A Game Of Chess [OU]

[jester]

"Chess is a board game played between two players. It is played on a chessboard, which is a square-checkered board with 64 squares
arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start,
each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns.
The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check")
and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move."

Team Building:
ok, so I was looking for ideas to build a team around. I generally like balanced teams, based around a bulky sweeper which uses the likes of Calm Mind, Bulk Up, or Curse to boost its stats. In particular, I like users of Substitute, and my last team was also based around this idea.(Also, if anyone has other suggestions of any sweepers that fit into this category, if you pm me them that would be great ! Thanks.) My last team:
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2380099#post2380099
also had this idea. I hadn't seen any pokes of this sort I could test out. However, as the main site was updated, I saw a Sub/CM Latias which really appealed to me. So Latias the first poke in the team.

so, then I had to consider what Latias hates. Obviously Scizor and Tyranitar came to mind at first. I tried to think of a way to be able to lure them out, and thus, kill them. I had seen some RMTs around who had used Gengar to lure these 2 threats out, and deal with them accordingly. In particular, MYSTICgar appealed to me. I had never used Gengar before, and being a Ghost type was quite useful in order to block Rapid Spin. So, I gave it a go!

I then considered the lead position. I wanted both Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field, and if by the same Poke would be even better. So, I just used the same lead as in my last team, and it does the job well.

I felt Choice Scarf Pokes would be a problem, such as Jirachi and Flygon. Certain faster/ just as fast pokes may have also posed a threat too. So, I added Scizor in order to take care of any Dragons aswell as Gengar, and Gyarados to beat Jirachi. Scizor is also backup for any Tyranitar that Gengar may fail to kill, whilst Gyarados can take care of any Scizor in the same situation.

I decided to get some defensive stability, incase there were any certain threats I was not able to deal with it. So, I added a ResTalk Swampert.

And there is the final piece to the puzzle. ( Or a chessboard in this case! )

The Team:

Pawn (Smeargle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
Jolly; 6 HP/252 Def/252 Spe
Moveset:
Destiny Bond
Spikes
Spore
Stealth Rock

"The pawn can only move forward one space, or optionally two spaces when on its starting square, in a straight line away from the player. When there is an enemy piece one square diagonally ahead from the pawn (either left or right), then the pawn may capture that piece. A pawn can perform a special type of capture of an enemy pawn called en passant. If the pawn reaches a back rank of the opposite player, it undergoes promotion to a rook, bishop, queen or knight."
The Pawn, the first piece that you move in a game of chess, what a fitting name for the lead position. Smeargle is a great choice in order to get up Spikes and Stealth Rock. Spore allows me more setup time, causing them to go to asleep, which inables me to setup. Destiny Bond is a great move against slower Pokes that may come in expecting to kill me and get off scot free. The only problems I really get are from Taunt leads, but I can generally deal with them with the other members in my team. Trick Scarf is annoying, but I generally predict it coming and just start Spiking.

Rook (Swampert) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Impish; 6 Atk/252 HP/252 Def
Moveset:
Avalanche
Earthquake
Rest
Sleep-Talk

" The rook moves any number of vacant squares along rows or columns (forward, backward, left or right). It also is involved when castling."
The Rook, the strategy of "castling" even seems to fit the defensive style of Swampert. Swampert allows me to get the upper hand on the likes of Salamence, Flygon, Tyranitar, and Heatran. Avalanche and Earthquake have very good coverage together, and they stand super-effective against many enemies that Swampert is switched into. Rest and Sleep-Talk allow Swampert to heal itself from any nasty burns or poisons, and it keeps it healthy throughout the course of the battle. It's Ground Typing comes in useful to block any Electric attacks aimed at Gyarados, and it can take Ice/Fire attacks for both Latias and Scizor.

Bishop (Gengar) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Timid; 6 Def/252 Spe/252 SpA
Moveset:
Protect
Focus Blast
Hidden Power [Fire]
Shadow Ball

" The bishop moves any number of vacant squares diagonally. Consequently a bishop stays on squares of the same color throughout a game."
The Bishop, kinda fitting for Gengar, as it is pulling all the strings in this team. Indeed it stays on the square, as it's normal counters ain't forcing this thing out. This set allows me to beat to of it's main counters: Scizor and Tyranitar. HP Fire and Focus Blast deal with them both, whilst Shadow Ball is mainly for STAB. However, I have somewhat of a dilemma. This thing is great at taking out Scizor, Protecting before it attacks. If it uses BP, I switch to Gyarados generally, or Swampert. If it Pursuits, HP Fire for the KO. However, Tyranitar is a different prospect. I Protect and it generally Pursuits. The problem lies with Focus Blasts accuracy. Yes it does hit most of the time, but when it doesn't hit it's quite irritating and can change the course of the battle. I was wondering if anyone maybe had a different set, or even Poke, which can lure both Scizor and Tyranitar in and deal with them? Any help would be most appreciated. I might have a problem then with Rapid Spin blocking, but I'm sure I could work around it.

