With the release of OR/AS, I wanted to make usable Salamence team before Mega-Salamence is on every team. Most people I see run Salamence as a first-turn DD'er with moxie and try to sweep teams after 1 DD. I guessed that other people had this experience, so I wondered how well a wall-breaker would work.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Earthquake
Like I said previously, Mence is supposed to be played as a wall-breaker. I chose specially based because, with a positive nature, it reaches 350 Sp. Atk., which is just 9 points shy of timid Latios. Salamence will just about hit the same OH-KO's as Latios and even has better coverage. Draco Meteor is its only STAB because I don't feel a need to dragon pulse when my coverage moves do similar damage on neutral hits. Fire Blast is used for great coverage with Dragon STAB killing all variants of Ferrothorn and Scizor. Hydro Pump OH-KO's mons like Landorus, Gliscor, Mamoswine, and Terrakion and doesn't leave you with the drop, unlike Draco Meteor. The last move is filler. Mence has many viable coverage moves such as Defog, Roost, and even Wish (albeit, you must forego Hydro Pump). I chose Earthquake to hit specially defensive Heatran.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
I chose Landorus-T for a variety of reasons. It has Intimidate, so I can have an Intimidate core with Salamence. I gave it a Choice Scarf so I can out-speed the Lati twins and provide momentum with U-Turn. Stone Edge provides the lovely Edge-Quake combo. Knock Off allows for OH-KO's on Lati@s after Stealth Rocks. I am running Adamant because I am not aware of any crucial mons that I need to out-speed and getting the slow U-Turn on other Scarfed Landorus-T's is very useful.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
I decided AV Azumarill had a good place on my team. I have two Intimidate users, so why not have an AV user? Azumarill has good, bulky, and powerful priority in Aqua Jet, so I thought it warranted a team slot. It provides good glue for the team as it can switch into Ice Beams meant for Salamence from Greninja. It also has runs Knock Off for coverage and I don't need Superpower. Play Rough for Dragons, as my team looks weak to Drag Mag. Waterfall because what else do I run Azumarill? Ice Punch?
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
Latios, I decided after many games, is pretty good on this team. It's nice because spamming Draco Meteor is not only fun and cool, but very viable. If Mence dies, then I have Latios as a back-up. I run defog because I have no hazard control outside of maybe running it of Salamence. Thunderbolt is useful because, despite having 3 resistances, my teams is fairly weak to Azumarill. Psyshock is useful for any Mega-Venusaurs or good for just being STAB that doesn't lower my SP. ATK.
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
Mega-Pinsir is my designated sweeper. I decided it needed a place on the team when I came across a Chansey. After raging that person was using a toxic-stalling variant. I decided I would run a Swords Dance, Close Combat Mega-Pinsir. Not only for Chansey's, mind you. I chose it because it had extremely powerful priority and Flying STAB. This has good synergy with my Landorus-T, as Landorus can spam EQ while Mega-Pinsir can spam Return. I don't know why I run Jolly, but I feel it is useful for other Mega-Pinsirs. Maybe.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 244 HP / 224 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Specially Defensive Heatran is my final Mon. It was wonderful synergy with Scarf Landorus as the resist each others weaknesses almost flawlessly. Almost because they are both weak to Water. Anyway, I chose Heatran because it has I needed Stealth Rocks, a Mon that can apply burns, and a specially defensive Mon to balance out my Intimidate/AV/Special Bulk core. I didn't know what else to run, so I ran a Heatran with Toxic and Protect to damage more bulky mons and give Heatran some more Leftovers recovery. The EV's I stole from the Smogon Dex.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Earthquake
Like I said previously, Mence is supposed to be played as a wall-breaker. I chose specially based because, with a positive nature, it reaches 350 Sp. Atk., which is just 9 points shy of timid Latios. Salamence will just about hit the same OH-KO's as Latios and even has better coverage. Draco Meteor is its only STAB because I don't feel a need to dragon pulse when my coverage moves do similar damage on neutral hits. Fire Blast is used for great coverage with Dragon STAB killing all variants of Ferrothorn and Scizor. Hydro Pump OH-KO's mons like Landorus, Gliscor, Mamoswine, and Terrakion and doesn't leave you with the drop, unlike Draco Meteor. The last move is filler. Mence has many viable coverage moves such as Defog, Roost, and even Wish (albeit, you must forego Hydro Pump). I chose Earthquake to hit specially defensive Heatran.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
I chose Landorus-T for a variety of reasons. It has Intimidate, so I can have an Intimidate core with Salamence. I gave it a Choice Scarf so I can out-speed the Lati twins and provide momentum with U-Turn. Stone Edge provides the lovely Edge-Quake combo. Knock Off allows for OH-KO's on Lati@s after Stealth Rocks. I am running Adamant because I am not aware of any crucial mons that I need to out-speed and getting the slow U-Turn on other Scarfed Landorus-T's is very useful.
Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
I decided AV Azumarill had a good place on my team. I have two Intimidate users, so why not have an AV user? Azumarill has good, bulky, and powerful priority in Aqua Jet, so I thought it warranted a team slot. It provides good glue for the team as it can switch into Ice Beams meant for Salamence from Greninja. It also has runs Knock Off for coverage and I don't need Superpower. Play Rough for Dragons, as my team looks weak to Drag Mag. Waterfall because what else do I run Azumarill? Ice Punch?
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
Latios, I decided after many games, is pretty good on this team. It's nice because spamming Draco Meteor is not only fun and cool, but very viable. If Mence dies, then I have Latios as a back-up. I run defog because I have no hazard control outside of maybe running it of Salamence. Thunderbolt is useful because, despite having 3 resistances, my teams is fairly weak to Azumarill. Psyshock is useful for any Mega-Venusaurs or good for just being STAB that doesn't lower my SP. ATK.
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
Mega-Pinsir is my designated sweeper. I decided it needed a place on the team when I came across a Chansey. After raging that person was using a toxic-stalling variant. I decided I would run a Swords Dance, Close Combat Mega-Pinsir. Not only for Chansey's, mind you. I chose it because it had extremely powerful priority and Flying STAB. This has good synergy with my Landorus-T, as Landorus can spam EQ while Mega-Pinsir can spam Return. I don't know why I run Jolly, but I feel it is useful for other Mega-Pinsirs. Maybe.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 244 HP / 224 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Specially Defensive Heatran is my final Mon. It was wonderful synergy with Scarf Landorus as the resist each others weaknesses almost flawlessly. Almost because they are both weak to Water. Anyway, I chose Heatran because it has I needed Stealth Rocks, a Mon that can apply burns, and a specially defensive Mon to balance out my Intimidate/AV/Special Bulk core. I didn't know what else to run, so I ran a Heatran with Toxic and Protect to damage more bulky mons and give Heatran some more Leftovers recovery. The EV's I stole from the Smogon Dex.
