All hail Brittania!

Chevalier

INTRODUCTION​

Hello, I have just returned from a 6 year retirement from playing Pokemon competitively. Needless to say, a lot has changed. I consider myself a "n00b" again, even after all that reading. Thus I'm hoping this new generation of fantastic battlers may help me get my skills back up to par.

TEAM BUILDING​


Lead

The Empress

410.png


Rosserade @ Focus Sash /Timid
EV's : 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Natural Cure
Moveset
~ Toxic Spikes
~ Sleep Powder
~ Leaf Storm
~ Hidden Power Fire

A somewhat standard set. However in my eyes useful nonetheless. She was chosen due to my encountering several Hippowdon(I had no clue WTH these new pokemon were.), Jirachi and Bronzong leads while I did my initial scouting of the current meta.

Thus, Rosserade was chosen. Those leads tend to be a little slow. Also, in the case of Jirachi it is usually starting a rain dance, which I don't want to happen. Bronzong also with his stealth rock. So I need to stop it. How? Sleep Powder.

Hidden Power Fire also allows me to proceed to attack the Sleeping Pokemon, being super effective to Bronzong and Jirachi. Leaf Storm was chosen over Grass Knot for the enhanced power and effectiveness against Hippowdon.
The loss of power is of no true consequence as I most often see myself switching out with The Empress after putting something to sleep and spiking on the switch.

The Emperor

248.png


Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf / Jolly
EV's:4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Ability: Sand Stream
Moveset
~ Stone Edge
~ Crunch
~ Pursuit
~ Superpower

Hit em hard and hit em fast. Jolly nature with max Spd EV to outspeed alot of the competition. Tyranitar mainly comes out when I predict an Infernape switch, alot of the time to my Rosserade. Tyranitar is also used as a form of anti-wall, it's superpower hitting common walls hard. When I see Gengar I switch this in. Usually, fearing Crunch they switch out, only to be hit by pursuit. I also use Tyranitar as a sort of Earthquake bait to switch in my Rotom-C.


Knight Of Zero
Knight Of Seven

453.png


Lucario @ Life Orb / Jolly
EV's:252 Atk / 4 Def / 216 Spe
Ability: Inner Focus
Moveset
~ Swords Dance
~ Close Combat
~ ExtremeSpeed
~ Ice Punch


A semi-wall killer. It's Close Combat nailing many a Blissey/Snorlax in the past 3 days. Th ExtremeSpeed is for revenge kills. Lucario serving as the one I send in when a Pokemon has low percentage health. Swords Dance is used when I predict a switch, which allows for possible sweeping. Lastly the ice punch is to deal with Salamence and other dragons. Lucario is definately a useful member of this team. Defeating common walls, revenge killing with ease and nailing those nasty dragons.


Knight Of One

373.png


Salamence @ Life Orb / Naive
EV's:150 Atk / SpA Def / 108 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Moveset
~ Draco Meteor
~ Fire Blast
~ Brick Break
~ Crunch

The EV spread may seem a little wierd. However decreasing the speed allows me a slight shot at disrupting a Trick Room team. Somewhat weak I know. Salamence often switches in when I predict Earthquake on The Emperor(Tyranitar) protecting him.(That's his job right?) It's Powerful shots OHKO quite a few pokemon, if not Lucario comes to them.(Reaper/Revenge.)
Crunch is to widen coverage. Fire Blast is mainly for Metagross, burning it to hell. Draco Meteor is used often most on a switch into a switch, either killing or switching into Lucario for an Extreme Speed finish to not fight with the stat loss.

Knight Of Three

121.png


Starmie @ Choice Specs / Timid
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Ability: Natural Cure
Moveset
~ Surf
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
~ Psychic

Due to it's ability, sometimes used to absorb a status effect, attack, then switch out to allow for Choice Specs reset. Overall, this counters Tyranitar and Infernape , with the STAB Choice Specs Surf+Phychich. The Thunderbolt takes out some weaker water types/flying.The Special Def EV choice is mainly to assist survivng the hit should it come in on a status, be outsped and counter and switch out.