Knight (Gyarados) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant; 156 HP/76 Atk/134 Def/144 Spe
Moveset:
Dragon Dance
Stone Edge
Taunt
Waterfall

"The knight moves to a vacant square in an "L"-shape (two spaces forward, backward, left, or right and one space perpendicular to it). The knight can jump over other pieces when moving."
The Knight, with Gyarados' Flying type, it has no problems jumping over other pieces :). Gyarados allows me a second setup sweeper if needs be, and it shuts down any other setup or status moves with Taunt. Stone Edge and Waterfall have generally decent coverage together, so I decided to go for that. The Speed EVs allow it to outpace any 110 Spe pokes, after a Dragon Dance of course, and the rest is the same as the Bulky Gyarados spread @ the main site. Except, I put the remaining EVs to bulk up it's Defense stat. If needs be, Gyarados can deal with both Tyranitar and Scizor. It can also help me against the likes of Lucario, Metagross, and Heatran (obviously without any Super-Effective moves ). Due to its Water-Typing, it resists both Ice Punch and Iron Head, the 2 main attacks Latias fears from a Choice Scarf Jirachi.

King (Scizor) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Adamant; 162 HP/176 Atk/168 SpD
Moveset:
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
Superpower
U-turn

"The king moves only one vacant square in any direction. It can also castle in conjunction with a rook."
It's fitting that Scizor, as the King, can castle in conjuction with Swampert. I say that because Swampert resists Scizor's Fire weakness, whilst Scizor resists Swampert's Grass Weakness. I originally had Scizor down as the Knight, however, the picture for the chess piece of the Knight had to be given to Gyarados. It's a great representation! Scizor allows me to beat Tyranitar, aswell as any pesky Gengar, or Dragon types, such as Latias, Flygon and Salamence. U-turn allows me to scout, and it does a hefty chunk to the likes of Celebi, who may give Swampert and Gyarados some grief. Pursuit allows me to smack any Pokes who are intenting on running away from me, just making them think twice about what move they decide to play. Scizor, being the King, also works quite well with the Queen, Latias, as they resist each other's weaknesses very well. It's a match made in heaven. :D

Queen (Latias) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Timid; 208 HP/48 Def/252 Spe
Moveset:
Calm Mind
Dragon Pulse
Recover
Substitute

"The queen moves any number of vacant squares in any direction along a row, column, or diagonal."
The Queen, Latias, can setup in any number of vacant squares, or resisted moves in the context of THIS game, and not the game of chess. This set is absolutely beastly, very difficult to take down and deal with. The EVs give it very good bulk, allowing great freedom to setup on a variety of pokes. The HP and Defense EVs not only beef up her Substitutes on the physical side, but they also let her avoid OHKOs from +2 Life Orb Lucario using Extremespeed and +1 Life Orb Ice Fang from Gyarados. She can also avoid a 2HKO from Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch as well as Breloom's Focus Punch. When this thing is setup, it's like a hybrid of both offense and defense, a great poke to put in the team's core. I decided to go with Recover over any other attacking move, as Dragon Pulse has great neutral cover. Also, the majority of threats that I may want to use HP Fire or Surf against, I have planned to be eliminated before I reveal her. The bulky EVs can help incase I attempt to setup without seeing the Scizor beforehand, as I can alot of damage to it before it is able to take me down, with the right amount of Calm Minds up. It's typing is fantastic, allowing it to switch into an array of attacks and begin to cause havoc.

So that's my team, thank you for reading and I appreciate any rates/comments/etc in advance.

Regards,
jester.

 

[Mariachi]

Good team overall, but you only have one pokemon that resist SR... I suggest you to use this Smeargle as a lead:

Smeargle@Choice Scarf
Ability: Own Tempo
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
4HP/252 Def/252 Spe
-Trick
-Spore
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin

How it works? First you use trick on the opposite lead. The foe pokemon will be locked into SR, Taunt or something like that. If he uses Taunt, just switch, but you will take advantage on the battle. If he goes with other move, then use Spore for whatever it comes. And finally, if your opponent has used SR on the first turn use Rapid Spin. SR for the obvious entry hazards.

Good luck with the team!

