Hi, everyone!
I don't even know where to start... I usually suck at teambuilding, but this time I feel that I really have outdone myself. So far I dwelled in the ranks of the low 1200s, but this time I peaked sky high (not very demanding, huh?)
Anyway, the idea was to create a team with perfect defensive synergy, covering each other's weaknesses and being able to deal with the incoming threat immediately at the same time, based on my offensive core, which is Assault Vest Bisharp along with a classic Gengar and Mixed Thundurus-I. This team is great at what it is supposed to do, but what it lacks is that final "oomph" and the ability to deal with certain threats that I will cover later. But first, let's have a look at my awesomeness squad, shall we?
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 136 SDef / 124 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Protect
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
Good ol' Standard Special Defensive Heatran... this is usually my lead pokemon! Heatran is a vital member to this team, as it is my Stealth Rock setter, Talonflame counter (Toxic+Protect+Brave Bird recoil), semi-reliable Fairy check and special tank in general. As I said, Protect + Toxic is evil, Lava Plume punishes incoming Rotom-Ws and Azumarills trying to shoo it away. Speed EVs are strange at first glance, but hitting 220 Speed is great for Toxicing Rotom-W, stomaching a Hydro Pump, and stalling it to death with Protect.
Venusaur (F) @ Venusaurite
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
The next brick in my defensive wall: Mega-Venusaur, your allround-defensive pokemon of choice! I went for the physically defensive build with 16 Speed EVs, outspeeding slower Rotom-W variants. Although being physcally defensive, it is still very able to take Hydro Pumps, Thunderbolts, Volt Switches and the likes pretty good. The moveset is pretty standard, except for Sleep Powder. Most people go for Leech Seed, but it's so awesome to put that incoming Talonflame asleep. Giga Drain kills Quagsire and random Water tanks and is reliable recovery, together with Synthesis. Sludge Bomb beats Fairies, Celebi, Mega-Sceptile and friends.
Sylveon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Hyper Voice
- Heal Bell
Rounding off my defenses, Sylveon provides my offensive pokemon with crucial Wish support, and removes those Will-O-Wisp or Scald burns from Mega-Venusaur (as well as any status ailment) with Heal Bell. Furthermore, Protect + Wish is semi-reliable recovery, while Pixilated Hyper Voice doesn't turn Sylveon into Taunt bait and smacks random Fighting types, Dragons and frail offensive pokemon for heavy damage.
Bisharp (M) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 192 HP / 220 Atk / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
Bisharp is the bridge between defense and offense in my team. I opted for the standard Assault Vest Pursuit trapper set. First target is of course Lati@s, as well as any other Psychic type trying to escape. Iron Head adds a little coverage against Tyranitar and Fairies, while Sucker Punch is important for faster foes like Gengar, Starmie, Alakazam, non-Sub Mega-Sceptile and weakened random Speed boosted pokemon.
Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
A very traditional approach of a Gengar set, while abusing the great typing for defensive synergy. Gengar switches into Mach Punches, Earthquakes and Bodyslams and is able to defeat most of their respective users, or punish the switch-in with Life Orb boosted attacks. Taunt blocks stuff like Substitute from Kyurem-B, Stealth Rock from Heatran and Ferrothorn and random statuses while the rest of the moveset is self-explanatory. Sludge Wave and Shadow Ball for Fairies and Psychics, respectively, as well as STAB. Focus Blast, while the accuracy is shaky, gives much needed coverage against Heatran, Tyranitar and Bisharp.
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SAtk / 252 Spd
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Finally, the original star of the team. I wanted this to be my win condition, but instead Thundy is more like a glue, adding versatility to my team, catching Thunder Waves like a champ. Mixed Thundurus became a rare sight these days, and I don't know why: while you fake a special set by spamming Thunderbolt, you can nail incoming Heatrans and Tyranitars with Superpower, or OHKO (!) Lati@s after Stealth Rock damage with the given attacking EVs with Knock Off. Hidden Power Ice adds coverage for Gliscor, Hippowdon and Dragons.
Now, the problem with the team is, it got destroyed regulary by some very specific threats (which we will see in a second). The other problem is, this team lacks big offensive power. While it has an offensive approach, I am not able to put too much pressure on my opponent most of the time and I have to play very careful [don't get me wrong - playing careful and patiently are key elements of this team, slowly waiting for an opportunity to attack, while whittling down your opponent], and since every member of the team has a vital role, I can not afford losing one of them early-game.
Threat list:
Furthermore, I am not a native English speaker, so if you have any advice on style, grammar etc. let me know (since I study Anglistics, I have to practice whenever I can...)
Peace! :D
I don't even know where to start... I usually suck at teambuilding, but this time I feel that I really have outdone myself. So far I dwelled in the ranks of the low 1200s, but this time I peaked sky high (not very demanding, huh?)
Anyway, the idea was to create a team with perfect defensive synergy, covering each other's weaknesses and being able to deal with the incoming threat immediately at the same time, based on my offensive core, which is Assault Vest Bisharp along with a classic Gengar and Mixed Thundurus-I. This team is great at what it is supposed to do, but what it lacks is that final "oomph" and the ability to deal with certain threats that I will cover later. But first, let's have a look at my awesomeness squad, shall we?
