After a bit of experimentation on Showdown, this is the team that I'm currently using. Its crux is a composition full of pokemon which can simultaneously take quite a hit--even when the opponent is expecting a clean OHKO--and deal massive amounts of damage back in retaliation. It is partially a response to the priority-heavy Gen 6 metagame, in which Talonflame, Aegislash, Scizor, Azumarill and Mamoswine render frailer sweepers extremely difficult to use effectively. It supplements its offense with crippling status in the forms of burns and paralysis--both of which seriously aid fellow--team members in getting an edge on their opponents--and momentum-gaining by means of volt switch and u-turn. At any rate, without further ado, here's the team!
Garchomp-Mega @ Garchompite
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 164 Spd / 152 Atk / 192 HP
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Dragon Claw
I've always been a fan of Garchomp and was pretty sad when it was (justly) made uber in gen IV. In gen VI, it was given the gift of a mega evolution, albeit with the oft-criticized handicap of lowered speed along with its obvious lack of an item. I was actually pretty hesitant to use M-Garchomp at first, but have since found that it has quite a number of advantages over its regular form.
First and foremost, M-Garchomp gets a colossal boost of forty points to its special attack stat. This means it is far more threatening to the steels and ice types that love to come in on it. After stealth rock, it actually sports a very low chance to one hit kill both Mammoswine and Skarmory, assuming that they have full HP investment and no special defense investment. It absolutely eats 4x weak pokemon like scizor and ferrothorn alive and is much more threatening to Pokemon with defense boosts under the belts. This particular set also utilizes substitute, as one problem that I was consistently having with standard Garchomp was rooted in ice shard and status--plenty of pokemon, especially the ubiquitous Rotom-W love to come in on Garchomp and shut it down with a burn, completely neutralizing a swords dance boost that you might have garnered on the switch. Toxic is also a monumental hazard that can seriously dampen the number of turns that Garchomp has to kill stuff. Considering that it keeps its regular speed on the first turn, this set can outspeed Rotom-W or gliscor and prevent a burn/toxic from ruining its day, seriously hindering the threat that either pokemon poses to it. Mammoswine, Azumaril and Talonflame also have to take an entire hit from this monster before they can chip away at it with priority. Similar mechanics apply to scarfers who would ordinarily threaten it. It also minds using substitute a lot less due to the loss of LO recoil. Last but not least, its mega-evolution renders it invulnerable to trick and switcheroo, which might still get used based on the mega evo ambiguity of my team.
The EVs give it 101 subs and allow it to out-speed neutral base 80's like Dragonite along with letting it set up that initial sub faster against quicker things (Rotom, gliscor).
As far as synergy with the team, M-garchomp simply loves sand stream from tyranitar, as it activates sand force and makes its earthquakes even scarier. Plus, residual damage is always nice. Garchomp can soak electric hits for Togekiss and has reasonably good defensive synergy with it, considering the latter's dragon immunity (infiltrator noivern is one of the few things that doesn't care about its subs). Ice attacks generally go to either Rotom, Ferrothorn or T-Tar, depending on what they're coming from.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Assault vest Tyranitar is one of my favorite new layouts this gen. Here's why: In the sand (which should nearly always be up, granted that this is more of a hit and run set), M-Gengar only does
71.2 - 84.1% with focus blast, if it even manages to hit me. That's right, one of the scariest sweepers of the generation can't kill this thing in a single hit, no matter what, unless it gets a crit. And T-Tar hits back with a clean KO, even nabbing it with pursuit if you can predict a switch. Naturally, lesser things like hits on a 2x weaknesses do even less. Assault vest T-Tar is a terrifying special sponge that cranks up residual damage with solid STABs, pursuit hits and sandstorm damage and its an integral part of this team.
T-tar is also nice for ruining M-Charizard Y's sweep with sand and ruining the occasional Drizzletoad's day as well. It serves as a pretty general special sponge in that it seriously doesn't care about neutral special attacks (particularly useful in stopping t-bolts and ice beams headed for Togekiss) and can counter nearly any given psychic or ghost type with ease. It doesn't like burn, though, which is probably one of the only misgivings that I have about it. Physical grass fighting hits go straight to Togekiss, who shrugs them off like they're nothing. Physical water, on the other hand, goes to Ferrothorn, who loves the Tyrannitar's resilience to fire moves. Bug stuff typically goes to Scizor.
T-tar really wants superpower, but it just isn't available before Pokebank and earthquake checks many of the same threats, while seriously threatening electric types. I love to send this thing out against Galvantula leads, because sandstorm breaks through their sash.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Brick Break
Like T-tar, Scizor really, really wants superpower back. That said, even without it, CB Scizor still wrecks plenty of faces. U-turn helps me gain momentum, pursuit checks psychics and ghosts that I expect to switch (it's surprisingly good against mid-low health Aegislash, assuming they're running certain builds) and brick break gives me an edge against steels that aren't countered by its other moves. Predominantly, bullet punch is the crux of this set due to its ability to stop set-up sweepers in their tracks and burn down M-Gengars when T-tar is gone/cripped.
