tar's scarce but hard counters, but once this is done, it's pretty much good game.

EVs and Additional Comments: Careful, 252 SpD and 252 HP. Nothing fancy about it. Max SpD to get the most out of Tar's immense tanking abilities in Sand, and because I'm boosting Defense anyways. The additional comments are also pretty straight forward; I love this thing.


Shaymin (Ticks & Leeches) @Leftovers
252 HP/ 84 Def/ 28 SpA/ 140 Spe
Timid
• Seed Flare
• HP [Fire]
• Leech Seed
• Rest

Set Analysis: There is a reason why Shaymin is last and Tar is not. Simply put, it's because Shaymin is more important to the team. This sounds kind of funny, even for me to say, because ya know, the team was based around CurseTar. It's entirely true though, I ain't lying! For starters, it's the Glue for the team. After the rest of the team was set, I needed a catch-all to the rest of my weaknesses, and Shaymin fit perfectly. Leech Seed helps me actually beat Blissey, while HP Fire deals with Skarm, almost alleviating my previous SkarmBliss troubles. Gliscor and Bulky Waters could also be a pain, and Shaymin outright beats both of them. The only problem is that I have to use a bulky set; The offensive set would be so fun with my spike support. This hasn't troubled me too much though. Seed Flare still hurts, especially with the potential SpD drop and entry hazards. The last moveslot was the only real thing I had trouble deciding on. I at first was using the standard Leech Seed set with Protect, but that was almost dead weight along with Sand damage. Then Aromatherapy was used to help compensate for my 2 Resttalkers, but I didn't like that either because I wasn't finding much time to use it, and Shaymin was still dying too early. Finally I used Rest, which greatly improved Shaymin's longevity, and in turn the effectiveness of the entire team.

EVs and Additional Comments: Like I said, I had many things to cover with one slot left, and the semi-complicated EV spread portrays that. Timid + 140 Spe EVs(4 more because of HP Fire) let Shaymin outspeed all Suicune and Adamant Lucario. 252 HP + 84 Def means I am never OHKOd by a +1 DD Tar, even when factoring in LO and SR. The whopping 28 remaining EVs are thrown into SpA to add an extra oomph. Phew, complicated but rewarding. I've tweaked this spread exactly to my liking, and it has served me well.



The Sober Conclusion

With the RMT nearly finished, I feel it may be best to help you help me. I'll end it with a list compiled of threats that often give me trouble, so that feedback on the team will be that much more easier to give. I may do a full threat list later, but for now it's only the main ones.


Dragonite - Mixed and Lead variants are easily played around, and are eventually stalled out by Gyarados. My main concern is Mixed DD Nite. EQ +Outrage is easily dealt with by Skarm, but when you thrown Fire Blast into the mix, my only real hope is revenging with Heatran. This is also a problem because if Dnite happens to be Jolly, im finished. This is probably the most prominant weakness, and the one I could use the most help on.

Tyranitar - Ironically yes, I'm weak to opposing Tyranitar. My only real switch-in to CB Tar is Skarm, and if Tar happens to be faster, I lose Skarm to 2 consecutive Stone Edges. DD Tar is also a problem. It may look like it's not with Skarm able to pHaze it away, but if DD Tar is a last poke standing I can't pHaze anymore. If that is the case, I need to use all my power to make sure it doesn't get 2 DD's. With 1, Shaymin and Heatran can deal with it. If it has anymore, I lose. Simple as that.

Skarmory - Skarm is a total dick to this team, especially SpD Taunt variants. It utterly walls both my set-up sweepers, isn't 2HKOd by Shaymin or Gengar, and beats my own Skarm due to Taunt. Sometimes when Shaymin or Gengar don't weaken it enough, my only real shot is Heatran. This is bad because Tran is scarfed, which mean's it's easily played around.​


~Many thanks to the lovely Victoria for helping me with some of the graphics <3~
 
On Skarm, I'd reccomend changing it to Taunt, just because you said Taunt Skarm beats your team, why not just run a Faster version of Taunt Skarm?

Skarmory @ Leftovers
-Taunt
-Brave Bird
-Roost/Whirlwind(Roost imo)
-Spikes

This is all I can do for now, I'll be back later to get to the other threats.
 
I also think using Taunt Skarmory could be beneficial to this team. One additional advantage that it possesses is the ability to prevent slower leads such as Swampert and some variants of Metagross from setting up Stealth Rock. Since you don't have a spinner, this could make it a lot easier for your team members (especially Gyarados) to switch around. The Taunt set listed on site should be adequate. It has an EV spread of 252 HP / 164 SpD / 92 Speto maximize bulk and outspeed RestTalk Gyarados, and a moveset consisting of identical moves to those of your current Skarmory, with the exception of Taunt over Brave Bird.