 

[jester]

Good team overall, but you only have one pokemon that resist SR... I suggest you to use this Smeargle as a lead:

Smeargle@Choice Scarf
Ability: Own Tempo
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
4HP/252 Def/252 Spe
-Trick
-Spore
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin

How it works? First you use trick on the opposite lead. The foe pokemon will be locked into SR, Taunt or something like that. If he uses Taunt, just switch, but you will take advantage on the battle. If he goes with other move, then use Spore for whatever it comes. And finally, if your opponent has used SR on the first turn use Rapid Spin. SR for the obvious entry hazards.

Good luck with the team!

Well tbh, I only have one pokemon that actually is weak to SR, so I don't think it's that much of an issue..

That set is fine, but I think I'll stick with mine, unless theres more then one person who may agree, as spore allows me to cripple them anyway, which results in them not setting up. I like to make their team switch around, which is the reasoning behind Spikes. Appreciate the input though, thanks

 

[Setsuna]

Interesting presentation with the Chess explanation. So you compare chess to the competitive game that Pokémon offers right? Smart thought if that's the case.

On with the team, the most worrying thing I can see (and probably the only one) is that Swampert is just slowing the team down. All your Pokémon are considerably fast and Swampert breaks that chain. Besides being the status absorber (very risky when you need to take a Sleep Powder from Roserade for example) and a check for the likes of DD Tyranitar and Agility Metagross, it does not do much more. But I see Flygon doing a similar job and at the same time playing the role of a revenge killer capable of dealing with DD Gyarados (which is being a major threat for the team) and DD Tyranitar/Metagross/Salamence too. So there is my suggestion:

Adamant | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Outrage | Earthquake | Stone Edge/Thunderpunch | U-turn

Besides the aforementioned details, Flygon can "accelerate" the damage that your opponent will be taking due to entry hazards, with U-turn, just like Scizor does. I listed Thunderpunch in case you prefer a more reliable option to face Gyarados, but I find its coverage is poor. Also, there is another important point, LO Heatran which Swampert cannot play if it carries HP Grass, something that Flygon can manage.

Last but not least, be aware of Machamp, it looks like it poses an important pressure over the team overall.

Good luck.

 

[Saad]

Well first thing is your Smeargle. I dont think that Smeargle is as an Effective lead as it once was due to the fact of Roserade. Most leads are running a Lum Berry or Taunt to stop this.The Only leads I seeing you beat are Swampert and Heatran, so maybe changing to scarf may be a better choice. It allows you to prevent ANY pokemon not holding a scarf to be shut down by Spore. This benefits your Gyarados greatly because its pretty much the only thing that can safely switch into an opposing Scizor.

Next thing Id like to address is your Gengar. MysticGar was once a very creative and surprising poke. But now it doesnt work as well as it used to because its surprise factor is gone. Imagine a scenario where Scizor switches into Gengar. You protect, I pursuit. NO WAY IN HELL will I stay in because I know the HP fire is coming. So I suggest you change your Gengar into a

Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Timid 56 Spe 200 Def 252 HP
Moveset:
Thunderbolt
Will-o-Wisp
Substitute
Pain Split

The EVs are a little different, and I dont know if they are the best but this is what I run. They maximize Rotom's Defense as well as outspeeding Jolly Ttar by 1 point. Substitute allows you to scout, as well as Blocking status and making prediction easier. Also it allows you to be hit and run, such as against Heatran. You thunderbolt, they break the sub you switch and it becomes an easier threat to deal with next time. Will-o-Wisp Cripples Tyranitar allowing your Gyarados and Latias to have an Easier time. This also helps with random Lucarios that carry Stone Edge instead of Crunch, +1 Stone edge OHKOs Gyarados. Pain Split helps with Stall, S-toss Blissey Loses in a Stall war to you I believe (People Usually rage quit against me before this happens). Basically Sub Sub Sub Pain Split and So on.

Also, you lack a good Dragon Resist, as Scizor will be worn down by SR and repeated Draco Meteors, Surf, Etc. Latias will be doing some major damage to your team. I recommend another steel type, or Changing your Scizor to a Bulky version with 252 Sp Def 216 Hp 40 Attk. With Roost, U-Turn, Bullet Punch, Superpower. This will help your Scizor take Dragon-based Special threats such as latias, as well as be a good counter to an outraging mence. (which is covered by Swampert anyways).

Another option for Substitute on Latias may be Safeguard, as it provides protection for your whole team, as well as still beating Blissey and freinds. Maybe even adding HP Fire, for those Pesky Scizors. Also you may want to look into ScarfRachi Jolly 252 Spe 252 Attk 4 Hp with Ice Punch Fire Punch Thunderpunch and Iron head, in place of Swampert, as it Helps with your Latias weakness, takes out Gyarados which is a pretty big threat. Checks Lucario as well as Scizor. Revenge Kills Outraging Mence, or DD Mence, Adamant Flygon, as well as flinching annoying pokes that you cant take out with any of the other moves. :] Trick over Thunderpunch is viable too and helps with stall, but Id rather keep my revenge killing abilities if you ask me.

