Introduction
Hello Smogon! Welcome to my first fifth gen RMT. This team is one of my most successful teams of this Gen(apart from my Rain team of course) and also the one I've spent the most time playing with. This team, while being able to consistently stay in the top 30-40 of the PO server, has a hard time breaking the top 20. But well thats why you people are there, to help me perfect this team!
Ok, so after that lame introduction, I'd like to make it clear that this is a team meant for Standard OU(aka wifi ladder) hence the order of the team doesn't mean anything and I don't care about Shadow Tag Shandera.
Okay, so just like more than half of the players out there, my team's starting point was a Doryuuzu, and for good reason. I mean, what's not to like about him? Great Attack, godly speed in the sand, cool typing, learns Swords Dance, Rapid Spin.... So yeah, Doryuuzu was the first member of the team.
Well you can't have a Doryuuzu without a Sand Stream pokemon, can you? I chose Tyranitar over Hippo because I didn't like how Hippo got walled by Skarmory and Gliscor, both of which were some of the most prominent Doryuuzu counters.
The next choice was easy, both TTar and Dory have problems with Fighting types(as well as other Doryuuzu), and one of the premier Fighting type counters out there is Gliscor. There's not much to say about him really, except that he has got all the tools to combat Fighting types, including stellar defense, Poison Heal, and the Fling+Acrobat combo.
Well in the second round of testing Rain teams were all over the place. Every one in three teams on the ladder would be a Rain team. To deal with the overpowered shit I had a couple of options in mind: adding a bulky Grass type or a bulky Water. The bulky grass types were only Birijion and Nattorei(there's also Breloom who makes a fantastic pokemon against Rain, but its anything but bulky), while in the way of Bulky Waters I had stuff like Rotom-W, Tentacruel and Vaporeon. After much deliberation and testing, and from personal experience using a Rain team, I decided on Nattorei for my insurance against Rain. Nattorei provides the team with the always useful hazard set up as well, along with a (VERY)useful Water resist.
Hitmontop was added mainly to deal with two of the most dangerous pokemon to the team: Latios and Terakion. Technitop is an awesome utility pokemon capable of revenging most of the common pokemon in the metagame, as well as being quite bulky at the same time. He would also provide a secondary check to Doryuuzu and rain dance teams(which just hate Mach punches), which is nice to have.
With that the basic set up of the team was complete. All I now needed was a powerful special Attacker to deal with the physical walls, as well as one who could work well in most weather conditions(read: Sun). These days when looking for powerful special attackers its hard to look beyond Latios. He just tears through most teams, along with luring in stuff like TTar and Nattorei and other defensive steel types which were just set up fodder for Dory. He also has excellent synergy with TTar, being able to check most Fighting types and deal with most bulky waters which TTar has problems with.
Well, like many other Latios users I switched him out for a Latias. The reasons for that are obvious, Latias is able to deal with stuff like Heatran much more efficiently, and is alot happier to switch in to most special attacks.
After spending quite a bit of time on the ladder I realized that while Doryuuzu is an excellent sweeper, he is entirely dependent on sand - it basicaly inhibits me from switching around TTar freely into weak special attacks, especially into stuff lke Latios and Heatran. Granted, I have a solid switch-in to Latios in the form of Nattorei but Nattorei can't do anything back to Latios while it can just spam its attacks freely. If I lose my TTar to an unwanted crit or something I'm basically screwed. Hence, I decided it was time to change Dory, around whom the team was originally based. Landlos works in almost the same way as Dory, except that he hits harder without any set up and isn't weak to the rather common Mach Punch. After testing it out a bit, I fell in love with its Rock Polish set, as its incredibly difficult to wall and just like Dory forces a ton of switches.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out the teams huge weakness to ice, opposing Randorosu and SD Scizor. Even though Ice moves are rather uncommon in this meta(I mainly only see them on Vaporeon and hail teams), a well played hail team would have a field day with this team. So to combat them I made a couple of changes, mainly switching Latias for a Rotom-W(who helps in dealing with Scizor, Skarmory and bulky Waters while at the same time providing that oh-so useful Ice resist) and changing TTar to a SubPunch variant(who is surprisingly effective against weather teams, especially hail).
This team worked decently on the ladder on both the servers, however soon Hitmontop's lack of substantial power without Life Orb began to irk me. If you give it a Life Orb, it takes tons of recoil each turn, if you give it leftovers, it just doesn't hit hard enough. However its role was very important in dealing with Nattorei, Hail and Rain teams, and most Sand sweepers. Only one pokemon can fit that role, and its an Azumarill. Azumarill basically ensures that I'm not getting swept by a Sand sweeper anytime soon, while also luring and taking out Nattorei, who can be very annoying setting up Hazards and throwing around Paralysis and Leech Seed.
