Hi everyone! Last time I posted here, I had a lot of very useful advice to improve my team, enabling me to reach new peaks on the ladder (ok, not very high, but somehow higher than the previous ones!). Although I feel ashamed for not helping other people build their team (as I am not confident enough with my own wits to risk leading others into making mistakes), I'm gonna give it another go.
I was pretty much amazed about Mega-Banette. It has one of the best Attack stats in the format, a reasonable defensive typing, and a very powerful ability. Now that ability doesn't combine very well with the Attack stat, and neither does its mediocre speed, but I felt like I wanted to give it a go.
Banette @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Phantom Force
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- Taunt
So the main idea here is to have a nice support with offensive bonus. Will-o-wisp and special bulk EVs make it quite resistant, Taunt disables TR and disrupts other supports such as Togekiss, Klefki and Ferrothorn. Protect is one of the best moves in the format (I've learned my lesson!), and allows to pass the mega-ing first turn unharmed. Phantom Force is the most powerful move Banette has at it's disposal, and it tears apart all sorts of stuff such as Mega-Gardevoir, Gengar and Aegislash. Problem is it's mediocre speed, which is why I had it set up with bulky EVs and Will-o-wisp. One can also notice that Baette is relatively unaffected by TR, should it come to resolve.
Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 60 Def / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Quick Guard
- Feint
Along with Banette comes a natural weakness to Dark typing such as Bisharp and Sucker Punch. The best answer I could come up with was Hitmontop, as it as a decent Close Combat STAB move, can Fake Out to disrupt strategies, and does provide a Quick Guard cover. I've decided to use feint as the fourth move, which isn't a great idea given that Banette doesn't care all that much about Protect.moves, but I thought it would be useful in other ways. I had to chose between Hitmontop and Terrakion, but the Intimidate pressure got the better of Terrakion.
Aegislash @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
Aegislash is one awesome pokemon. I like this set because it can take any Sucker Punch at full health and then strike back and 2HKO pretty much anything (and OHKO Bisharp, for the record). It both serves as a physical bulk and a special sweeper with a great coverage. I've played it before, and I tend to prefer this set to the more classical Leftovers+Wide guard, although Earthquake and Heat Waves are both a pain in the ass...
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
As the team is for now a little vulnerable to Fire and Ground, I thought of Talonflame to both cover these weaknesses and still have a powerful physical force. I have yet chosen the bulky TF, I found it better than to play fully offensive and lose a lot of HP on your own. I played Bulk Up instead of Will-o-wisp for a while and I must say I liked it, but Will-o-wisp seems, by outward appearances, a little better.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
- Surf
- Energy Ball
TF didn't really solve the Ground/Fire problem, so I'e decided to use Latios to do that. Latios has a great coverage: Draco Meteor is a very powerful STAB move, Energy Ball takes care of Rotom-W TF will inevitably draw out, and Surf can wash out any obstinate Fire/Ground typed pokemon. I had to choose between Protect and Psyshoc, in the end the latter was left behind because of Latios weaknesses to Ice- and Dark- type moves, that he tends to encouter.
Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Foul Play
The sixth wheel of the team. Nothing really amazing around here, but I can't really think of any pokemon that would truely improve the team without bringing out undesirable weaknesses. Amongus? Landorius-T? Rotom-W? I really don't know guys, although right now, Klefki has shown some pretty interesting stuff, as it offers a very interesting support to TF and Latios...
So that's the team. Sorry for not placing any pictures, I seem to recall it's legal (if not I'll change that). I hope you like the team, it's pretty straight forward. I know playing Banette doesn't seem great, but I like it. Of course, I'll change it if someone proposes an interesting alternative ;-)
Thanks for reading guys, and maybe for your answers!
I was pretty much amazed about Mega-Banette. It has one of the best Attack stats in the format, a reasonable defensive typing, and a very powerful ability. Now that ability doesn't combine very well with the Attack stat, and neither does its mediocre speed, but I felt like I wanted to give it a go.
Banette @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Phantom Force
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- Taunt
So the main idea here is to have a nice support with offensive bonus. Will-o-wisp and special bulk EVs make it quite resistant, Taunt disables TR and disrupts other supports such as Togekiss, Klefki and Ferrothorn. Protect is one of the best moves in the format (I've learned my lesson!), and allows to pass the mega-ing first turn unharmed. Phantom Force is the most powerful move Banette has at it's disposal, and it tears apart all sorts of stuff such as Mega-Gardevoir, Gengar and Aegislash. Problem is it's mediocre speed, which is why I had it set up with bulky EVs and Will-o-wisp. One can also notice that Baette is relatively unaffected by TR, should it come to resolve.
Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 60 Def / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Quick Guard
- Feint
Along with Banette comes a natural weakness to Dark typing such as Bisharp and Sucker Punch. The best answer I could come up with was Hitmontop, as it as a decent Close Combat STAB move, can Fake Out to disrupt strategies, and does provide a Quick Guard cover. I've decided to use feint as the fourth move, which isn't a great idea given that Banette doesn't care all that much about Protect.moves, but I thought it would be useful in other ways. I had to chose between Hitmontop and Terrakion, but the Intimidate pressure got the better of Terrakion.
Aegislash @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
Aegislash is one awesome pokemon. I like this set because it can take any Sucker Punch at full health and then strike back and 2HKO pretty much anything (and OHKO Bisharp, for the record). It both serves as a physical bulk and a special sweeper with a great coverage. I've played it before, and I tend to prefer this set to the more classical Leftovers+Wide guard, although Earthquake and Heat Waves are both a pain in the ass...
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
As the team is for now a little vulnerable to Fire and Ground, I thought of Talonflame to both cover these weaknesses and still have a powerful physical force. I have yet chosen the bulky TF, I found it better than to play fully offensive and lose a lot of HP on your own. I played Bulk Up instead of Will-o-wisp for a while and I must say I liked it, but Will-o-wisp seems, by outward appearances, a little better.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
- Surf
- Energy Ball
TF didn't really solve the Ground/Fire problem, so I'e decided to use Latios to do that. Latios has a great coverage: Draco Meteor is a very powerful STAB move, Energy Ball takes care of Rotom-W TF will inevitably draw out, and Surf can wash out any obstinate Fire/Ground typed pokemon. I had to choose between Protect and Psyshoc, in the end the latter was left behind because of Latios weaknesses to Ice- and Dark- type moves, that he tends to encouter.
Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Foul Play
The sixth wheel of the team. Nothing really amazing around here, but I can't really think of any pokemon that would truely improve the team without bringing out undesirable weaknesses. Amongus? Landorius-T? Rotom-W? I really don't know guys, although right now, Klefki has shown some pretty interesting stuff, as it offers a very interesting support to TF and Latios...
So that's the team. Sorry for not placing any pictures, I seem to recall it's legal (if not I'll change that). I hope you like the team, it's pretty straight forward. I know playing Banette doesn't seem great, but I like it. Of course, I'll change it if someone proposes an interesting alternative ;-)
Thanks for reading guys, and maybe for your answers!