A Transition from D/P to Pt.

Noobdemon

Not much of an intro to this team, just this is my first team transitioning from D/P to Pt.


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Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure | Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SAtk

- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

A common lead and common sight in today's metagame. Most of what has been said about this lead has been said in other RMT's but I'll add on a little I guess. Zapdos serves as my team's revenge killer and can easily get the KO on things like a DD'd Gyarados or a SD'd Scizor, if rocks are off the field. At the beginning of the match U-Turn is a great move and is consistently a great move throughout the whole match to be able to scout or switch to an appropriate counter.

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<--- pretend it has wings, k?

Shaymin-s @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace | Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SAtk

- Substitute
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Leech Seed

SubSeed Skymin is awesome. I'm in love with the move Substitute, almost a little too much but it works on something that can cause switches as easily as Skymin. Having a substitute up against whatever switches in can give me a big advantage. Things like Scarf-less Zapdos can easily get outstalled by Leech Seed. Anything susceptible to Skymin's other moves will get hit by those, otherwise it can just be stalled out by Leech Seed. Max speed just to at least be able to tie other Skymin.

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Mamoswine @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious | Jolly / Adamant nature
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
- Ice Fang / Ice Shard

Yup, again usage of Substitute to play mind games with the opponent. Being able to throw up a substitute on something like Skymin or Salamence is great. I've been experimenting with both Jolly and Adamant nature, and with Ice Fang and Ice Shard and all options worked extremely well. Jolly nature allows me to get the hit on some Salamence easier, letting me run Ice Fang maybe, and on Adamant Lucario; a good suprise KO for those not expecting it. Most people will expect Mamoswine to be some slow bulky poke, or even be a Curse/Ice Sharder when they see the Leftovers so having Mamoswine as fast as it is, at 284 Spe, is a good ace in the hole.

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Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy | Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk

- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard

Starmie has been replaced for Donphan because I really felt I needed a Rock resist and a better switch-in to Tyranitar. It also allows me to fit in Stealth Rock on this and add on Earth Power to Heatran. Donphan's overall bulkiness also helped for the switch and the Ice Shard which proved invaluable at times going against Skymins or Salamences. This team needs Rapid Spin because of all the switching a Scarf Zapdos would do, along with Skymin, and what used to be of Salamence before I replaced it for Kingdra.

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Kingdra @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim | Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
EV's: 180 HP / 212 Atk / 116 Spe

- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall
- Substitute

Bulky Kingdra is great. Its able to shrug off weak neutral attacks and get in some DD's before having to throw up a Sub and scout for status, etc. Outrage / Waterfall is only resisted by Empoleon and Shedinja which isn't seen as often in standard play so I don't worry too much.

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Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire | Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
EV's: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SAtk

- Taunt
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Earth Power

Heatran loves to play with special walls. With all the switches it can cause Heatran shouldn't have too much trouble getting Stealth Rock down. Taunt also ruins things like Blissey or Cresselia allowing me to get in Skymin, Kingdra, or Mamoswine to get in a sub and setup if needed. Explosion serves as a latch ditch effort or just an easy way to rid myself of Blissey. Lacking Earth Power sucks but I'm sure that I have enough to deal with Heatran in Kingdra and Starmie.

Edit: Earth Power added on over Stealth Rock.

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Wow this is a great team. Instead of suggesting a change to the team, I'm going to suggest a possible variation that might be fun. You could bulk up your Kingdra and make it a double dancer. I can see that you truly enjoy substitute, but it's probably the only slot you'd have room for a Rain Dance on. At the same time though, you don't want to mess with Heatran's power too much. Something to think about, I guess, for one of those times when you feel like experimenting.

I'd also say you should take yourself up on the option to replace Starmie with Donphan. He's a solid choice, and lets you run stealth rock on him, making room for Earth Power on Heatran.

This team is ruthless good though, I look forward to facing it on shoddy.
 
Hmm, thanks. Double Dance Kingdra sounds good, I'll test it out over Substitute. The only problem I might see is that I'll be able to get statused a lot easier and the Kingdra set I'm running is pretty bulky as it is. I guess that using Rain Dance can be good as well as it can lure out special walls.
 
Yeah, even though I have some good ways of hitting Tyranitar it still hurts my team a bit. I'll test out Donphan and edit it in if it proves to be more valuable then Starmie.
 