It was after the Drizzle+SwSw ban that I noticed the teams incredible weakness to sun. Also, hail teams became dangerous once again after Hitmontop was gone. Heatran was an excellent option for the team, filling in most of Rotom-W's roles like providing a useful Fire and Ice Resist, a great Scizor and Skarmory switch-in and most importantly, a Counter to Ulgamoth. Even though its weakness to bulky waters is rather depressing, with Nattorei most Bulky Waters can't do much.
In-Depth
Changes in Bold.
Azumarill (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
Azumarill is a fantastic Pokemon in this metagame. Almost all the major offensive threats of this gen are kept in check by this thing: Terakion, Landlos, Doryuuzu, Urgamoth, Blaziken, you name it. Aside from its wonderful revenge killing capabilities, Azumarill also functions as an excellent lure for both Bulky Waters as well as Nattorei. While Nattorei can be handled by Azumarill alone by hitting it with a Superpower on the switch, the bulky waters are met by my own Nattorei who treats them as set up fodder. A rather big disappointment however is Azumarill's lack of bulk : its extremely difficult to switch it into things. Hence, its job is limited to revenge killing and hit and run tactics, which it does surprisingly well.
Moveset and EVs: Its the standard set, really, with Waterfall giving it an excellent STAB, and Ice Punch for coverage. Aqua Jet and Huge Power are the only reasons to use Azumarill, so they are a must. Superpower is for Nattorei. Attack is maxed, and the rest of the Evs are put into HP. The Speed EVs allow me to outpace other 4Spe Azumarill.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Acrobat
- Taunt
- Fling
Basically, Gliscor's job is to switch in to and remove any fighting type Pokemon that I see, as well as stuff like Doryuuzu and physical attackers in general. And boy does he does that well. Really, if you don't carry an Ice type move, you're not getting past Gliscor. Poison Heal is a great ability in general, and on Gliscor it becomes amazing. It allows him to function as a 100% Breloom counter, being able to switch in on literally any of its moves bar Ice Punch. Gliscor also helps deal with Psycho Shock variants of CM Rankurusu(who, in fact, gets walled) ans prevents Skarmory from becoming too annoying with Taunt. Overall, Gliscor is an amazing Pokemon against offense and Stall alike, and is probably my MVP alongside Randorosu.
Moveset/EVs: 56 Speed EVs allow Gliscor to always outspeed Adamant Breloom, which is all that it needs to really. In the 5th Gen, Gliscor just can't afford to compromise his defense, hence the rest of the evs are pumped into his defenses. However, I think it would not be too bad a thing to do to get rid of that much speed and put it into defense. On this I would appreciate your advice.
The Moveset is predictable, yet effective. Fling serves two purpose: being able to hit stuff like Lati@s and poison them on the switch(or just land a poison on any defensive pokemon in general) while also doubling the base power of Acrobat, making it Gliscor's strongest move. Earthquake is mandatory, and Taunt helps against Spikes-stackers, Trick Roomers, Stat-uppers etc especially since I lack a Spinner.
Heatran (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
BallonTran provides a counter to what is probably the most threatening pokemon to the team: Ulgamoth. Along with that, it also demolishes Sun and Hail Teams, while having a very useful typing in general. In a pinch, Heatran can also check stuff like Randorosu, Doryuuzu, Venusaur, and Garchomp. His steel typing and great defenses allow it to tank outrages as well, often taking out the Dragon who dared to use the move. Heatran also fucks Scizor, Gliscor(since most do not invest in speed) and Shubarugo who are troublesome pokemon for the team. All in all, Heatran is just a magnificent Pokemon who checks a multitude of threats if its Balloon is intact.
Moveset/EVs: Previously I used to use AncientPower over SR(for Ulgamoth), changed that as suggested. HP Ice is of tremendous aid in combating stuff like Chomp, Gliscor and Landlos. FB and Earth Power are mandatory for Heatran really.
