I have an ongoing streak with my new team. The team should look pretty familiar to some of you. I'm currently at 1000 wins in Super Singles.
My previous attempt (Sableye/Durant/Smeargle) got me thinking of how to best capitalize on Entrainment. After seeing how good Moody (usually) is, I realized that Acupressure is just mind-bogglingly good. All the boosts of Moody with none of the annoying drawbacks? Yes please. Without further ado, I present Team Plaguarism:
Whimsicott (M) @ Focus Sash (Fluffy Bunny)
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 44 HP / 244 Def / 220 Speed
~ Taunt
~ Encore
~ Switcheroo
~ Memento
I needed to choose a nickname that accurately captured the vicious and aggressive powers on my lead; Fluffy Bunny it is! Whimsicott is still amazing. As turskain mentioned, having Switcheroo as an egg move only makes it better. Whimsicott's job isn't just to make sure Durant gets to use Entrainment; it wants to keep Durant as healthy as possible. I don't always do this (for example, using Encore on Nidoking 4's Poison Jab will keep Durant at 100% health, but unless I'm up against a Worker, I usually use Memento instead), but when I know the opponent's team might have Quagsire, I do. Keeping Durant healthy almost never matters, but when you want to win 1000 battles, "almost" isn't good enough. Whimsicott has a lot of cool tricks, and the fact that Drapion can often set up without Truant just by using Memento makes Whimsicott work perfectly with the other two Pokemon. The EVs let it outspeed Thundurus 4 and Tornadus 4 by one point, meaning that Whimsicott always goes first against opponents with +1 priority or less (except, like Floatzel's Aqua Jet, which it never uses). The rest of the EVs maximize his physical bulk, which I actually use fairly regularly. Once it steals Tyrantrum's Choice Band, Tyrantrum actually only has a 6.3% chance to OHKO with Head Smash unless it crits. That lets me use Memento to help preserve Durant's health. Special bulk doesn't help much, because most special attacks have annoying secondary effects and will 2HKO through the Sash anyway (Fire and Ice moves in particular).
Durant (F) @ Choice Scarf (The Bug Life)
Ability: Truant
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Speed
~ Entrainment
~ Protect
~ X-Scissor
~ Iron Head
"I didn't choose the bug life; the bug life chose me." -Tupac Shakur (Pixar version)
Durant does what it's always done, but with a twist. Using the Moody team made me realize how helpful it is to keep Durant alive and healthy in case anything goes wrong. Of course, when you use Drapion instead of a Moody sweeper, there's a much smaller set of things that can go wrong, so you know which opponents have them and how to prepare for them. I added Protect to help with PP stalling Umbreon (I think there was something else I've PP stalled, but I don't remember what; maybe Hippowdon 4?). After you give them Truant, you can switch out to Drapion on the loafing turn, then bring Durant back in on the loafing turn and use Protect to waste their attacking PP. I've only done this once and I didn't save the battle video, but I was glad I had it. Entrainment is the whole point of the set; X-Scissor OHKOs Espeon. I used to try to use Taunt against Espeon and only switched in Durant when it was Magic Bounce, but I didn't like both Whimsicott and Durant taking a bunch of damage, so now I just go straight to Durant and use X-Scissor against lead Espeon. I've never used Iron Head; in theory I could replace it with Dig for more PP stalling. In practice, I don't think it will ever matter. As I mentioned with the Moody team, the EVs maximize physical bulk, which is particularly important for Quagsire on this team. But because Durant has crappy HP, maximizing physical bulk also gives a nice boost to special bulk as well. Durant usually survives the Entrainment turn with 50% of its health or more unless it has to take a crit.
Drapion (M) @ Black Sludge (Plaguarism)
Ability: Battle Armor
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDef
~ Substitute
~ Protect
~ Acupressure
~ Knock Off
The big boss. Given that this entire team is ripped off of other people's ideas, I thought the name was only fitting. Thanks to GG Unit for reminding me that it gets Knock Off as a level-up move, not a BW2 tutor move, meaning I could use it without jumping through a ton of hoops that would ultimately end up with some imperfect IVs. The Adamant nature and the Attack EVs are crucial. I knew they were important before I started running the team, but I didn't know how essential they were to breaking through Drapion's old "flaws" until I really got into it. With the given spread, Knock Off has a 62.5% chance to OHKO Terrakion, which is awesome. I don't know its exact odds of getting a 2HKO on Cobalion 2, but it's better than 50%, and I've 2HKO'd Cobalion 2 every time it's showed up. Perhaps most importantly, Knock Off will usually 3HKO Quagsire 4 if it doesn't use Curse (three minimum damage rolls falls just 10 HP short of a KO), so if Quagsire 3 spams EQ (which does 62.1% max, but it has to break the Sub first), it will almost always lose. I haven't run the calculations if it does use Curse, but basically, the extra turns you get while it doesn't attack should make up for the reduced damage. Obviously, the reason this works is because Knock Off gets rid of its Leftovers. I've only fought Cobalion 3 once (and it used Iron Head...), but if it DID use Psych Up, hitting it with Knock Off first will get rid of its Lax Incense, meaning you'll still always hit it even after it copies your Evasion boosts.