Knight Of Four

500.png


Rotom-C @ Leftovers / Bold
EV's:252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Moveset
~ Discharge
~ Toxic
~ Hidden Power Ice
~ Shadow Ball

My Earthquake counter for all that would not be favorable to Salamence. Shawdow Ball incase I really need to kill a Gengar with STAB.(Can you tell I hate Gengar?) Discharge= Paralysis. Toxic= Poison. Hidden Power Ice just provides a move that is generally generic damage and also tends to do okay against those that discharge does not. Selected last, but he's come to grow on me, helping me out of tight spots several times.


TEAM RECORD

Pre-Lucario(Formerly Infernape)

7 Win 2 Loss

Post Lucario

16 Win 5 Loss

These scores are okay, but nothing to " : D" about.


All help is appreciated. Any replies at all.

TYVM
 
Hello

I suggest Hidden Power (ice) on your Roserade lead. Anti-lead Dragonites have become more common lately and the extra Spe IV lets you outspeed opposing Roserade leads.

On Lucario I suggest Stone Edge over Ice Punch. Stone Edge also allows you to hit Gyarados hard, while you don't loose your coverage against Salamence (a +1 Stone Edge still KO's Salamence).

Why don't you try Trick on Starmie (over Psychic). This can really screw over special defensive walls like Blissey. And if you want more power, then maybe Hydro Pump can be used over Surf.

On Rotom-c I suggest Will-o-wisp over Toxic. Wow is generally more usefull against Rotom's most common switch-ins (Tyranitar, Scizor).

Hope this helped!
 
Your rationale for your mence's ev spread is absolutely terrible. Not only are TR teams very rare, but everything on a trick room team is going to be slower than your mence even if you don't give it any speed evs. Just change the evs to the standard mixmence ev spreads found in the analysis or to 252 Spd, 232 SpA, 16 Atk
 
I agree with the above poster. Salamence's EV's are very skewed. It doesn't matter how I add them up, they will never total 508 or 510. Either its 608 or its 408. Also, how does Salamence work under Trick Room? You're using a Naive nature for that? Wow. That really seems contradictory. Definately use the standard New Mixmence EV's though. Also, why Crunch on Salamence? Outrage definately over Crunch and possibly Earthquake over Brick Break, however, this move is optional and it depends on how much you want to break stall. If not that much, Earthquake. Otherwise, stick with Brick Break.

I reckon Choice Scarf is kind of wasted on Tyranitar though. That kind of set should be given a Choice Band. However, Choice Scarf is a great option for Rotom. However, you would need a different Rotom forme if you were to use it.
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Timid Nature
252 SPE, 252 SPA, 6 HP
-Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball
-Overheat
-Trick

Superpower isn't a good option on Tyranitar IMO. I believe that Earthquake should be the move over Superpower.

Delko pretty much covered everything else I had to say.
 
Hi, and welcome to Smogon! :]

This is a good team considering you only recently got back into competitive Pokemon, but there are a few ways I feel I could help. First off, I'm not really seeing the need for having Tyranitar hold a Choice Scarf on this team, as it doesn't cover any threats that your team otherwise doesn't. Tyranitar mostly covers Swords Dance Lucario, Gengar, and Infernape. Your team can check these Pokemon just fine without Tyranitar having to as well, and as such I think that you should consider using a Choice Band Tyranitar as Sheshi suggested to you. Try out this set:

Tyranitar @ Choice Band | Sand Stream
Adamant | 160 HP | 252 Attack | 96 Speed
Stone Edge | Crunch | Pursuit | Earthquake