Two rather notable threats to this team are DD Dragonite and LO Starmie. Both, if played correctly, can cause some major damage to your team members. ScarfTran can help out with some revenge killing duties, but it doesn't outspeed many opposing threats after they have gained a stat boost or two. One way to alleviate your weaknesses would be to make Shaymin the Choice Scarfer; this is a rather unusual change, but the following set could help out with some of the aforementioned threats:

[box]

Shaymin @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Energy Ball[/box]
Scarf Shaymin is a rarely used set, but it can function as an effective revenge killer. With a Choice Scarf equipped, Shaymin is capable of outspeeding both +1 Dragonite and Starmie, netting OHKOs on them with the appropriate move. Seed Flare is the main STAB move on this set, but Energy Ball is a useful secondary option to conserve PP. Earth Power can be used to catch Heatran switch-ins if you manage to predict correctly. Finally, HP Ice allows you to reliably revenge kill Dragonite.

If you decide to go with this change, using ScarfTran will be unnecessary. In my opinion, it would be helpful to change Heatran to a specially defensive phazing set, with Lava Plume as your main STAB attack. This will make things a bit more difficult for common Tyranitar switch-ins, as they will not appreciate being crippled by Lava Plume's 30% burn rate.

Good luck!
 
Hi Fatty.

Good team you have here, although one thing I find worrying is how you rely on Gengar as your spin-blocker. With you using both Stealth Rock and Spikes on this team, it would be quite annoying if your opponent was able to spin all the hazards away. Starmie beats Gengar comfortably and Forretress OHKOes Gengar on the switch, if you mispredict a Rapid Spin.

I think the best option is a simple Scarf Rotom-W over your current Gengar set. This Rotom is able to live a Starmie Hydro Pump if it absolutely has to, and is not immediately dealt to by a Forretress Payback. The other, less common spinner, Tentacruel, loses to Rotom-W as well.

Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Timid | Levitate
EVs: 100 HP / 156 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Trick / Hydro Pump / Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball

While you do lose a lot of offensive prowess, this Rotom gives you a solid spin-blocker and a great revenge killer. It also can revenge Naive or Jolly Dragon Dance Dragonite, something your Heatran failed to do. This also means Skarmory has less opportunities to set up Spikes against your team...

You could probably run a specially-defensive Heatran over your current Scarf one, if you were to try the Scarf Rotom suggestion. This Heatran can lure in and cripple Gyarados and Dragonite with Lava Plume, who can both be annoying. It can also attempt to burn Swampert switch-ins making a Tyranitar sweep all the more possible. On top of this, it can really force switches and also has the ability to phaze a +1 Dragon Dance Tyranitar, provided it is not running Earthquake.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Calm | Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 200 SpDef / 56 Spe
Stealth Rock / Lava Plume / Protect / Roar

Good team and good luck!
 

fatty

is a Tiering Contributor
NUPL Champion
On Skarm, I'd reccomend changing it to Taunt, just because you said Taunt Skarm beats your team, why not just run a Faster version of Taunt Skarm?

Skarmory @ Leftovers
-Taunt
-Brave Bird
-Roost/Whirlwind(Roost imo)
-Spikes

This is all I can do for now, I'll be back later to get to the other threats.
Thanks for the rate. After talking to some people, I've decided to test Taunt. It would help a lot against other leads, but on the other hand would make me extremely weak to Bounce Gyara. I'll have to see though.

I also think using Taunt Skarmory could be beneficial to this team. One additional advantage that it possesses is the ability to prevent slower leads such as Swampert and some variants of Metagross from setting up Stealth Rock. Since you don't have a spinner, this could make it a lot easier for your team members (especially Gyarados) to switch around. The Taunt set listed on site should be adequate. It has an EV spread of 252 HP / 164 SpD / 92 Speto maximize bulk and outspeed RestTalk Gyarados, and a moveset consisting of identical moves to those of your current Skarmory, with the exception of Taunt over Brave Bird.