Knock Off does other cool things too, particularly against Sturdy Pokemon. Donphan 4 can survive a hit with Sturdy and break your Sub, but since you Knock Off its Quick Claw, it doesn't matter at all; just set up another one. Probopass 4 can survive a hit with Sturdy and break your Sub (if the Sub has really low HP, which it sometimes does), but because you Knocked Off its Life Orb, it doesn't kill itself and you can set up another one.
I changed up the strategy depending on the opponent; as I mentioned, I sometimes used Memento and skipped Durant entirely to keep Durant at full health if I knew Drapion would be safe. You need to be careful when doing so, though; if you forget about Spiritomb's Infiltrator and try to set up without using Truant, you'll have a burned (and dead) Drapion, which pretty much means an instant loss for the team.
I originally had the 4 EVs in Speed (which did nothing), but I realized that Mismagius 4 didn't always break my Sub with Power Gem. The extra SpDef brings its odds of breaking the Sub from 9/16 to 7/16, which is nifty. Coincidentally, Skuntank's Fire Blast has the same odds of breaking the Sub, so the EVs are useful there too, since I always bring in Drapion against both of those leads.
Threats: Dropping the 3DS and having the cartridge fall out in the middle of a battle, running out of battery, accidentally selecting the "forfeit" button.
Oh, you wanted real threats? Fiiiine. I'll put most of them behind Hide tags, because I have plenty to say about each one.
Unaware Quagsire:
Cobalion 3:
Taunt leads have never been a problem for me. I always give them Truant and I can just use Protect every other turn until I run out. I put up a Sub first, so that gives me 15 turns of Acupressure before they can actually hit me. By then, I have a ton of boosts, and I often have enough Evasion to dodge Taunt and get the rest of my Acupressures (especially because the AI doesn't always use Taunt and will sometimes use weak attacking moves that will either miss or fail to break the Sub). Life Orb leads also aren't a problem, because I manage to start dodging their attacks early enough to finish setting up. Even if I didn't, I could just Protect every other turn once their health gets too low.
High Jump Kick:
Explosion is a minor problem, particularly if you don't know the AI lead well enough. Here's how I play against Explosion Pokemon:
Perish Song
Breloom 4:
Static: I don't see this as a threat, because nothing except OHKO users can really beat Drapion when it's fully set-up, even if it's paralyzed. OHKO users have to hit twice while Drapion is fully paralyzed both times. I guess Static Zapdos could be a problem if the third Pokemon is a musketeer, but usually the AI will send out the musketeer before they send out Zapdos.
Flame Body: No hide tag for this one, because I think this is what will actually cause me to lose. A burned fully set-up Drapion can beat most Pokemon, but there are a few Pokemon it can't get past, specifically Umbreon 4 (and set 1, but that won't be on a team with a Flame Body Pokemon), Scrafty 4 (the other Scrafty sets won't be on a team with a Flame Body Pokemon), Mandibuzz 4 (unless it has Weak Armor), certain musketeers sets. Umbreon and Scrafty are common partners for Flame Body Pokemon on Punk Guy/Girl sets (except Puck), and, in Scrafty's case, the numerous Fire + Fighting trainers. I have been known to stall out the Fire-type PP of a Pokemon that might have Flame Body (in Rapidash's case, I stalled out Protect as well) so I could bring Durant in and use Entrainment again, just to avoid the possibility of Flame Body. This works fine for Magmortar, is mediocre for Rapidash (it has a lot of PP), sucks against Chandelure (but it's usually on Psychic/Hex Maniac teams anyway, so it doesn't matter), sucks against Volcarona, sucks against Talonflame, and is pretty good against Moltres. Moltres also telegraphs Pressure, so I know immediately if it has Flame Body or not. Heatran is a real problem, especially Heatran 1. Heatran 2 doesn't have too many PP and Heatran 4 has Choice Scarf (so not many PP at all), but Heatran 1 has a ton of PP, will use Earth Power before Lava Plume, and can OHKO a full-health Durant with a crit Earth Power (note that I did once switch in a full health Durant against a Heatran that used Earth Power, risking the crit, but it was Heatran 3 and used Sunny Day on the switch-in turn). Oh, and Heatran 1 has Focus Sash, so it has two chances to burn. That's fine if the next Pokemon is a Regi, a genie, Raikou, Entei, Cresselia, a legendary bird, or Lati@s, but it puts me in a really bad spot against some Suicune sets and most of the musketeers. And because Heatran's Earth Power is so good against Drapion, the AI is likely to send in Heatran before the musketeer. So yeah; I'm placing my bets that, when my team does lose, it will be because of a second Pokemon Heatran (probably Heatran 1) followed by a third Pokemon musketeer.