Stone Edge is by far Tyranitar's most powerful form of STAB, boasting great type coverage and 100 base power (though the 80% accuracy is somewhat of a let-down). Crunch is another nice form of STAB, and can clear out a team quite handily that lacks a good Dark-type resistance. Pursuit is a nice move for trapping pesky Rotom-A's and Gengars, and really helps your Lucario sweep; Lucario has immense difficulty breaking past these two Pokemon with its moves (as they can outspeed), so being paired up with a powerful Pursuit user is a blessing. Earthquake is used in the last slot because it gives Tyranitar a nice way to hit the common Steel-type Pokemon in the OU tier. Beware, however, of using Earthquake too early in the match, as your opponent can just switch in a Pokemon like Gyarados to make Tyranitar set up fodder. The EVs allow Tyranitar to outrun standard Skarmory and 2HKO with Stone Edge before the metal bird gets a chance to Roost off any damage that it had taken. Tyranitar is an extremely bulky Pokemon (and even more so with some HP EVs), so do not be afraid to switch it into unboosted neutral hits.

As it stands, this team has rather large problems with Dragon Dance Salamence. It only carries one Dragon-type resist, and due to the large amount of Choice users on your team, it can easily set up a Dragon Dance against a resisted attack. I think that in order to fix this weakness, you may want to consider switching Starmie to a Choice Band Scizor. With Scizor in place of Starmie on your team, your team now has TWO RESISTANCES TO EVERY ATTACKING TYPE IN THE GAME. This is pretty important, as it will make switching into attacks much easier. Scizor also fixes your Dragon Dance Salamence weakness very well, as it can easily come in and use Bullet Punch to significantly weaken Salamence. When Salamence gets to be low on health, Scizor simply has to come in after one of your Pokemon faint, use Bullet Punch to KO Salamence, and then switch back out again. Use a set like this:

Scizor @ Choice Band | Technician
Adamant | 248 HP | 252 Attack | 8 Speed
Bullet Punch | U-turn | Pursuit | Superpower

Bullet Punch is Scizor's best priority attack (and really the best priority attack in the game), as its 40 base power drastically increases to 90 base power thanks to an STAB boost and Technician. Bullet Punch is great, but be wary about throwing it around too much, as it makes Scizor easy prey for Magnezone to come and trap it, or setup fodder for Dragon Dance Kingdra and Agility Empoleon. U-turn is another important move that is great for scouting the opponents team. U-turn allows Scizor to never be trapped by Magnezone, and thanks to Scizor's uncanny ability to cause switches, U-turn is great for creating favorable matchups for you. Pursuit is nice for the reasons mentioned on Tyranitar, and it can never hurt to have two Pursuit users on your team if you are aiming for a Lucario sweep. Superpower is great for hitting predicted Magnezone and Heatran switchins (these Pokemon will commonly switch into Scizor) very hard, OHKOing both of them. 248 HP EVs give Scizor some bulk to work with, while 252 Atk and and Adamant nature are pretty much an absolute must: Scizor wants all the power that it can get its hands (pincers?) on.

On Salamence, use Earthquake in place of Crunch. Crunch really has no place on Salamence, as firstly Salamence really is not a very good user of it. But with Tyranitar on your team and its powerful STAB Crunch, having Crunch or your Salamence just becomes totally redundant. Earthquake, on the other hand, can help Salamence a lot in checking Lucario, Magnezone, Heatran, and others. While this is similar to Brick Break, it is much more powerful than Brick Break. Speaking of Brick Break, switch it for Outrage. It probably seems stupid to you to use Draco Meteor and Outrage on the same set, but it really is a great thing; it allows Salamence to hit its opponents extremely hard from both sides of the spectrum, meaning that physical walls like Gliscor and special walls like Cresselia now both have to switch out on Salamence for fear of getting hit by a powerful attack. Finally, use an EV spread of 84 Atk | 216 SpA | 208 Spe. The attack EVs are just enough so that Salamence can 2HKO even the most physically defensive of Blissey after Stealth Rock damage, while the Speed EVs + a Naive nature allow Salamence to outspeed positive natured base 90s, such as Jolly Lucario.