Two rather notable threats to this team are DD Dragonite and LO Starmie. Both, if played correctly, can cause some major damage to your team members. ScarfTran can help out with some revenge killing duties, but it doesn't outspeed many opposing threats after they have gained a stat boost or two. One way to alleviate your weaknesses would be to make Shaymin the Choice Scarfer; this is a rather unusual change, but the following set could help out with some of the aforementioned threats:

[box]

Shaymin @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Ice
- Energy Ball[/box]
Scarf Shaymin is a rarely used set, but it can function as an effective revenge killer. With a Choice Scarf equipped, Shaymin is capable of outspeeding both +1 Dragonite and Starmie, netting OHKOs on them with the appropriate move. Seed Flare is the main STAB move on this set, but Energy Ball is a useful secondary option to conserve PP. Earth Power can be used to catch Heatran switch-ins if you manage to predict correctly. Finally, HP Ice allows you to reliably revenge kill Dragonite.

If you decide to go with this change, using ScarfTran will be unnecessary. In my opinion, it would be helpful to change Heatran to a specially defensive phazing set, with Lava Plume as your main STAB attack. This will make things a bit more difficult for common Tyranitar switch-ins, as they will not appreciate being crippled by Lava Plume's 30% burn rate.

Good luck!
I actually have ScarfMin on another version of this team, but LO Heatran with SR instead of Resttalk. I also use Rest over Energy Ball on Shaymin for added longevity. The thing is that it's a double edged sword. I need either Heatran or Shaymin to deal with Stall easier. Either way if I use Resttalk Heatran + ScarfMin or ScarfTran + LS Shaymin, I have this covered. The catch is though that with the latter I get SR onto the team, which is massively important. I get where you are coming from, ScarfMin would help immensely against Dragonite and in the general revenge killing department, but that's about it. LS Shaymin can stay around longer and is just a massive pain for most of my opponents. I just feel having SR is too important. Thanks a lot for the rate though. If Skarmory had an ability to give it 5 moveslots, I would give it SR and go with your suggestion in a flash. Sadly, this is not the case =/
 
Sorry for that overlook. If needed, Skarmory may actually be a good user of Stealth Rock. It's a bit unfortunate that Skarmory has a lot of other useful moves, but Stealth Rock is completely necessary. Whirlwind may be a good move to replace if you're using RestTalk Heatran, since two phazers should be enough. In the end, it's really up to you. If the threats mentioned are too problematic, then Scarf Shaymin may be the better choice. Otherwise, the team would probably be better the way it is currently.
 

fatty

is a Tiering Contributor
NUPL Champion
Hi Fatty.

Good team you have here, although one thing I find worrying is how you rely on Gengar as your spin-blocker. With you using both Stealth Rock and Spikes on this team, it would be quite annoying if your opponent was able to spin all the hazards away. Starmie beats Gengar comfortably and Forretress OHKOes Gengar on the switch, if you mispredict a Rapid Spin.

I think the best option is a simple Scarf Rotom-W over your current Gengar set. This Rotom is able to live a Starmie Hydro Pump if it absolutely has to, and is not immediately dealt to by a Forretress Payback. The other, less common spinner, Tentacruel, loses to Rotom-W as well.

Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Timid | Levitate
EVs: 100 HP / 156 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Trick / Hydro Pump / Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball

While you do lose a lot of offensive prowess, this Rotom gives you a solid spin-blocker and a great revenge killer. It also can revenge Naive or Jolly Dragon Dance Dragonite, something your Heatran failed to do. This also means Skarmory has less opportunities to set up Spikes against your team...

You could probably run a specially-defensive Heatran over your current Scarf one, if you were to try the Scarf Rotom suggestion. This Heatran can lure in and cripple Gyarados and Dragonite with Lava Plume, who can both be annoying. It can also attempt to burn Swampert switch-ins making a Tyranitar sweep all the more possible. On top of this, it can really force switches and also has the ability to phaze a +1 Dragon Dance Tyranitar, provided it is not running Earthquake.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Calm | Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 200 SpDef / 56 Spe
Stealth Rock / Lava Plume / Protect / Roar

Good team and good luck!
Thanks for the rate Heist. I admit that Gengar is far from the most reliable spin blocker, and often times I do find myself losing him too early. I'll definetly be trying out that Scarf Rotom, which helps a lot against Gyara too, so it would let me run Taunt on Skarm. As for the Tran suggestion, it seems like the best set for the team if im not running scarf, so ill test that as well
 
I've been pretty severely ninja'd, but I'll voice my opinion on some previous suggestions. Yes, Taunt Skarmory is cool, and I think you should try Lum berry over Leftovers. This allows you to beat sleep leads and taunt them dead. Of course, they are decreasing in usage so this is somewhat optional. It would help against stall, so it is something to consider.