Here are a couple of battle videos:
The "close call," #607: GFDW-WWWW-WWW8-GRHA: Vs. Battle Girl Rei, Carbink 4, Tyrantrum 4, Throh 4
Battle #1000: HYRG-WWWW-WWW8-GRHE: Vs. Worker Rasmus, Dugtrio 1, Hippowdon 2 or 3, Ferrothorn 1
Beginning after battle #126, I started recording who each of my opponents were. Because Knock Off reveals the opponent's item, you can usually figure out what set a Pokemon is when Drapion KOs it. So for those who are interested, I recorded some random stats about my opponents:
I was expecting to break the old record by a huge margin if I got to 1000, so I was really surprised to see StarKO all the way up at 991. It's awesome to know that different kinds of teams can get up to 1000 wins (which StarKO's team definitely can, but it's easier to misplay when you're already at the top of the leaderboard). I'll be playing the Maison on and off; I'll update with my progress periodically. Building up the streak is slow, though; the average battle takes a little over five minutes if I'm paying attention (which I need to be; using Protect when I should have used Sub can lead to a crippling burn that ends my streak).
Good luck, everyone!
EDIT: Got Whimsicott's Speed EVs wrong. They're fixed now.
My previous attempt (Sableye/Durant/Smeargle) got me thinking of how to best capitalize on Entrainment. After seeing how good Moody (usually) is, I realized that Acupressure is just mind-bogglingly good. All the boosts of Moody with none of the annoying drawbacks? Yes please. Without further ado, I present Team Plaguarism:
Whimsicott (M) @ Focus Sash (Fluffy Bunny)
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 44 HP / 244 Def / 220 Speed
~ Taunt
~ Encore
~ Switcheroo
~ Memento
I needed to choose a nickname that accurately captured the vicious and aggressive powers on my lead; Fluffy Bunny it is! Whimsicott is still amazing. As turskain mentioned, having Switcheroo as an egg move only makes it better. Whimsicott's job isn't just to make sure Durant gets to use Entrainment; it wants to keep Durant as healthy as possible. I don't always do this (for example, using Encore on Nidoking 4's Poison Jab will keep Durant at 100% health, but unless I'm up against a Worker, I usually use Memento instead), but when I know the opponent's team might have Quagsire, I do. Keeping Durant healthy almost never matters, but when you want to win 1000 battles, "almost" isn't good enough. Whimsicott has a lot of cool tricks, and the fact that Drapion can often set up without Truant just by using Memento makes Whimsicott work perfectly with the other two Pokemon. The EVs let it outspeed Thundurus 4 and Tornadus 4 by one point, meaning that Whimsicott always goes first against opponents with +1 priority or less (except, like Floatzel's Aqua Jet, which it never uses). The rest of the EVs maximize his physical bulk, which I actually use fairly regularly. Once it steals Tyrantrum's Choice Band, Tyrantrum actually only has a 6.3% chance to OHKO with Head Smash unless it crits. That lets me use Memento to help preserve Durant's health. Special bulk doesn't help much, because most special attacks have annoying secondary effects and will 2HKO through the Sash anyway (Fire and Ice moves in particular).
Durant (F) @ Choice Scarf (The Bug Life)
Ability: Truant
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Speed
~ Entrainment
~ Protect
~ X-Scissor
~ Iron Head
"I didn't choose the bug life; the bug life chose me." -Tupac Shakur (Pixar version)
Durant does what it's always done, but with a twist. Using the Moody team made me realize how helpful it is to keep Durant alive and healthy in case anything goes wrong. Of course, when you use Drapion instead of a Moody sweeper, there's a much smaller set of things that can go wrong, so you know which opponents have them and how to prepare for them. I added Protect to help with PP stalling Umbreon (I think there was something else I've PP stalled, but I don't remember what; maybe Hippowdon 4?). After you give them Truant, you can switch out to Drapion on the loafing turn, then bring Durant back in on the loafing turn and use Protect to waste their attacking PP. I've only done this once and I didn't save the battle video, but I was glad I had it. Entrainment is the whole point of the set; X-Scissor OHKOs Espeon. I used to try to use Taunt against Espeon and only switched in Durant when it was Magic Bounce, but I didn't like both Whimsicott and Durant taking a bunch of damage, so now I just go straight to Durant and use X-Scissor against lead Espeon. I've never used Iron Head; in theory I could replace it with Dig for more PP stalling. In practice, I don't think it will ever matter. As I mentioned with the Moody team, the EVs maximize physical bulk, which is particularly important for Quagsire on this team. But because Durant has crappy HP, maximizing physical bulk also gives a nice boost to special bulk as well. Durant usually survives the Entrainment turn with 50% of its health or more unless it has to take a crit.