On Lucario, use an Adamant nature over the current Jolly nature. Adamant Lucario is a better fit on this team, as thanks to Tyranitar and its Pursuit, there is really no need for running a Jolly nature (which is primarily used to outspeed maximum speed Rotom-A). Adamant provides Lucario with a significantly greater amount of power to work with, and after a Swords Dance, its Extremespeed can quite easily clear out weakened teams. Also, I agree with Delko on that you should use Stone Edge over Ice Punch on Lucario, as Stone Edge gives Lucario a nice means of hitting Gyarados, Salamence, and Zapdos (a well known "check" to Lucario). Ice Punch is in general only useful for hitting Gliscor, but nowadays pretty much all Gliscor run enough speed to outpace and OHKO even Jolly Lucario with Earthquake; thus, the need for Ice Punch is reduced. Ice Punch also is not necessary for hitting Salamence, as Lucario's +2 Stone Edge (+1 after Salamence's Intimidate) will still OHKO the fierce blue Dragon after it takes residual damage from Stealth Rock.

I agree with Delko also that you should use Will-O-Wisp over Toxic on your Rotom, as like he said most of Rotom's switchins are going to be physically-based Pokemon (as well as the metagame just being more focused towards physical attacks at the moment). I do not agree with Sheshi, however, when he told you to put a Choice Scarf on your Rotom-C. There is absolutely no need for Rotom-C to hold a Choice Scarf on this team, as it would not help him counter any threat that his team otherwise would struggle with. I guess you could say Dragon Dance Gyarados, but thanks to Rotom-C's bulky physical defensive EV spread, it can still survive a Dragon Dance boosted Waterfall from Life Orb Gyarados, and then proceed to OHKO back with an STAB Discharge.

Anyway, I hope I helped, and good luck! ;)
 
Edits after testing are in italics.

Simply Amazing! Thank you to all! Particularly Snorlaxe for being so detailed

I had made the Tyranitar changes before seeing this, however I now adjusted the EV's.

I decided to go back to the choice scarf, especially with the decrease in speed of this new EV configuration, works alot better.

Without Choice Scarf Tyranitar made 6 KO's in 10 matches.
With Choice Scarf Tyranitar made 9 KO's in 7 matches.

It just seems to fit overall more.


Lucario's change to Adamant I surely agree with.

No issues here at all with teh changes.

However the idea that made me " : D" was the CB Scizor. Particularly because Starmie hasn't been performing. Although since I changed Phychic to Trick it has been better.

This has been a problem...perhaps I'm not utilizing Scizor right?

In 15 matches it has KOed 3 times. And died every single match?

TYVM to all.



Also, I'm looking for a way to work Stealth Rock into the set? I miss it. ALOT.
I'm trying Empoleon but the results aren't too good.
 
Sorry for bumping?

Starmie's best working replacement is...SWAMPERT.

Swampert @ Leftovers /Relaxed
EV's : 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 HP
Ability: Torrent
Moveset
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Beam
~ Roar

This set has worked very well for me, the addition of Stealth rock+Ice Beam coverage has aided me in KOing opponents I had trouble with. Swampert also psuedo-hazes many opponents with roar. Overall this moveset is pleasing.


Any more advice? After all this testing I'm open to switching pokemon out.
 
Starmie is also nice with a scarf instead and a modest nature being an ultimate revenge killer with no resistance with its moves. Your Salamence's EVs are mis-typed. Leaf Storm can be used over Hidden Power Ice to make it OHKO Swampert and do high damage against Tyranitar who would usually switch into Rotom. Will-o-Wisp can also be used over Toxic as there is Toxic Spikes, and it can cripple Physical pokemon who set up. I was going to say give Lucario an Adamant nature but there is not Stealth Rocks so leave it. Crunch on a Salamence is not all so great, Earthquake is a better option or maybe Zen headbutt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top