I also agree that Scarf Rotom > Gengar in this instance, but I'll suggest a slight variation. Instead of Shadow Ball, which, when you think of it isn't really used to revenge much of anything, you can try Will-o-wisp. This helps solve many of your problems with Dragonite and Tyranitar by giving you a last-ditch solution to the bastards. I'd also throw special attack EVS into the wind and dump them all into HP, but that is largely up to preference. Alternatively, I saw a pretty awesome spin blocker posted by august that I honestly haven't tried out but have been itching too, plus I trust his judgement. It looked something like this-
@Leftovers
248 HP / 100 SpDef / 156 Def / 8 Spe
Bold
-Discharge
-Shadow Ball
-Pain Split
-Will-o-wisp


This combines the bulk and recovery of rest-talk rotom with some reasonable support options, I personally enjoy it a lot and think it would work great for this team.

I tend to agree that special defensve Heatran would be best for this team with the set Heist posted. You absolutely need Stealth Rock, so if you don't feel like putting in on Heatran, please consider Skarmory as well.

On Gyarados, I notice you have a slash, and I think I'll give you my two-cents on that. Roar with spikes support is obviously pretty awesome, and it helps you out against things like DDragonite that you can roar away. I think that, for this team, it's a bit better than dragon dance, because Gyarados' presence is necessary to counter a lot of physical threats and to be, potentially, considering how you change Skarmory and Heatran, the teams only phazer. However, if you find yourself with it on Skarmory (meaning, you didn't like taunt skarm or decided to put taunt in a different slot), you might consider dragon dance.

That's all I got, really cool team with absolutely stunning presentation and theme execution. I hope this helps!
 

fatty

is a Tiering Contributor
NUPL Champion
I've been pretty severely ninja'd, but I'll voice my opinion on some previous suggestions. Yes, Taunt Skarmory is cool, and I think you should try Lum berry over Leftovers. This allows you to beat sleep leads and taunt them dead. Of course, they are decreasing in usage so this is somewhat optional. It would help against stall, so it is something to consider.

I also agree that Scarf Rotom > Gengar in this instance, but I'll suggest a slight variation. Instead of Shadow Ball, which, when you think of it isn't really used to revenge much of anything, you can try Will-o-wisp. This helps solve many of your problems with Dragonite and Tyranitar by giving you a last-ditch solution to the bastards. I'd also throw special attack EVS into the wind and dump them all into HP, but that is largely up to preference. Alternatively, I saw a pretty awesome spin blocker posted by august that I honestly haven't tried out but have been itching too, plus I trust his judgement. It looked something like this-
@Leftovers

248 HP / 100 SpDef / 156 Def / 8 Spe
Bold
-Discharge
-Shadow Ball
-Pain Split
-Will-o-wisp

This combines the bulk and recovery of rest-talk rotom with some reasonable support options, I personally enjoy it a lot and think it would work great for this team.

I tend to agree that special defensve Heatran would be best for this team with the set Heist posted. You absolutely need Stealth Rock, so if you don't feel like putting in on Heatran, please consider Skarmory as well.

On Gyarados, I notice you have a slash, and I think I'll give you my two-cents on that. Roar with spikes support is obviously pretty awesome, and it helps you out against things like DDragonite that you can roar away. I think that, for this team, it's a bit better than dragon dance, because Gyarados' presence is necessary to counter a lot of physical threats and to be, potentially, considering how you change Skarmory and Heatran, the teams only phazer. However, if you find yourself with it on Skarmory (meaning, you didn't like taunt skarm or decided to put taunt in a different slot), you might consider dragon dance.

That's all I got, really cool team with absolutely stunning presentation and theme execution. I hope this helps!
Thanks a lot for the rate Smith.

First of all, I dont think Lum is as much use on Skarm as lefties. Roserade's TS does virtually nothing, as the 2 pokes that are affected by them have Rest to clean themselves of poison. Loom can only put something to sleep, and Smeargle can only get SR or 1 layer of Spikes with a prompt switch to Tar to take the sleep, and then to Shaymin to take it out. I just feel Lefties is of better use in the long run. Taunt has been working well though.

About the spin-blocker spot, I have been using Scarf Rotom with Tbolt/SBall/WoW/Trick over Gengar and I've liked it. That bulky Rotom sets looks really cool, so i'l definetly have to test it. If I do decide to use it, I think I'll have to keep Heatran Scarfed though, to help with faster threats.

And lastly, yeah I've almost completely switched over to Roar on Gyara. With the spikes support it has been extremely helpful, and tbh Resttalk DD basically auto loses to any team with a Electric move lol.
 

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