In terms of synergy, this thing can serve as a tertiary switch for incoming steels aimed at Togekiss and can help gain momentum against certain things by u-turning on the switch. T-tar, Rotom and Garchomp all handle its crippling fire weakness pretty well, with the first two checking the majority of Talonflame sets. Steel/bug allows to me switch in a number of other things as well, though and should never be overlooked as a defensive typing granted the bug's considerable bulk.
Togekiss @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 40 SAtk / 28 SDef / 192 Spd
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Flamethrower
- Dazzling Gleam
This is a fairly unorthodox set, but I have a lot of success with it. It runs high speed to capitalize on both air slashes from flinch and type changes from roost, which are both very important to the set. These IVs in particular give it sizable bulk and allow it to outrun Breloom, who gives much of my team problems. It has a weird mix of bulk and offense, but is generally very successful in tanking most enemies, especially considering its loss of weaknesses on roost. Even Rotom-W's volt switch generally just gets roosted off. Life orb is nice on this set despite the SR weakness because damage can just be roosted off when I force a switch, albeit at the expense of momentum. The nice thing about Togekiss is its sheer diversity--people often send in a slow steel to counter it, only to get roasted by Flamethrower, which supplements its other moves really well in my book. Three attacking moves make it much less counterable in my experience, although it does miss status and nasty plot.
Togekiss's bulk and huge fighting resist are really what make it valuable to the team. A couple of times, a Conkeldurr has predicted the switch and stone-edged, nearly killing me. Hilariously, they'll often mach punch on the next turn to finish me off (sometimes at even less than 10% health), but totally fail to kill Togekiss and simply give it a turn to roost. Air slash flinches seriously bug the hell out of bulkier things that can't be one-shotted and hurt quite a bit as well. As far as switches go, ice attacks goes to Rotom, T-tar, or one of my steels, whereas rock and steel attacks get sent to Ferrothorn or Rotom, depending. Electric attacks are generally gladly accepted by Garchomp.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
I honestly feel like this might be the weakest link on my team, but its teammates really love the typing (barring the fact that it gives me two 4x fire weaknesses, although that's somewhat alleviated by the number of resists that I run) as well as the status and SR that it provides. At the very least, its huge defense and iron barbs make physical attacks to its teammates fun to soak up. I'm actually considering running a rocky helmet on it, but it really likes lefties recovery as well. The helmet would make it double good at countering M-Kenga, among other things. Power whip lets it deal some damage to rocks, grounds and waters (there isn't a single other grass attack across the rest of my team), whereas leech seed makes burn much less serious and also gives me something to use against pokemon that resist grass and have physical bulk.
Ferrothorn is also key for soaking spore and leech seed from the other team, which can give me a lot of problems. It typically just takes physical hits and relies on Togekiss and T-tar/Rotom/Garchomp to deal with its weaknesses. If I end up replacing it, its successor would need similarly useful typing and also have access to entry hazards, as the team really likes them.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
Rotom-W is kind of a big deal in this meta and for good reason. Its excellent typing means that it can come in on a ton of stuff (water, steel, ground and fire are probably the biggest ones) and either spread burns around the opposing team or simply gain momentum with volt switch. Lefties give it some staying power in the absence of pain split and synergize well with the crippling potential of Will-O-Wisp. Thunder bolt allows it to deal damage without switching out in the mean time, which can be important as other Pokemon start going down. The EVs/nature are a little weird, but help ensure that it can burn things before getting hit hard, while still maintaining respectable amounts of bulk and firepower.
Attacks to its solitary grass weakness go to togekiss, scizor and ferrothorn, who couldn't care less about them.
At any rate, that's the team. EV and moveset suggestions are especially appreciated. Pokemon changes will be considered (especially in the case of Ferrothorn), but a few of these are pretty much locked in place, especially in the case of Rotom-W and T-Tar, who I have had enormous success with.
Cloyster is probably one of the scariest counters that I've faced, as (king's rock) flinch hacks make it really hard to face and icicle spear doesn't even trigger Ferrothorn's would-be counter to it in iron barbs. Furthermore, it totally bypasses garchomp's sub, killing the point of the set (although SD doesn't fare much better).
Breloom also gives me trouble occasionally, as I have pokemon that can counter each of its individual sets, but bad prediction can hurt me pretty badly.
Mold breaker Excadrill is also a bit of a pain, in that it ignore's Rotom's levitate, typically carries a rock move for Togekiss and hurts hard enough that it's hard to repeatedly switch Ferrothorn, let alone Garchomp into it.