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 136 SDef / 124 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Protect
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
Good ol' Standard Special Defensive Heatran... this is usually my lead pokemon! Heatran is a vital member to this team, as it is my Stealth Rock setter, Talonflame counter (Toxic+Protect+Brave Bird recoil), semi-reliable Fairy check and special tank in general. As I said, Protect + Toxic is evil, Lava Plume punishes incoming Rotom-Ws and Azumarills trying to shoo it away. Speed EVs are strange at first glance, but hitting 220 Speed is great for Toxicing Rotom-W, stomaching a Hydro Pump, and stalling it to death with Protect.
Venusaur (F) @ Venusaurite
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
The next brick in my defensive wall: Mega-Venusaur, your allround-defensive pokemon of choice! I went for the physically defensive build with 16 Speed EVs, outspeeding slower Rotom-W variants. Although being physcally defensive, it is still very able to take Hydro Pumps, Thunderbolts, Volt Switches and the likes pretty good. The moveset is pretty standard, except for Sleep Powder. Most people go for Leech Seed, but it's so awesome to put that incoming Talonflame asleep. Giga Drain kills Quagsire and random Water tanks and is reliable recovery, together with Synthesis. Sludge Bomb beats Fairies, Celebi, Mega-Sceptile and friends.
Sylveon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Hyper Voice
- Heal Bell
Rounding off my defenses, Sylveon provides my offensive pokemon with crucial Wish support, and removes those Will-O-Wisp or Scald burns from Mega-Venusaur (as well as any status ailment) with Heal Bell. Furthermore, Protect + Wish is semi-reliable recovery, while Pixilated Hyper Voice doesn't turn Sylveon into Taunt bait and smacks random Fighting types, Dragons and frail offensive pokemon for heavy damage.
Bisharp (M) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 192 HP / 220 Atk / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
Bisharp is the bridge between defense and offense in my team. I opted for the standard Assault Vest Pursuit trapper set. First target is of course Lati@s, as well as any other Psychic type trying to escape. Iron Head adds a little coverage against Tyranitar and Fairies, while Sucker Punch is important for faster foes like Gengar, Starmie, Alakazam, non-Sub Mega-Sceptile and weakened random Speed boosted pokemon.
Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
A very traditional approach of a Gengar set, while abusing the great typing for defensive synergy. Gengar switches into Mach Punches, Earthquakes and Bodyslams and is able to defeat most of their respective users, or punish the switch-in with Life Orb boosted attacks. Taunt blocks stuff like Substitute from Kyurem-B, Stealth Rock from Heatran and Ferrothorn and random statuses while the rest of the moveset is self-explanatory. Sludge Wave and Shadow Ball for Fairies and Psychics, respectively, as well as STAB. Focus Blast, while the accuracy is shaky, gives much needed coverage against Heatran, Tyranitar and Bisharp.
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SAtk / 252 Spd
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Finally, the original star of the team. I wanted this to be my win condition, but instead Thundy is more like a glue, adding versatility to my team, catching Thunder Waves like a champ. Mixed Thundurus became a rare sight these days, and I don't know why: while you fake a special set by spamming Thunderbolt, you can nail incoming Heatrans and Tyranitars with Superpower, or OHKO (!) Lati@s after Stealth Rock damage with the given attacking EVs with Knock Off. Hidden Power Ice adds coverage for Gliscor, Hippowdon and Dragons.
Now, the problem with the team is, it got destroyed regulary by some very specific threats (which we will see in a second). The other problem is, this team lacks big offensive power. While it has an offensive approach, I am not able to put too much pressure on my opponent most of the time and I have to play very careful [don't get me wrong - playing careful and patiently are key elements of this team, slowly waiting for an opportunity to attack, while whittling down your opponent], and since every member of the team has a vital role, I can not afford losing one of them early-game.
Threat list:
- Rain Teams - Rain teams are a big nuisance, since I have no tools of dealing with the likes of Mega-Swampert and Kingdra when Mega-Vensaur and/or Sylveon are weakened or even defeated.
- Tornadus T - Especially Superpower variants keep pissing my off every day. And since most of them are present on rain teams... you get the deal...
- Scarfed attackers - Most hard hitting, scarfed pokemon are simply hard to switch into, due to my team not being reliant on prediction. Especially scarfed Excadrill makes my head ache...
- Boosters - ...like Mega-Charizard X, Mega-Pinsir, Dragonite (Dragon Dancers in general...) they get one boost = gg most of the time
- CroCune and Mega-CroBro - Calm Mind Suicune and Mega-Slowbro are the greates b**ches on the planet. Period.
- EDIT: Priority users - sometimes priority users like CB-Scizor, Azumarill and Crawdaunt make trouble, but not a major problem
- EDIT: Hazard control - my team has no space for Defoggers and Spinners, and I even got overwhelmed sometimes by hazard stacking teams
Furthermore, I am not a native English speaker, so if you have any advice on style, grammar etc. let me know (since I study Anglistics, I have to practice whenever I can...)
Peace! :D
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