Hello! I'm new to competitive pokemon, but I read the rules, built a team, and used it for a while so now i'm ready to be rated!
Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Hypnosis
- Heal Bell
Alolan Ninetales is the the thing that makes this team work. There was no room for ice coverage, so for all those quad weak to ice mons (Landorus T, Salamence, Gliscore, even Gyarados cause freeze dry) don't go completely uncovered. Maxed Speed EVs are to outspeed and hypnotize as much as possible, and HP evs to live and setup aurora veil when hypnosis misses or I don't outspeed. SpA evs for freeze-dry
Aurora Veil is pretty obvious, allowing Volcarona to set up and Tyranitar dish out 1 or 2 more stone edges.
Freeze dry. So much of OU (that I have been fighting) is quad weak to freeze dry and Ninetales outspeeds, letting me switch in ninetales with a volt switch and outspeed and obliterate the classic quad weak to ice threats.
Hypnosis, combined with Ninetales's massive speed, is very annoying. Allowing me to temporarily take the most difficult foe out of the fight, set up aurora veil, and if the foe doesn't switch out, it even lets me switch to volcarona and start setting up!
Heal Bell might seem like a weird option, but when I fought with this team I had hail in this slot and never used it. I also found that a lot of my team would end up paralyzed and toxiced. None of the other things I selected for my team could get aromatherapy or heal bell, and ninetales wasn't using hail, so this was a valuable addition.
And thats Ninetales! It's role is to get in, sleep the foe for a few guaranteed free turns, aurora veil, and get out. Alolan Ninetales is switched in (with volt switch) to use heal bell or freeze-dry as needed.
Weaknesses: Anything resembling an offensive mon with high speed, bullet punch. Both are solved by switching to Toxapex, who doesn't even need Aurora veil to not die to big hits.
Speaking of Toxapex:
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
Toxapex is an epic tank, a perfect switch in to anything not packing EQ or Psychic. And I have Tapu-Bulu for EQ, and T-Tar for psychic. HP, Def, and SpD evs for bulk bulk bulk. Toxapex is gonna survive, burn, and switch in on attacks that would kill the rest of the team. It saves T-tar from Mach Punch, Ninetales from Bullet Punch, and volcarona from anything rock type.
Scald is obvious, giving Toxapex an attacking move and letting it burn foes and then stall.
My team doesn't have a hazer without toxapex, so toxapex has it. Haze also prevents foes from setting up, then OHKOhing toxapex and mopping the floor with the rest of my team. Because toxapex is so bulky, it's able to switch in on a foe even after they have setup once (especially if it resists) and haze away all those hard earned stat boosts.
Recover to be basically unkillable.
Toxic spikes are a fantastic entry hazard and my team doesn't have any other spikes, so wynaut?
Weaknesses: Psychic, covered by t-tar. EQ and electric, covered by Tapu bulu
Speaking of Tapu Bulu:
Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Atk / 36 Def / 52 SpD / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Nature's Madness
Tapu bulu is a tank that can deal damage, and cover for my teams grass, electric, ground, and water weaknesses. The Ev's are from smogon and tapu bulu benefits from everything except SpA EVs, so I went with it. Grassy Surge provides Tapu Bulu (and most of my team) recovery, and foes cant abuse it cause those that would steal that recovery get toxic spiked.
Horn leech grants tapu bulu additional recovery, and I find it manages to OHKO alot of mons so I don't have to use wood hammer on them so I get health back instead of losing it.
Wood hammer deals epic damage. Nuff said.
Superpower counters steal types that would otherwise wreck Tapu Bulu, and I dont actually have a fairy type move on tapu bulu (if dragon rage isn't dragon type) so I can still hit dark types. Not to mention the whole massive damage thing.
Nature's madness is super useful. It doesn't care about the foes stat boosts, and doesn't care if Tapu Bulu is burned, which is nice.
Toxapex covers most of Tapu Bulu's weaknesses.
You might have noticed this is all super defensive and setupy (besides perhaps Tapu Bulu). Time to capitalize on it!
Volcarona @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
Volcarona absolutely shreds Steel, Psychic, Dark, Grass, Ice, Poison (thanks to psychic), Fighting (also thanks to psychic) and fellow Bug types. This is your typical sweeper. Volt switch gets volcarona in, aurora veil keeps volcarona alive. EVs are a sweepers evs.
Quiver dance to setup behind aurora veil and kill everything.
Fire blast for fire stab to kill everything.
Bug Buzz for bug stab to kill everything.