Eh, I don't feel I have too much trouble with Scizor since I have Zapdos who can take some of its attacks and Heatran to a lesser extent if it can avoid coming into a Superpower or revenge kill Scizor.
 
if at all possible can you get a starmie with natural cure over illuminate? that is the one thing that jumps out at me.

overall it's decent, 8/10
 
Yeah, I realized that when it actually saved me in one match. I had Starmie take a Spore from a Breloom, and switched into my Skymin thinking he'd throw up a sub but instead he decides to Spore. Luckily for me I didn't have Natural Cure and it saved me the match. Anyway I already changed it.
 
This team is very well thought out, and plays nicely as an anti-platinum and anti-stall team provided its played properly.

I would definately add Earth Power over Leech Seed on Skymin. Reason is obviously Heatran. Sub + 3 attack Skymin is very annoying and difficult to handle, and really leftovers is enough to gain back health, since you're faster than most threats and can hide behind a sub to regain health anyway.

The one piece I am intrigued by is Heatran. The most common switch into Heatran is obviously Blissey, but once an opponent sees the Life Orb, it should set a trigger in their mind that it will try and Explode eventually. Although somewhat unorthodox, consider Magma Storm to trap Blissey completely and nullify it from the game with Explosion. Taunt + Fire Blast works well, but you do have the possibility of losing to Seismic Toss + Protect Blissey. This is, of course, an extreme option, and if you have been successful in taking out Blissey with simply Explosion, Taunt, and Fire Blast, nullify this advice =).

The one problem I do have with this team is the lack of recovery. A well-played stall team has the potential to wear you out with a barrage of entry hazards, and if you cannot spin them away, you will have a tough time winning. I feel that Vaporeon would be an excellent addition to this team, adding Wish support and also countering Infernape (who can get troubling since Heatran isn't Scarved). The Wish support is especially nice, letting Donphan heal up and giving Heatran more ammunition.

But seriously, I like the team a lot. Good job on that.
 
Twist of Fate said:
I would definately add Earth Power over Leech Seed on Skymin. Reason is obviously Heatran. Sub + 3 attack Skymin is very annoying and difficult to handle, and really leftovers is enough to gain back health, since you're faster than most threats and can hide behind a sub to regain health anyway.
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Hmm, ok I'll test it out. The reason I was using Leech Seed before was simply to be able to outstall some of Skymin's counters. But now that I switched out Starmie I suppose that Heatran could become problematic especially if it predicts a switch to Kingdra and Dragon Pulses or something.

Twist of Fate said:
The one piece I am intrigued by is Heatran. The most common switch into Heatran is obviously Blissey, but once an opponent sees the Life Orb, it should set a trigger in their mind that it will try and Explode eventually. Although somewhat unorthodox, consider Magma Storm to trap Blissey completely and nullify it from the game with Explosion. Taunt + Fire Blast works well, but you do have the possibility of losing to Seismic Toss + Protect Blissey. This is, of course, an extreme option, and if you have been successful in taking out Blissey with simply Explosion, Taunt, and Fire Blast, nullify this advice =).
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I've been using Taunt Heatran pre-Pt. and it has worked well then and still continues to. Taunt stops Blissey from being able to Protect so if Blissey is low on health I can simply go for Fire Blast. Or just explode in its face. I don't feel I need Magma Storm as I can sometimes even use Blissey as setup fodder for Kingdra and Magma Storm's 70 Accuracy makes me want to turn it down.

Twist of Fate said:
The one problem I do have with this team is the lack of recovery. A well-played stall team has the potential to wear you out with a barrage of entry hazards, and if you cannot spin them away, you will have a tough time winning. I feel that Vaporeon would be an excellent addition to this team, adding Wish support and also countering Infernape (who can get troubling since Heatran isn't Scarved). The Wish support is especially nice, letting Donphan heal up and giving Heatran more ammunition.

But seriously, I like the team a lot. Good job on that.
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Hmm, seems like a decent suggestion. What do you suggest that I replace for Vaporeon though? Stall Teams have been able to stall me out and Cresselia will usually outstall or CM sweep my team if I don't get Heatran out there to Taunt it.
 
Probably over Kingdra, since they have similar roles on the team, though Kingdra can sweep and Vaporeon will be purely support. The call is yours, though even on offensive teams, I always prefer to have at least a part of a defensive core I can count on in terms of weakness evaluation. I feel Kingdra is the most expendable piece of your offense. Vaporeon can hit some of Kingdra's counters hard, notably Skarmory.
 
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