Drapion (M) @ Black Sludge (Plaguarism)
Ability: Battle Armor
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDef
~ Substitute
~ Protect
~ Acupressure
~ Knock Off
The big boss. Given that this entire team is ripped off of other people's ideas, I thought the name was only fitting. Thanks to GG Unit for reminding me that it gets Knock Off as a level-up move, not a BW2 tutor move, meaning I could use it without jumping through a ton of hoops that would ultimately end up with some imperfect IVs. The Adamant nature and the Attack EVs are crucial. I knew they were important before I started running the team, but I didn't know how essential they were to breaking through Drapion's old "flaws" until I really got into it. With the given spread, Knock Off has a 62.5% chance to OHKO Terrakion, which is awesome. I don't know its exact odds of getting a 2HKO on Cobalion 2, but it's better than 50%, and I've 2HKO'd Cobalion 2 every time it's showed up. Perhaps most importantly, Knock Off will usually 3HKO Quagsire 4 if it doesn't use Curse (three minimum damage rolls falls just 10 HP short of a KO), so if Quagsire 3 spams EQ (which does 62.1% max, but it has to break the Sub first), it will almost always lose. I haven't run the calculations if it does use Curse, but basically, the extra turns you get while it doesn't attack should make up for the reduced damage. Obviously, the reason this works is because Knock Off gets rid of its Leftovers. I've only fought Cobalion 3 once (and it used Iron Head...), but if it DID use Psych Up, hitting it with Knock Off first will get rid of its Lax Incense, meaning you'll still always hit it even after it copies your Evasion boosts.
Knock Off does other cool things too, particularly against Sturdy Pokemon. Donphan 4 can survive a hit with Sturdy and break your Sub, but since you Knock Off its Quick Claw, it doesn't matter at all; just set up another one. Probopass 4 can survive a hit with Sturdy and break your Sub (if the Sub has really low HP, which it sometimes does), but because you Knocked Off its Life Orb, it doesn't kill itself and you can set up another one.
I changed up the strategy depending on the opponent; as I mentioned, I sometimes used Memento and skipped Durant entirely to keep Durant at full health if I knew Drapion would be safe. You need to be careful when doing so, though; if you forget about Spiritomb's Infiltrator and try to set up without using Truant, you'll have a burned (and dead) Drapion, which pretty much means an instant loss for the team.
I originally had the 4 EVs in Speed (which did nothing), but I realized that Mismagius 4 didn't always break my Sub with Power Gem. The extra SpDef brings its odds of breaking the Sub from 9/16 to 7/16, which is nifty. Coincidentally, Skuntank's Fire Blast has the same odds of breaking the Sub, so the EVs are useful there too, since I always bring in Drapion against both of those leads.
Threats: Dropping the 3DS and having the cartridge fall out in the middle of a battle, running out of battery, accidentally selecting the "forfeit" button.
Oh, you wanted real threats? Fiiiine. I'll put most of them behind Hide tags, because I have plenty to say about each one.
Unaware Quagsire:
As I mentioned, Quagsire is one of the few Pokemon who can actually do something about Drapion when it's fully set up. You want to keep Durant as healthy as possible in case you need to switch out and use Entrainment on it again. Fortunately, Quagsire does really poor damage to Durant, so Durant doesn't need much health to do so. It also has an odd tendency to use Amnesia against Drapion, which makes it very easy to KO. I've fought Unaware Quagsire four times in this streak; the one time it DID spam EQ, it was the third Pokemon, meaning Durant could have just come in and taken it out if Drapion has failed to 3HKO. Because my "back-up plan" against Quagsire involves setting up Drapion again, opposing leads that can force me to waste all of Protect's PP (which are really just Pokemon with Taunt) could cause problems. I actually fought a lead Sawk 4 (I used all of my Protect PP setting up against it) followed by a second Pokemon Unaware Quagsire in battle 885, but Drapion 3HKO'd it, so it didn't matter. In theory, I could have lost if the third Pokemon was a Donphan 4 who activated its Quick Claw and hit with Fissure, but that three-Pokemon combination is basically a one in a million chance. I've faced a second or third Pokemon Unaware Quagsire four times in my streak; the biggest problem it ever caused was leaving Drapion without a Sub and at ~1/3 health against a mystery third Pokemon. Quick Claw Donphan is really the only Pokemon who can actually capitalize on that situation.