Psychic for coverage, Z-move to kill everything.
"But what about stealth rock? Or rock in general?" I hear you asking. Fear not!
Rotom-Wash @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
Remember I kept talking about volt switch? Here you go! Plus defog to take care of stealth rocks that destroy volcarona, and any other annoying entry hazards. Evs are to live to volt switch.
Hydro pump lets me have some water offensive. Every team needs that.
Volt switch is insanely beneficial for the rest of the team. My only other counter to flying, tyranitar, is weak to water, so a flying water would destroy my team sans volt switch.
Will-O-Wisp to provide constant damage from burns and crippling attackers, then volt switch out to some other team member depending on what my foe has out.
Defog because every team needs a defoger, and stealth rock ruins me.
Sorry that wasn't very descriptive, it basically spoke for itself.
Finally, my own stealth rocker, and my mega evolution!
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Tyranitar has the feared Rock Quake combo that hurts so much of the metagame. Basically, teamed up with volcarona they can kill anything (besides water and ground, but rotom wash handles those). Mega Tyranitars attack is through the roof, and it makes use of it. Evs are to live, and hit hard.
Stealth rock because every team needs stealth rocks, and mega tyranitar is bulky enough to set them up if mach punch doesn't show up.
Pursuit is to pursuit trap common psychic type defogers. Plus t-tar gets stab, so there you go.
Stone edge is Tyranitars basic damage dealing move. It hurts most things in the metagame for great damage.
Nothing else on my team has any ground type moves, so I opted for earthquake in the final spot. Earthquake is earthquake. No explanation is needed.
Well there you have it! Now I shall explain the title. When playing this team, every mon feels way to vital. If the foe manages to take out, say, rotom wash, suddenly its so much harder to get volcarona in (for lack of defog and volt swith). You cant get volcarona in, now steel types start to run rampant. Now you cant send out alolan ninetales. Now you cant aurora veil, so you cant really switch at all. Or say volcarona dies. Now you cant setup at all. Say toxapex dies. Kiss your tapu bulu goodbye. It goes on. Basically, this team lacks redundancy. Any ideas on how I could fix that?
Sorry I couldn't put in those nifty pics of the pokemon I would be using, or change my avatar. I can't seem to get it to work...
Anyways, if you guys have any insight on this team let me know! Thanks!
Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Hypnosis
- Heal Bell
Alolan Ninetales is the the thing that makes this team work. There was no room for ice coverage, so for all those quad weak to ice mons (Landorus T, Salamence, Gliscore, even Gyarados cause freeze dry) don't go completely uncovered. Maxed Speed EVs are to outspeed and hypnotize as much as possible, and HP evs to live and setup aurora veil when hypnosis misses or I don't outspeed. SpA evs for freeze-dry
Aurora Veil is pretty obvious, allowing Volcarona to set up and Tyranitar dish out 1 or 2 more stone edges.
Freeze dry. So much of OU (that I have been fighting) is quad weak to freeze dry and Ninetales outspeeds, letting me switch in ninetales with a volt switch and outspeed and obliterate the classic quad weak to ice threats.
Hypnosis, combined with Ninetales's massive speed, is very annoying. Allowing me to temporarily take the most difficult foe out of the fight, set up aurora veil, and if the foe doesn't switch out, it even lets me switch to volcarona and start setting up!
Heal Bell might seem like a weird option, but when I fought with this team I had hail in this slot and never used it. I also found that a lot of my team would end up paralyzed and toxiced. None of the other things I selected for my team could get aromatherapy or heal bell, and ninetales wasn't using hail, so this was a valuable addition.
And thats Ninetales! It's role is to get in, sleep the foe for a few guaranteed free turns, aurora veil, and get out. Alolan Ninetales is switched in (with volt switch) to use heal bell or freeze-dry as needed.
Weaknesses: Anything resembling an offensive mon with high speed, bullet punch. Both are solved by switching to Toxapex, who doesn't even need Aurora veil to not die to big hits.
Speaking of Toxapex:
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
Toxapex is an epic tank, a perfect switch in to anything not packing EQ or Psychic. And I have Tapu-Bulu for EQ, and T-Tar for psychic. HP, Def, and SpD evs for bulk bulk bulk. Toxapex is gonna survive, burn, and switch in on attacks that would kill the rest of the team. It saves T-tar from Mach Punch, Ninetales from Bullet Punch, and volcarona from anything rock type.
Scald is obvious, giving Toxapex an attacking move and letting it burn foes and then stall.