Nattorei (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
Nattorei is.....great. Nattorei is exactly the kind of Pokemon you need when looking for an all purpose wall, a hazard setter and bulky water counter all in one. Natt also spreads around Paralysis, which is always nice(especially considering PO's rng...). Its the glue of this team, preventing stuff like Outraging Dragons and Draco Meteor spammers like Latios from plowing through it. It also counters stuff like Suicune and Gyarados, which is awesome. Its my best answer to Kingdra in the rain. Nattorei is also Reuniclus bait- most of them do not mind switching in directly to Nattorei, only to be met by a TTar on the switch.
Moveset/EVs: While the moveset is pretty self-explanatory, I think I could do with some help on the evs here @_@ They have remained the same from the beginning of the Gen, and I didn't really find any problems throughout.
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 172 SAtk / 24 Spd
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Crunch
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Focus Punch
Enter BoahTar. While it may seem awkward to have a SubPuncher TTar in a Metagame where stall is nearly non-existent, this TTar has a different purpose for wielding this particular set - and that is, luring out his typical switch-ins, including Terakion, Landlos, Gliscor, Garchomp, opposing TTar etc and taking them out. While it may seem like the typical MixTar or BaitTar does the same thing, substitute helps immensely in easing prediction. Then again, BoahTar is of tremendous aid when dealing with bulky Evo Stone users like Porygon2, Dusclops, Chansey etc, all of whom are really troublesome against the team but have absolutely no chance against him. Substitute also enables TTar to have a great chance against Rankurusu, as he can Substitute and wait for a Focus Blast miss while 2HKOing back. With a SubPuncher set TTar messes up Hail and Sun Teams, which again can be real problems for me. In fact, as far as I've used him this gen, its safe to say that this set has worked for me better than any other set in this metagame.
Moveset/EVs: Maxed HP for 101 Substitues, thereby allowing TTar to beat Dusclops and Chansey, and at the same time giving him all the bulk he needs. 24 Speed outpaces other mixTars who run 20 Speed, while at the same time outspeeding 0 Spe Blissey. The SAtk evs are enough to 2HKO physically defensive Hippowdon. Rest are dumped into attack.
The moveset is standard, however with the addition of Heatran I'm considering changing Ice Beam to Flamethrower, which would allow me to beat Scizor and OHKO Natt who seem to switch in a lot.
Randorosu (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
And here's the star of the show, Randorosu. Randorosu is one of those Pokemon who don't really require much support to be effective. His job is to basically find a time to set up towards late game, when everything has been brought into KO range, get an RP up, sweep. After a Rock Polish, nothing can really hope to outspeed this thing, while the only priority that can finish it off at full health/near full health is Azumarill's Aqua Jet. Otherwise, something is gonna die. Even after the Sand Power Glitch has been fixed, Randorosu doesn't really seem to be affected much since the only things that are not 2HKOed by Hazard support alone are still Skarmory and Bronzong(although Hippo and Rotom-W require some prior damage in addition to SR), both of which get raped by Heatran. Seriously, even without boosting its Attack, it has all the power it needs to finish off a weakened team. There isn't really much to say, except that it hits like a truck and still doesn't mind taking a hit or two.
Moveset/EVs: The moveset is, again, self explanatory. The only real consideration is that whether or not HP Ice can be replaced by SD. I'm not really a fan of SD since I've never felt the need for it, while HP Ice helps to get that KO on stuff like Garchomp, Gliscor and Opposing Landlos, who may otherwise ruin the sweep.
Major Threats
Burungeru
Boil Over burns are annoying, to say the least. Sure, I have a 100% counter in Nattorei, but he doesn't like being burnt at all. Then again, many have started running Taunt which make Natt take another turn of Burn damage ;_; Specially defensive versions are a lot easier to handle because Landlos OHKOes after SR. All in all, not a huge threat, but really annoying to face, as 1/3rds of the team give it free switches. Female versions are especially annoying.
Rankurusu
Fuck this thing. These days many CM variants I've seen run Psycho Shock to beat opposing CMers, which makes Gliscor pretty much a counter to the CM versions. Ttar is also good as long as I manage to get it in safely, as it can Sub untill Focus Blast misses and then 2HKO.On the other hand, Offensive TR versions are just plain bad for this team. The only Pokemon which scares me to death if I see one on the Team Preview. Usually I just try to either get Randorosu in there on revenge or a predicted switch, who can take a Psycho Shock and OHKO back in the sand.
Rotom-W
Another Bulky Water. Yeah. Most Rotom these days run HP Fire, which is actually good since it means they can't recover the damage it will be taking through switching in, SS and SR. Again, not something Ive had immense trouble in getting past, but the fact that I don't have a perfect counter is annoying.