Cobalion 3:
Cobalion 3 could theoretically be a threat, but as I mentioned, I've only fought it once and the AI was really dumb with it. That said, Drapion has a few options against it. With 252 Adamant, Knock Off actually has a 50% chance of doing 75% damage or more. This means that, in the event that the AI uses Psych Up and I've done 75% damage or more, its only choice is to use Iron Head (because I have a Sub up to block Swagger). If I Protect against its first Iron Head, I can actually completely stall out its Iron Head PP by alternating Sub and Protect (I ran the numbers several times to be sure); Drapion's HP gets too low to make another Sub RIGHT as Cobalion uses its last Iron Head. Then it can't hit you, meaning you can just KO it.
Taunt leads have never been a problem for me. I always give them Truant and I can just use Protect every other turn until I run out. I put up a Sub first, so that gives me 15 turns of Acupressure before they can actually hit me. By then, I have a ton of boosts, and I often have enough Evasion to dodge Taunt and get the rest of my Acupressures (especially because the AI doesn't always use Taunt and will sometimes use weak attacking moves that will either miss or fail to break the Sub). Life Orb leads also aren't a problem, because I manage to start dodging their attacks early enough to finish setting up. Even if I didn't, I could just Protect every other turn once their health gets too low.
High Jump Kick:
This is barely worth mentioning; Medicham and Mienshao will use Fake Out first, so I can use Encore on the next turn, give them Truant, bring in Drapion, and Protect as they KO themselves. If Medicham uses Detect, I just Encore that and go straight to Drapion, setting up a Sub on its last Detect turn. The reason I mention it is because the one truly close call I had was the result of a lead Mienshao. It was battle #91 or something like that (so super early on). It used High Jump Kick on turn 1 instead of Fake Out. I hadn't expected that at all. I used Memento on it and brought in Drapion, letting it KO itself. I was hoping the next Pokemon would be something I could bring in Durant against, but it was Arcanine 4. Fuuuuck. I was forced to try to set up Acupressure while it attacked with Flare Blitz while I had no Sub. I didn't get a boost I wanted and Drapion was down to the red. I used Protect (for no particularly good reason) and it used...EXTREME SPEED. Apparently, a quirk in the AI makes them really like to use Extreme Speed on weakened opponents. Next turn, I switched Durant in on Extreme Speed, used Entrainment, and managed to fully recover and set up Drapion and win.
Explosion is a minor problem, particularly if you don't know the AI lead well enough. Here's how I play against Explosion Pokemon:
Bronzong 3: I've never fought this thing, but I'd probably go to Durant and use Entrainment. If it Explodes on turn 1, good; if not, it will probably use Iron Head or Zen Headbutt; those moves + EQ doesn't even come close to KOing Durant. It will probably use EQ against Drapion and not Explode, so nothing to worry about there. Even if it does, Whimsicott and Durant are still alive.
Carbink 4: Go to Durant and use Entrainment. If it uses Power Gem on turn 1 (which does less to Whimsicott than Moonblast, but it will use it anyway), it will 2HKO Durant. The first two times I fought this thing, it didn't Explode until I was almost fully set up (or didn't Explode at all). The third time, it Exploded early, which led to a very close call (battle video below). So be sure to Protect every other turn against it, or it can break your Sub with Explosion and leave you in a bad spot. Full health Whimsicott and Drapion behind a Sub with few boosts sounds bad, but it's actually pretty good; Drapion can PP stall certain dangerous attacks (or use bait stuff like Overheat) and Whimsicott can Encore EQs to waste their PP before using Memento. It's not super hard to fully set up Drapion against the new switch-in.
Claydol 4: From what I've seen, it will use a different move (typically ZH on turn 1), but it might Explode on turn 2. Encore the first attack, Memento, bring in Durant, Entrainment. Once you bring in Drapion, Claydol will switch to using EQ, so you can set up without problems.
Claydol 2: Taunt, switch to Durant as it kills itself.
Cryogonal 4: It will Explode early. Bring in Durant, Entrainment, set up Drapion until it Explodes. The rest of the team should have plenty of health, so it's easy to switch out and set up again.
Exeggutor 4: Used Trick Room; Encore it, give it Truant, go to Drapion. Whimsicott and Durant are at full health, so if it Explodes against Drapion, you can switch out and set up again.
Ferrothorn 3: Ace Trainer Bunny can have this. I've never fought it. Just use Taunt -> Entrainment. It will probably Explode before too long, but Whimsicott and Durant will be alive, so it doesn't matter.
Forretress 3: Hex Maniac Mara led with this against me once. I predicted it would Explode on turn 1, so I switched to Durant. I was right.
Forretress 4: Taunt (it will use hazards), go to Durant as it KOs itself.
Gigalith 3: Worker Rasmus? See Claydol 4. Super rare.
Golem 3 and 4: See Claydol 4.
Gourgeist 2: Switch to Durant.
Landorus 4: I've actually never fought a lead Landorus 4. I expect it would either use U-Turn or Explosion on turn 1. I would just use Taunt on the first turn; if it uses Hammer Arm or EQ, use Encore, Memento, then see Claydol 4 for the rest.