Finally, I think I have a bit of a problem with status (burns suck when someone predicts a switch) and think that I could maybe put a cleric to good use for status-clearing and wish-passing (T-tar would be absolutely insane with it). That said, I'm having trouble working one into my team, so advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading! Hope it isn't too much of a wall of text, haha.
Garchomp-Mega @ Garchompite
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 164 Spd / 152 Atk / 192 HP
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Dragon Claw
I've always been a fan of Garchomp and was pretty sad when it was (justly) made uber in gen IV. In gen VI, it was given the gift of a mega evolution, albeit with the oft-criticized handicap of lowered speed along with its obvious lack of an item. I was actually pretty hesitant to use M-Garchomp at first, but have since found that it has quite a number of advantages over its regular form.
First and foremost, M-Garchomp gets a colossal boost of forty points to its special attack stat. This means it is far more threatening to the steels and ice types that love to come in on it. After stealth rock, it actually sports a very low chance to one hit kill both Mammoswine and Skarmory, assuming that they have full HP investment and no special defense investment. It absolutely eats 4x weak pokemon like scizor and ferrothorn alive and is much more threatening to Pokemon with defense boosts under the belts. This particular set also utilizes substitute, as one problem that I was consistently having with standard Garchomp was rooted in ice shard and status--plenty of pokemon, especially the ubiquitous Rotom-W love to come in on Garchomp and shut it down with a burn, completely neutralizing a swords dance boost that you might have garnered on the switch. Toxic is also a monumental hazard that can seriously dampen the number of turns that Garchomp has to kill stuff. Considering that it keeps its regular speed on the first turn, this set can outspeed Rotom-W or gliscor and prevent a burn/toxic from ruining its day, seriously hindering the threat that either pokemon poses to it. Mammoswine, Azumaril and Talonflame also have to take an entire hit from this monster before they can chip away at it with priority. Similar mechanics apply to scarfers who would ordinarily threaten it. It also minds using substitute a lot less due to the loss of LO recoil. Last but not least, its mega-evolution renders it invulnerable to trick and switcheroo, which might still get used based on the mega evo ambiguity of my team.
The EVs give it 101 subs and allow it to out-speed neutral base 80's like Dragonite along with letting it set up that initial sub faster against quicker things (Rotom, gliscor).
As far as synergy with the team, M-garchomp simply loves sand stream from tyranitar, as it activates sand force and makes its earthquakes even scarier. Plus, residual damage is always nice. Garchomp can soak electric hits for Togekiss and has reasonably good defensive synergy with it, considering the latter's dragon immunity (infiltrator noivern is one of the few things that doesn't care about its subs). Ice attacks generally go to either Rotom, Ferrothorn or T-Tar, depending on what they're coming from.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Assault vest Tyranitar is one of my favorite new layouts this gen. Here's why: In the sand (which should nearly always be up, granted that this is more of a hit and run set), M-Gengar only does
71.2 - 84.1% with focus blast, if it even manages to hit me. That's right, one of the scariest sweepers of the generation can't kill this thing in a single hit, no matter what, unless it gets a crit. And T-Tar hits back with a clean KO, even nabbing it with pursuit if you can predict a switch. Naturally, lesser things like hits on a 2x weaknesses do even less. Assault vest T-Tar is a terrifying special sponge that cranks up residual damage with solid STABs, pursuit hits and sandstorm damage and its an integral part of this team.
T-tar is also nice for ruining M-Charizard Y's sweep with sand and ruining the occasional Drizzletoad's day as well. It serves as a pretty general special sponge in that it seriously doesn't care about neutral special attacks (particularly useful in stopping t-bolts and ice beams headed for Togekiss) and can counter nearly any given psychic or ghost type with ease. It doesn't like burn, though, which is probably one of the only misgivings that I have about it. Physical grass fighting hits go straight to Togekiss, who shrugs them off like they're nothing. Physical water, on the other hand, goes to Ferrothorn, who loves the Tyrannitar's resilience to fire moves. Bug stuff typically goes to Scizor.
T-tar really wants superpower, but it just isn't available before Pokebank and earthquake checks many of the same threats, while seriously threatening electric types. I love to send this thing out against Galvantula leads, because sandstorm breaks through their sash.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Brick Break
Like T-tar, Scizor really, really wants superpower back. That said, even without it, CB Scizor still wrecks plenty of faces. U-turn helps me gain momentum, pursuit checks psychics and ghosts that I expect to switch (it's surprisingly good against mid-low health Aegislash, assuming they're running certain builds) and brick break gives me an edge against steels that aren't countered by its other moves. Predominantly, bullet punch is the crux of this set due to its ability to stop set-up sweepers in their tracks and burn down M-Gengars when T-tar is gone/cripped.