Well thats All I could think of, I hope you agree with my rate. GL with the team!

 

[jester]

Interesting presentation with the Chess explanation. So you compare chess to the competitive game that Pokémon offers right? Smart thought if that's the case.

On with the team, the most worrying thing I can see (and probably the only one) is that Swampert is just slowing the team down. All your Pokémon are considerably fast and Swampert breaks that chain. Besides being the status absorber (very risky when you need to take a Sleep Powder from Roserade for example) and a check for the likes of DD Tyranitar and Agility Metagross, it does not do much more. But I see Flygon doing a similar job and at the same time playing the role of a revenge killer capable of dealing with DD Gyarados (which is being a major threat for the team) and DD Tyranitar/Metagross/Salamence too. So there is my suggestion:

Adamant | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Outrage | Earthquake | Stone Edge/Thunderpunch | U-turn

Besides the aforementioned details, Flygon can "accelerate" the damage that your opponent will be taking due to entry hazards, with U-turn, just like Scizor does. I listed Thunderpunch in case you prefer a more reliable option to face Gyarados, but I find its coverage is poor. Also, there is another important point, LO Heatran which Swampert cannot play if it carries HP Grass, something that Flygon can manage.

Last but not least, be aware of Machamp, it looks like it poses an important pressure over the team overall.

Good luck.

Yeah that was kinda the idea with the team, comparing it to a game of chess :P I thought in some "odd" ways they do have some similarities xD

I think I'll give that Flygon spread shot then, thanks. Maybe Jolly over Adamant? To make sure I outspeed the likes of Salamence. I'll give that ago anyway and see how it works, :).

@ Saad, the Rotom-W is an interesting spread, but I would prefer to take about both Scizor and Tyranitar quickly, and not stall them out. Personally, I am not a fan of stall and tend to avoid doing so. I'll consider the Scarf Jirachi, but firstly I'll try Flygon. I'll also look into Scarfing Smeargle.

Thank you both for your suggestions :)

 

[d2m]

Salamence runs through your team quite well, especially if a faster suicide lead like Aeroactyl prevents you from getting up SR. He outspeeds everything after a DD, OHKO's swampert with SR if +atk, with SR and any previous damage if +spe natured. Then you lose something else before Scizor can revenge with BP after 2 LO recoils.

Swap out Swampert for Foretress and Smeargle for a faster SR lead like Aerodactyl or Azelf, your team needs SR badly.

 

[Pollux-Castor]

Like Mariachi did, I am going to suggest you make an adjustment to Smeargle. It may be as simple as changing Rapid Spin with Destiny Bond, because Rapid Spin is usable even through Taunt. It will scatter the rocks and take away a Focus Sash. Even though you only have 1 Poke weak to Stealth Rock the Pokemon who are neutral, namely Gengar, will really appreciate not taking repeat damage from them. And I think it is much better than losing to Taunt users 100% of the time.

Good luck!

 

[jester]

Considering people are talking about maybe preventing rocks from going up, I've decided to switch Smeargle with Aero, and Swampert/Flygon with Forrteress. I'm gonna use the standard lead Aero set, and the physically defensive Forretress set. I'll see how this goes, any other comments are appreciated :)

 

[Saad]

@ Saad, the Rotom-W is an interesting spread, but I would prefer to take about both Scizor and Tyranitar quickly, and not stall them out. Personally, I am not a fan of stall and tend to avoid doing so. I'll consider the Scarf Jirachi, but firstly I'll try Flygon. I'll also look into Scarfing Smeargle.

Thank you both for your suggestions :)[/QUOTE]


This Rotom Spread isnt for Stalling. Its for Crippling. You can even just go with All offense. And Change it to Rotom-H with Discharge Overheat Will-o-Wisp and Shadowball. I suggested this set because your Gengar set doesnt work anymore due to the fact that no one is surprised about HP Fire. Also a Care 252 Hp 252 SP DEF ttar Lives a Focus Blast, this set renders them useless, takes out Scizor and counters Jirachi better.

 

[jester]

This Rotom Spread isnt for Stalling. Its for Crippling. You can even just go with All offense. And Change it to Rotom-H with Discharge Overheat Will-o-Wisp and Shadowball. I suggested this set because your Gengar set doesnt work anymore due to the fact that no one is surprised about HP Fire. Also a Care 252 Hp 252 SP DEF ttar Lives a Focus Blast, this set renders them useless, takes out Scizor and counters Jirachi better.

Ah ok fair enough, I'll consider it then, just need to test the other changes first.

Thanks!