Lickilicky 4: I've fought this thing as a lead twice. I didn't record what it did the first time; I think it Exploded on turn 1. The second time, it Exploded on turn 1. I just switch to Durant now, expecting it to Explode. If it doesn't, use Entrainment and bring in Drapion; it should prefer EQ to Explosion, but I'm not sure.
Metagross 3: I've never fought this as a lead, but it would actually kind of suck, since you want to Taunt turn 1 against Metagross 4. I would use Taunt, then switch to Durant (it should Bullet Punch on the second turn). After that, it will probably EQ>Explosion on Drapion.
Muk 4: Switch to Durant (it will use Gunk Shot). It will Explode early against Drapion, but it doesn't matter.
Probopass 3: See Claydol 4 (but Whimsicott with faint and you won't be able to Memento).
Regirock 2: See Claydol 4. Clear Body is an asshole, but use Memento anyway (if possible) to avoid the switch-in damage on Durant.
Regirock 4: If Alfie or Eleanor, use Encore turn 1 (wasting a turn). Regirock 4 should use Rock Polish, so Encore that and bring in Durant for free.
Reuniclus 2: Laugh because it sucks. Then Encore its Trick Room and bring in Durant.
Shiftry 3: Taunt, switch to Drapion. Drapion resists its other moves and this Shiftry has no Atk EVs, so Drapion should tank Explosion just fine.
Skuntank 4: Switch to Drapion on the Poison Jab. Set up a Sub (it's slower than Drapion) and just set up on it until it Explodes. Fire Blast is the only move that can break the Sub.
Carbink 4: Go to Durant and use Entrainment. If it uses Power Gem on turn 1 (which does less to Whimsicott than Moonblast, but it will use it anyway), it will 2HKO Durant. The first two times I fought this thing, it didn't Explode until I was almost fully set up (or didn't Explode at all). The third time, it Exploded early, which led to a very close call (battle video below). So be sure to Protect every other turn against it, or it can break your Sub with Explosion and leave you in a bad spot. Full health Whimsicott and Drapion behind a Sub with few boosts sounds bad, but it's actually pretty good; Drapion can PP stall certain dangerous attacks (or use bait stuff like Overheat) and Whimsicott can Encore EQs to waste their PP before using Memento. It's not super hard to fully set up Drapion against the new switch-in.
Claydol 4: From what I've seen, it will use a different move (typically ZH on turn 1), but it might Explode on turn 2. Encore the first attack, Memento, bring in Durant, Entrainment. Once you bring in Drapion, Claydol will switch to using EQ, so you can set up without problems.
Claydol 2: Taunt, switch to Durant as it kills itself.
Cryogonal 4: It will Explode early. Bring in Durant, Entrainment, set up Drapion until it Explodes. The rest of the team should have plenty of health, so it's easy to switch out and set up again.
Exeggutor 4: Used Trick Room; Encore it, give it Truant, go to Drapion. Whimsicott and Durant are at full health, so if it Explodes against Drapion, you can switch out and set up again.
Ferrothorn 3: Ace Trainer Bunny can have this. I've never fought it. Just use Taunt -> Entrainment. It will probably Explode before too long, but Whimsicott and Durant will be alive, so it doesn't matter.
Forretress 3: Hex Maniac Mara led with this against me once. I predicted it would Explode on turn 1, so I switched to Durant. I was right.
Forretress 4: Taunt (it will use hazards), go to Durant as it KOs itself.
Gigalith 3: Worker Rasmus? See Claydol 4. Super rare.
Golem 3 and 4: See Claydol 4.
Gourgeist 2: Switch to Durant.
Landorus 4: I've actually never fought a lead Landorus 4. I expect it would either use U-Turn or Explosion on turn 1. I would just use Taunt on the first turn; if it uses Hammer Arm or EQ, use Encore, Memento, then see Claydol 4 for the rest.
Lickilicky 4: I've fought this thing as a lead twice. I didn't record what it did the first time; I think it Exploded on turn 1. The second time, it Exploded on turn 1. I just switch to Durant now, expecting it to Explode. If it doesn't, use Entrainment and bring in Drapion; it should prefer EQ to Explosion, but I'm not sure.
Metagross 3: I've never fought this as a lead, but it would actually kind of suck, since you want to Taunt turn 1 against Metagross 4. I would use Taunt, then switch to Durant (it should Bullet Punch on the second turn). After that, it will probably EQ>Explosion on Drapion.
Muk 4: Switch to Durant (it will use Gunk Shot). It will Explode early against Drapion, but it doesn't matter.
Probopass 3: See Claydol 4 (but Whimsicott with faint and you won't be able to Memento).
Regirock 2: See Claydol 4. Clear Body is an asshole, but use Memento anyway (if possible) to avoid the switch-in damage on Durant.