My team doesn't have a hazer without toxapex, so toxapex has it. Haze also prevents foes from setting up, then OHKOhing toxapex and mopping the floor with the rest of my team. Because toxapex is so bulky, it's able to switch in on a foe even after they have setup once (especially if it resists) and haze away all those hard earned stat boosts.
Recover to be basically unkillable.
Toxic spikes are a fantastic entry hazard and my team doesn't have any other spikes, so wynaut?
Weaknesses: Psychic, covered by t-tar. EQ and electric, covered by Tapu bulu
Speaking of Tapu Bulu:
Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Atk / 36 Def / 52 SpD / 144 Spe
Impish Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Nature's Madness
Tapu bulu is a tank that can deal damage, and cover for my teams grass, electric, ground, and water weaknesses. The Ev's are from smogon and tapu bulu benefits from everything except SpA EVs, so I went with it. Grassy Surge provides Tapu Bulu (and most of my team) recovery, and foes cant abuse it cause those that would steal that recovery get toxic spiked.
Horn leech grants tapu bulu additional recovery, and I find it manages to OHKO alot of mons so I don't have to use wood hammer on them so I get health back instead of losing it.
Wood hammer deals epic damage. Nuff said.
Superpower counters steal types that would otherwise wreck Tapu Bulu, and I dont actually have a fairy type move on tapu bulu (if dragon rage isn't dragon type) so I can still hit dark types. Not to mention the whole massive damage thing.
Nature's madness is super useful. It doesn't care about the foes stat boosts, and doesn't care if Tapu Bulu is burned, which is nice.
Toxapex covers most of Tapu Bulu's weaknesses.
You might have noticed this is all super defensive and setupy (besides perhaps Tapu Bulu). Time to capitalize on it!
Volcarona @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
Volcarona absolutely shreds Steel, Psychic, Dark, Grass, Ice, Poison (thanks to psychic), Fighting (also thanks to psychic) and fellow Bug types. This is your typical sweeper. Volt switch gets volcarona in, aurora veil keeps volcarona alive. EVs are a sweepers evs.
Quiver dance to setup behind aurora veil and kill everything.
Fire blast for fire stab to kill everything.
Bug Buzz for bug stab to kill everything.
Psychic for coverage, Z-move to kill everything.
"But what about stealth rock? Or rock in general?" I hear you asking. Fear not!
Rotom-Wash @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
Remember I kept talking about volt switch? Here you go! Plus defog to take care of stealth rocks that destroy volcarona, and any other annoying entry hazards. Evs are to live to volt switch.
Hydro pump lets me have some water offensive. Every team needs that.
Volt switch is insanely beneficial for the rest of the team. My only other counter to flying, tyranitar, is weak to water, so a flying water would destroy my team sans volt switch.
Will-O-Wisp to provide constant damage from burns and crippling attackers, then volt switch out to some other team member depending on what my foe has out.
Defog because every team needs a defoger, and stealth rock ruins me.
Sorry that wasn't very descriptive, it basically spoke for itself.
Finally, my own stealth rocker, and my mega evolution!
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Tyranitar has the feared Rock Quake combo that hurts so much of the metagame. Basically, teamed up with volcarona they can kill anything (besides water and ground, but rotom wash handles those). Mega Tyranitars attack is through the roof, and it makes use of it. Evs are to live, and hit hard.
Stealth rock because every team needs stealth rocks, and mega tyranitar is bulky enough to set them up if mach punch doesn't show up.
Pursuit is to pursuit trap common psychic type defogers. Plus t-tar gets stab, so there you go.
Stone edge is Tyranitars basic damage dealing move. It hurts most things in the metagame for great damage.
Nothing else on my team has any ground type moves, so I opted for earthquake in the final spot. Earthquake is earthquake. No explanation is needed.
Well there you have it! Now I shall explain the title. When playing this team, every mon feels way to vital. If the foe manages to take out, say, rotom wash, suddenly its so much harder to get volcarona in (for lack of defog and volt swith). You cant get volcarona in, now steel types start to run rampant. Now you cant send out alolan ninetales. Now you cant aurora veil, so you cant really switch at all. Or say volcarona dies. Now you cant setup at all. Say toxapex dies. Kiss your tapu bulu goodbye. It goes on. Basically, this team lacks redundancy. Any ideas on how I could fix that?
Sorry I couldn't put in those nifty pics of the pokemon I would be using, or change my avatar. I can't seem to get it to work...
Anyways, if you guys have any insight on this team let me know! Thanks!