All animated Sprites are courtesy of Arkeis.com
Hello Smogon! Welcome to my first fifth gen RMT. This team is one of my most successful teams of this Gen(apart from my Rain team of course) and also the one I've spent the most time playing with. This team, while being able to consistently stay in the top 30-40 of the PO server, has a hard time breaking the top 20. But well thats why you people are there, to help me perfect this team!
Ok, so after that lame introduction, I'd like to make it clear that this is a team meant for Standard OU(aka wifi ladder) hence the order of the team doesn't mean anything and I don't care about Shadow Tag Shandera.
Okay, so just like more than half of the players out there, my team's starting point was a Doryuuzu, and for good reason. I mean, what's not to like about him? Great Attack, godly speed in the sand, cool typing, learns Swords Dance, Rapid Spin.... So yeah, Doryuuzu was the first member of the team.
Well you can't have a Doryuuzu without a Sand Stream pokemon, can you? I chose Tyranitar over Hippo because I didn't like how Hippo got walled by Skarmory and Gliscor, both of which were some of the most prominent Doryuuzu counters.
The next choice was easy, both TTar and Dory have problems with Fighting types(as well as other Doryuuzu), and one of the premier Fighting type counters out there is Gliscor. There's not much to say about him really, except that he has got all the tools to combat Fighting types, including stellar defense, Poison Heal, and the Fling+Acrobat combo.
Well in the second round of testing Rain teams were all over the place. Every one in three teams on the ladder would be a Rain team. To deal with the overpowered shit I had a couple of options in mind: adding a bulky Grass type or a bulky Water. The bulky grass types were only Birijion and Nattorei(there's also Breloom who makes a fantastic pokemon against Rain, but its anything but bulky), while in the way of Bulky Waters I had stuff like Rotom-W, Tentacruel and Vaporeon. After much deliberation and testing, and from personal experience using a Rain team, I decided on Nattorei for my insurance against Rain. Nattorei provides the team with the always useful hazard set up as well, along with a (VERY)useful Water resist.
Hitmontop was added mainly to deal with two of the most dangerous pokemon to the team: Latios and Terakion. Technitop is an awesome utility pokemon capable of revenging most of the common pokemon in the metagame, as well as being quite bulky at the same time. He would also provide a secondary check to Doryuuzu and rain dance teams(which just hate Mach punches), which is nice to have.
With that the basic set up of the team was complete. All I now needed was a powerful special Attacker to deal with the physical walls, as well as one who could work well in most weather conditions(read: Sun). These days when looking for powerful special attackers its hard to look beyond Latios. He just tears through most teams, along with luring in stuff like TTar and Nattorei and other defensive steel types which were just set up fodder for Dory. He also has excellent synergy with TTar, being able to check most Fighting types and deal with most bulky waters which TTar has problems with.
Well, like many other Latios users I switched him out for a Latias. The reasons for that are obvious, Latias is able to deal with stuff like Heatran much more efficiently, and is alot happier to switch in to most special attacks.
After spending quite a bit of time on the ladder I realized that while Doryuuzu is an excellent sweeper, he is entirely dependent on sand - it basicaly inhibits me from switching around TTar freely into weak special attacks, especially into stuff lke Latios and Heatran. Granted, I have a solid switch-in to Latios in the form of Nattorei but Nattorei can't do anything back to Latios while it can just spam its attacks freely. If I lose my TTar to an unwanted crit or something I'm basically screwed. Hence, I decided it was time to change Dory, around whom the team was originally based. Landlos works in almost the same way as Dory, except that he hits harder without any set up and isn't weak to the rather common Mach Punch. After testing it out a bit, I fell in love with its Rock Polish set, as its incredibly difficult to wall and just like Dory forces a ton of switches.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out the teams huge weakness to ice, opposing Randorosu and SD Scizor. Even though Ice moves are rather uncommon in this meta(I mainly only see them on Vaporeon and hail teams), a well played hail team would have a field day with this team. So to combat them I made a couple of changes, mainly switching Latias for a Rotom-W(who helps in dealing with Scizor, Skarmory and bulky Waters while at the same time providing that oh-so useful Ice resist) and changing TTar to a SubPunch variant(who is surprisingly effective against weather teams, especially hail).
This team worked decently on the ladder on both the servers, however soon Hitmontop's lack of substantial power without Life Orb began to irk me. If you give it a Life Orb, it takes tons of recoil each turn, if you give it leftovers, it just doesn't hit hard enough. However its role was very important in dealing with Nattorei, Hail and Rain teams, and most Sand sweepers. Only one pokemon can fit that role, and its an Azumarill. Azumarill basically ensures that I'm not getting swept by a Sand sweeper anytime soon, while also luring and taking out Nattorei, who can be very annoying setting up Hazards and throwing around Paralysis and Leech Seed.