Regirock 4: If Alfie or Eleanor, use Encore turn 1 (wasting a turn). Regirock 4 should use Rock Polish, so Encore that and bring in Durant for free.
Reuniclus 2: Laugh because it sucks. Then Encore its Trick Room and bring in Durant.
Shiftry 3: Taunt, switch to Drapion. Drapion resists its other moves and this Shiftry has no Atk EVs, so Drapion should tank Explosion just fine.
Skuntank 4: Switch to Drapion on the Poison Jab. Set up a Sub (it's slower than Drapion) and just set up on it until it Explodes. Fire Blast is the only move that can break the Sub.
Perish Song
Mismagius and Lapras are the only users. Against Missy, I use Taunt (which could theoretically miss, but hasn't yet), switch to Drapion, and set up a Sub. Then I just Sub+Protect stall until it uses Perish Song and switch in Whimsicott on the last turn. Against Lapras, I use Encore and then spam Switcheroo until it uses Block or Perish Song. If Block, I Encore it until it runs out of PP. Then I spam Switcheroo until it uses Perish Song and use Memento on the last turn of it (try to avoid leaving Lapras with Focus Sash, or it will be able to Perish Song Drapion). If it uses Perish Song, I encore that and switch out on the last turn. This isn't perfect (Body Slam often paralyzes and I could get parahaxed; it might not decide to switch out), but it's worked alright thusfar. The one time it didn't use Perish Song, I just brought in Drapion after Whimsicott fainted, set up until I had to switch out of Perish Song, and had Durant used Entrainment on the next Pokemon. This introduces some risk. I fought a lead Lapras 4 five times in my streak; the only time it caused a potential problem was when it never used Perish Song against Whimsicott. I had to stall with Drapion until it used Perish Song and brought in Durant on the last Perish Song turn. The AI sent out Abomasnow (which is bad, because it has Protect), but it didn't use Protect. Even if it had, Drapion's good against Abomasnow (Aboma has low PP on its moves and wastes turns with Protect).
Breloom 4:
I only fought a lead Breloom 4 once during my streak and it didn't have Poison Heal, but it was still a tremendous pain. If you use Switcheroo, it can get a free Sub; if you use Taunt, it gets Poisoned. If you use Entrainment, it dies to the Poison. I ended up using Taunt on turn 1 (blocking its Sub), using Encore on turn 2 (it did nothing), switched in Drapion (it took like 70% damage from Focus Punch), switched back to Whimsicott hoping it would use a non-attacking move (it used Sub), and Encored the Sub until it died of Poison. Against Poison Heal, I would probably Taunt, Encore (does nothing), Encore the Focus Punch, Memento, Entrainment, go to Drapion and watch it die. At least Drapion would have a Sub and Durant would be at roughly 2/3 health at worst (barring a crit). But yeah, lead Breloom 4 is a really bad opponent to face.
Static: I don't see this as a threat, because nothing except OHKO users can really beat Drapion when it's fully set-up, even if it's paralyzed. OHKO users have to hit twice while Drapion is fully paralyzed both times. I guess Static Zapdos could be a problem if the third Pokemon is a musketeer, but usually the AI will send out the musketeer before they send out Zapdos.
Flame Body: No hide tag for this one, because I think this is what will actually cause me to lose. A burned fully set-up Drapion can beat most Pokemon, but there are a few Pokemon it can't get past, specifically Umbreon 4 (and set 1, but that won't be on a team with a Flame Body Pokemon), Scrafty 4 (the other Scrafty sets won't be on a team with a Flame Body Pokemon), Mandibuzz 4 (unless it has Weak Armor), certain musketeers sets. Umbreon and Scrafty are common partners for Flame Body Pokemon on Punk Guy/Girl sets (except Puck), and, in Scrafty's case, the numerous Fire + Fighting trainers. I have been known to stall out the Fire-type PP of a Pokemon that might have Flame Body (in Rapidash's case, I stalled out Protect as well) so I could bring Durant in and use Entrainment again, just to avoid the possibility of Flame Body. This works fine for Magmortar, is mediocre for Rapidash (it has a lot of PP), sucks against Chandelure (but it's usually on Psychic/Hex Maniac teams anyway, so it doesn't matter), sucks against Volcarona, sucks against Talonflame, and is pretty good against Moltres. Moltres also telegraphs Pressure, so I know immediately if it has Flame Body or not. Heatran is a real problem, especially Heatran 1. Heatran 2 doesn't have too many PP and Heatran 4 has Choice Scarf (so not many PP at all), but Heatran 1 has a ton of PP, will use Earth Power before Lava Plume, and can OHKO a full-health Durant with a crit Earth Power (note that I did once switch in a full health Durant against a Heatran that used Earth Power, risking the crit, but it was Heatran 3 and used Sunny Day on the switch-in turn). Oh, and Heatran 1 has Focus Sash, so it has two chances to burn. That's fine if the next Pokemon is a Regi, a genie, Raikou, Entei, Cresselia, a legendary bird, or Lati@s, but it puts me in a really bad spot against some Suicune sets and most of the musketeers. And because Heatran's Earth Power is so good against Drapion, the AI is likely to send in Heatran before the musketeer. So yeah; I'm placing my bets that, when my team does lose, it will be because of a second Pokemon Heatran (probably Heatran 1) followed by a third Pokemon musketeer.