In terms of synergy, this thing can serve as a tertiary switch for incoming steels aimed at Togekiss and can help gain momentum against certain things by u-turning on the switch. T-tar, Rotom and Garchomp all handle its crippling fire weakness pretty well, with the first two checking the majority of Talonflame sets. Steel/bug allows to me switch in a number of other things as well, though and should never be overlooked as a defensive typing granted the bug's considerable bulk.
Togekiss @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 40 SAtk / 28 SDef / 192 Spd
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Flamethrower
- Dazzling Gleam
This is a fairly unorthodox set, but I have a lot of success with it. It runs high speed to capitalize on both air slashes from flinch and type changes from roost, which are both very important to the set. These IVs in particular give it sizable bulk and allow it to outrun Breloom, who gives much of my team problems. It has a weird mix of bulk and offense, but is generally very successful in tanking most enemies, especially considering its loss of weaknesses on roost. Even Rotom-W's volt switch generally just gets roosted off. Life orb is nice on this set despite the SR weakness because damage can just be roosted off when I force a switch, albeit at the expense of momentum. The nice thing about Togekiss is its sheer diversity--people often send in a slow steel to counter it, only to get roasted by Flamethrower, which supplements its other moves really well in my book. Three attacking moves make it much less counterable in my experience, although it does miss status and nasty plot.
Togekiss's bulk and huge fighting resist are really what make it valuable to the team. A couple of times, a Conkeldurr has predicted the switch and stone-edged, nearly killing me. Hilariously, they'll often mach punch on the next turn to finish me off (sometimes at even less than 10% health), but totally fail to kill Togekiss and simply give it a turn to roost. Air slash flinches seriously bug the hell out of bulkier things that can't be one-shotted and hurt quite a bit as well. As far as switches go, ice attacks goes to Rotom, T-tar, or one of my steels, whereas rock and steel attacks get sent to Ferrothorn or Rotom, depending. Electric attacks are generally gladly accepted by Garchomp.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
I honestly feel like this might be the weakest link on my team, but its teammates really love the typing (barring the fact that it gives me two 4x fire weaknesses, although that's somewhat alleviated by the number of resists that I run) as well as the status and SR that it provides. At the very least, its huge defense and iron barbs make physical attacks to its teammates fun to soak up. I'm actually considering running a rocky helmet on it, but it really likes lefties recovery as well. The helmet would make it double good at countering M-Kenga, among other things. Power whip lets it deal some damage to rocks, grounds and waters (there isn't a single other grass attack across the rest of my team), whereas leech seed makes burn much less serious and also gives me something to use against pokemon that resist grass and have physical bulk.
Ferrothorn is also key for soaking spore and leech seed from the other team, which can give me a lot of problems. It typically just takes physical hits and relies on Togekiss and T-tar/Rotom/Garchomp to deal with its weaknesses. If I end up replacing it, its successor would need similarly useful typing and also have access to entry hazards, as the team really likes them.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
Rotom-W is kind of a big deal in this meta and for good reason. Its excellent typing means that it can come in on a ton of stuff (water, steel, ground and fire are probably the biggest ones) and either spread burns around the opposing team or simply gain momentum with volt switch. Lefties give it some staying power in the absence of pain split and synergize well with the crippling potential of Will-O-Wisp. Thunder bolt allows it to deal damage without switching out in the mean time, which can be important as other Pokemon start going down. The EVs/nature are a little weird, but help ensure that it can burn things before getting hit hard, while still maintaining respectable amounts of bulk and firepower.
Attacks to its solitary grass weakness go to togekiss, scizor and ferrothorn, who couldn't care less about them.
At any rate, that's the team. EV and moveset suggestions are especially appreciated. Pokemon changes will be considered (especially in the case of Ferrothorn), but a few of these are pretty much locked in place, especially in the case of Rotom-W and T-Tar, who I have had enormous success with.
Cloyster is probably one of the scariest counters that I've faced, as (king's rock) flinch hacks make it really hard to face and icicle spear doesn't even trigger Ferrothorn's would-be counter to it in iron barbs. Furthermore, it totally bypasses garchomp's sub, killing the point of the set (although SD doesn't fare much better).
Breloom also gives me trouble occasionally, as I have pokemon that can counter each of its individual sets, but bad prediction can hurt me pretty badly.
Mold breaker Excadrill is also a bit of a pain, in that it ignore's Rotom's levitate, typically carries a rock move for Togekiss and hurts hard enough that it's hard to repeatedly switch Ferrothorn, let alone Garchomp into it.
Finally, I think I have a bit of a problem with status (burns suck when someone predicts a switch) and think that I could maybe put a cleric to good use for status-clearing and wish-passing (T-tar would be absolutely insane with it). That said, I'm having trouble working one into my team, so advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading! Hope it isn't too much of a wall of text, haha.
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