It was after the Drizzle+SwSw ban that I noticed the teams incredible weakness to sun. Also, hail teams became dangerous once again after Hitmontop was gone. Heatran was an excellent option for the team, filling in most of Rotom-W's roles like providing a useful Fire and Ice Resist, a great Scizor and Skarmory switch-in and most importantly, a Counter to Ulgamoth. Even though its weakness to bulky waters is rather depressing, with Nattorei most Bulky Waters can't do much.
||
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In-Depth
Changes in Bold.
Azumarill (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
Azumarill is a fantastic Pokemon in this metagame. Almost all the major offensive threats of this gen are kept in check by this thing: Terakion, Landlos, Doryuuzu, Urgamoth, Blaziken, you name it. Aside from its wonderful revenge killing capabilities, Azumarill also functions as an excellent lure for both Bulky Waters as well as Nattorei. While Nattorei can be handled by Azumarill alone by hitting it with a Superpower on the switch, the bulky waters are met by my own Nattorei who treats them as set up fodder. A rather big disappointment however is Azumarill's lack of bulk : its extremely difficult to switch it into things. Hence, its job is limited to revenge killing and hit and run tactics, which it does surprisingly well.
Moveset and EVs: Its the standard set, really, with Waterfall giving it an excellent STAB, and Ice Punch for coverage. Aqua Jet and Huge Power are the only reasons to use Azumarill, so they are a must. Superpower is for Nattorei. Attack is maxed, and the rest of the Evs are put into HP. The Speed EVs allow me to outpace other 4Spe Azumarill.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Acrobat
- Taunt
- Fling
Basically, Gliscor's job is to switch in to and remove any fighting type Pokemon that I see, as well as stuff like Doryuuzu and physical attackers in general. And boy does he does that well. Really, if you don't carry an Ice type move, you're not getting past Gliscor. Poison Heal is a great ability in general, and on Gliscor it becomes amazing. It allows him to function as a 100% Breloom counter, being able to switch in on literally any of its moves bar Ice Punch. Gliscor also helps deal with Psycho Shock variants of CM Rankurusu(who, in fact, gets walled) ans prevents Skarmory from becoming too annoying with Taunt. Overall, Gliscor is an amazing Pokemon against offense and Stall alike, and is probably my MVP alongside Randorosu.
Moveset/EVs: 56 Speed EVs allow Gliscor to always outspeed Adamant Breloom, which is all that it needs to really. In the 5th Gen, Gliscor just can't afford to compromise his defense, hence the rest of the evs are pumped into his defenses. However, I think it would not be too bad a thing to do to get rid of that much speed and put it into defense. On this I would appreciate your advice.
The Moveset is predictable, yet effective. Fling serves two purpose: being able to hit stuff like Lati@s and poison them on the switch(or just land a poison on any defensive pokemon in general) while also doubling the base power of Acrobat, making it Gliscor's strongest move. Earthquake is mandatory, and Taunt helps against Spikes-stackers, Trick Roomers, Stat-uppers etc especially since I lack a Spinner.
Heatran (M) @ Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
BallonTran provides a counter to what is probably the most threatening pokemon to the team: Ulgamoth. Along with that, it also demolishes Sun and Hail Teams, while having a very useful typing in general. In a pinch, Heatran can also check stuff like Randorosu, Doryuuzu, Venusaur, and Garchomp. His steel typing and great defenses allow it to tank outrages as well, often taking out the Dragon who dared to use the move. Heatran also fucks Scizor, Gliscor(since most do not invest in speed) and Shubarugo who are troublesome pokemon for the team. All in all, Heatran is just a magnificent Pokemon who checks a multitude of threats if its Balloon is intact.
Moveset/EVs: Previously I used to use AncientPower over SR(for Ulgamoth), changed that as suggested. HP Ice is of tremendous aid in combating stuff like Chomp, Gliscor and Landlos. FB and Earth Power are mandatory for Heatran really.
