Back in Black

[Cobbon]

Maybe not so much back in black as back in XY. So I'm trying out competitive battling again. I dabbled a little bit in gen 4 but haven't really played since gen 3. A friend turned me on to pokemon showdown so I've been testing this team on there the past few days. Having missed two gens, it seems I have a lot to catch up on. On to the team.

I began with:

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch

I started out wanting to build a team around Charizard and these new mega evolutions. Originally I went with Charizard-X but my friend suggested I try out Charizard-Y instead and after a few battles switching between the two, decided Y was a better fit. While a strong physical attacker, I seemed to get locked into outrage to my disadvantage. I switched Outrage to dragon claw and it worked a little better.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

Another strong physical sweeper. The most consistently effective pokemon throughout the construction of this team. Scizor performed so well that it caused me to consider switching Charizard X out for a different poke.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin

I added Starmie because of how well he complemented Charizard, and for the removal of entry hazards with rapid spin. Wasn't sure whether to use Psychic or not but after some research it seemed Psyshock was the better option. Eventually I wound up replacing Starmie with Excadrill as Starmie was getting wiped out too quickly.

So then the team became:

Charizard (M) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Roost
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Solar Beam

For use as a special attacker and to better match Scizor's effectiveness. The Stab Fire Blast on this thing is amazing. An absolute monster. Although I really wanted to like Charizard X, this guy has just been awesome. I can usually take out one or two pokemon with Charizard Y alone. Notably, Trevenant has been giving me some trouble even with Fire Blast, but that may just be my inexperience. Solar beam has been very useful against switch ins. Roost helps me heal if I absolutely need to switch in should stealth rock be set up and my Excadrill is down. Focus blast seems to miss every time I need it, so I've been trying to think of a good replacement. I've been considering dragon pulse or airslash.

Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower

Scizor serves as a revenge killer and physical attacker. I've been considering switching out Choice Band for Life Orb, since I dislike being locked into one move. Bullet punch and superpower are excellent moves. So far this set has been working quite well.

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

Excadrill switches in on stealth rocks with a resistance to them, and works better than Starmie for clearing hazards. I decided to use him to set up my own stealth rocks, prior to that I used shadow claw. Also useful as a bulky sweeper, and compliments Charizard Y. He's taken out quite a few Gengars and Rotom-w.

Kyurem-Black @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 HP / 216 SAtk / 236 Spd
Mild Nature
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt

I added Kyurem-Black as a mixed sweeper and to help get rid of Azurills. Also a great counter against Rotom-W. I also considered Zapdos for this spot, but so far so good.

Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Volt Switch

After I learned about Galvantula and sticky web, it sounded like the perfect addition to my team. Charizard could use all the speed it could get. So I started using this set as a lead.

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

Finally the spot on the team that is giving me the most trouble. I felt I needed a wall, so at first I used Blissey with some success. I've been trying out Goodra but without a recovery option it feels a little weak. While it has a great movepool, and is a nice bulky special attacker, it doesnt seem to fit any better than Blissey. I started using Sap sipper to counter Breloom, Mega Venasaur, and Trevenant. Seeing others players success with Trevenant I'm tempted to switch Goodra out.

 

[The Abyss]

hi, i have been using megazard y to great effect as a special sweeper for a while now and wanted to make two recomendations to you.

1)you should take the 4 ev's off of hp and put them in something else as you want an odd hp number so you can switch into sr three times instead of two.
2)you said you were looking for a focus blast replacement, i would recomend earthquake so heatran doesnt wall you (i believe it is a 2hko), personally i have found this more effective than dragon pulse and airslash.


unfortunately i haven't used any of your other mon's to the point i would be able to suggest effective changes, or comment on their overall effectiveness in a team, but i hope the suggestions on zard y help!

 

[solosisfan]

You need at least 4 lines of discription per Pokemon. Do that now or this thread is gonna get locked.

 

[Cobbon]

Thanks The Abyss, those tips have been helpful. Earthquake help me beat a few heatrans the other night.

solosisfan the rules say three lines per pokemon.

 

[Rebound]

Love the team poor kyurem b. People using him as a special attacker xD makes me cry. Anyway wanted to say I've tested you team out a few times. And I tried out the earthquake idea. I changed charizards nature to naive and so far he's right eq has been much more effective an option than focus miss. So keep that in mine. And if you do change scizore don't use life orb. Run the steel plate set with swords dance. Bullet punch. Bug Bite. And pursuit. I forgot the best spread but I know that's it really is an effective set I remember using it fith Gen. And most people assume scizore (Non-Mega) is banded so imagine there shock when they bring in a set up mon like mega garchomp (curse you chainchomp!!) Then they see you sd and now you have so many options most won't know what item you are witch can be beneficial. So that's always and idea. Sorry for bad grammar its hard to do this on a phone. Hope I helped man cya.