Nattorei (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
Nattorei is.....great. Nattorei is exactly the kind of Pokemon you need when looking for an all purpose wall, a hazard setter and bulky water counter all in one. Natt also spreads around Paralysis, which is always nice(especially considering PO's rng...). Its the glue of this team, preventing stuff like Outraging Dragons and Draco Meteor spammers like Latios from plowing through it. It also counters stuff like Suicune and Gyarados, which is awesome. Its my best answer to Kingdra in the rain. Nattorei is also Reuniclus bait- most of them do not mind switching in directly to Nattorei, only to be met by a TTar on the switch.
Moveset/EVs: While the moveset is pretty self-explanatory, I think I could do with some help on the evs here @_@ They have remained the same from the beginning of the Gen, and I didn't really find any problems throughout.
Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 172 SAtk / 24 Spd
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Crunch
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Focus Punch
Enter BoahTar. While it may seem awkward to have a SubPuncher TTar in a Metagame where stall is nearly non-existent, this TTar has a different purpose for wielding this particular set - and that is, luring out his typical switch-ins, including Terakion, Landlos, Gliscor, Garchomp, opposing TTar etc and taking them out. While it may seem like the typical MixTar or BaitTar does the same thing, substitute helps immensely in easing prediction. Then again, BoahTar is of tremendous aid when dealing with bulky Evo Stone users like Porygon2, Dusclops, Chansey etc, all of whom are really troublesome against the team but have absolutely no chance against him. Substitute also enables TTar to have a great chance against Rankurusu, as he can Substitute and wait for a Focus Blast miss while 2HKOing back. With a SubPuncher set TTar messes up Hail and Sun Teams, which again can be real problems for me. In fact, as far as I've used him this gen, its safe to say that this set has worked for me better than any other set in this metagame.
Moveset/EVs: Maxed HP for 101 Substitues, thereby allowing TTar to beat Dusclops and Chansey, and at the same time giving him all the bulk he needs. 24 Speed outpaces other mixTars who run 20 Speed, while at the same time outspeeding 0 Spe Blissey. The SAtk evs are enough to 2HKO physically defensive Hippowdon. Rest are dumped into attack.
The moveset is standard, however with the addition of Heatran I'm considering changing Ice Beam to Flamethrower, which would allow me to beat Scizor and OHKO Natt who seem to switch in a lot.
Randorosu (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
And here's the star of the show, Randorosu. Randorosu is one of those Pokemon who don't really require much support to be effective. His job is to basically find a time to set up towards late game, when everything has been brought into KO range, get an RP up, sweep. After a Rock Polish, nothing can really hope to outspeed this thing, while the only priority that can finish it off at full health/near full health is Azumarill's Aqua Jet. Otherwise, something is gonna die. Even after the Sand Power Glitch has been fixed, Randorosu doesn't really seem to be affected much since the only things that are not 2HKOed by Hazard support alone are still Skarmory and Bronzong(although Hippo and Rotom-W require some prior damage in addition to SR), both of which get raped by Heatran. Seriously, even without boosting its Attack, it has all the power it needs to finish off a weakened team. There isn't really much to say, except that it hits like a truck and still doesn't mind taking a hit or two.
Moveset/EVs: The moveset is, again, self explanatory. The only real consideration is that whether or not HP Ice can be replaced by SD. I'm not really a fan of SD since I've never felt the need for it, while HP Ice helps to get that KO on stuff like Garchomp, Gliscor and Opposing Landlos, who may otherwise ruin the sweep.
Major Threats
Burungeru
Boil Over burns are annoying, to say the least. Sure, I have a 100% counter in Nattorei, but he doesn't like being burnt at all. Then again, many have started running Taunt which make Natt take another turn of Burn damage ;_; Specially defensive versions are a lot easier to handle because Landlos OHKOes after SR. All in all, not a huge threat, but really annoying to face, as 1/3rds of the team give it free switches. Female versions are especially annoying.
Rankurusu
Fuck this thing. These days many CM variants I've seen run Psycho Shock to beat opposing CMers, which makes Gliscor pretty much a counter to the CM versions. Ttar is also good as long as I manage to get it in safely, as it can Sub untill Focus Blast misses and then 2HKO.On the other hand, Offensive TR versions are just plain bad for this team. The only Pokemon which scares me to death if I see one on the Team Preview. Usually I just try to either get Randorosu in there on revenge or a predicted switch, who can take a Psycho Shock and OHKO back in the sand.
Rotom-W
Another Bulky Water. Yeah. Most Rotom these days run HP Fire, which is actually good since it means they can't recover the damage it will be taking through switching in, SS and SR. Again, not something Ive had immense trouble in getting past, but the fact that I don't have a perfect counter is annoying.
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All animated Sprites are courtesy of Arkeis.com