Here are a couple of battle videos:
The "close call," #607: GFDW-WWWW-WWW8-GRHA: Vs. Battle Girl Rei, Carbink 4, Tyrantrum 4, Throh 4
As I mentioned above, Carbink Exploded WAY earlier than I expected it to, breaking my Sub. Tyrantrum 4 comes in; I know I have to stall it out of Head Smashes and lower its attack to reduce Struggle's damage. I Protect, go to Whimsicott, Memento, Drapion. The miss is really lucky; even at -2, CB Head Smash hits like a truck. I manage to get some boosts and it faints while I still have a Sub. Fortunately, the next opponent is Throh, who burns himself. I stall it out until it has really low health and KO it with +2 Knock Off. Note that, because of the +2, I might have still been able to win without the miss, because +2 Knock Off does between 40 and 50% damage, so I wouldn't have had to stall for too long. Of course, now I know to Protect every other turn against Carbink. If I had had a Sub up against Tyrantrum, I could have stalled out Head Smash, let it weaken itself with Struggle, and KO'd with Knock Off, leaving Whimsicott alive to cripple (or in this case Encore) Throh.
Battle #1000: HYRG-WWWW-WWW8-GRHE: Vs. Worker Rasmus, Dugtrio 1, Hippowdon 2 or 3, Ferrothorn 1
The big battle, and surprisingly, it was something different! Worker Rasmus sent out Dugtrio; its Protect reveals it to be set 1. This is actually somewhat of an annoyance; Dig lets it dodge Entrainment pretty well. Drapion clearly destroys it thanks to Protect blocking Dig, but I'd rather not waste that many Protect PP. I try to Memento, only to learn that the move doesn't faint your Pokemon if you use it on Dig's charge-up turn. I Encore Dig to waste some PP and use Taunt for a while, then take out Dugtrio with Memento (mainly to weaken Reversal on the turn I break Dugtrio's Sash so that it won't break my Sub...if it actually hits). I set up fully and take out Dugtrio (Reversal missed), Hippowdon, and Ferrothorn. I turned on the battle animations on my game just for this battle. Don't do it, guys; Acupressure's animation behind a Sub is SO SLOW. That said, Drapion's Knock Off looks freaking awesome.
Beginning after battle #126, I started recording who each of my opponents were. Because Knock Off reveals the opponent's item, you can usually figure out what set a Pokemon is when Drapion KOs it. So for those who are interested, I recorded some random stats about my opponents:
My most frequent opponents were Pokemon Ranger Tanner (18 battles), Black Belt Wystan and Tourist Ibiza (15 battles each), and Tourist Geneva, Veteran Isabella, and Hex Maniac Mara at 14 battles each. The opponent I battled the least was Veteran Eleanor, at a mere 2 battles in the 875 I recorded.
The most common leads were Chesnaught 4 and Gengar 4 at 10 battles a piece, with Carracosta 4 third at 9 and Victreebel 4 in fourth at 8. I was struck at how low that number was; there really is a huge variety of opponents in the Battle Maison. There were a ton of leads I only faced once, but among set 4 non-legendary Pokemon, I only faced Abomasnow, Ambipom, Breloom, Escavalier, Flygon, Gliscor, Gogoat, Goodra, Hariyama, Kangaskhan, Lilligant, Pinsir, Roserade, Skuntank, Tauros, Unfezant, Vanilluxe, and Yanmega once each. I have faced all four sets of Jolteon, Krookodile, Raikou, Regirock, Registeel, Terrakion, and Zapdos as leads. Krookodile is particularly striking, since Punk Guy Puck is literally the only trainer who can run Krookodile 1, 2, or 3 after battle 40.
Demonstrating the AI's tendency to select whichever of their remaining Pokemon is best (or at least is "good enough" against yours), here are the most frequent second Pokemon I faced, all at 10 battles a piece unless otherwise stated: Carracosta 4 (11), Claydol 4 (9), Dugtrio 4, Electivire 4, Gigalith 4, Hippowdon 4 (11), Jolteon 4, Metagross 4 (9), Muk 4 (9), Nidoking 4, Nidoqueen 4, Poliwrath 4, Skuntank 4, Tyranitar 4, and Tyrantrum 4 (9). That's a ton of Earthquake, but I was particularly surprised by the number of Explosion Pokemon. The AI seems to think that Explosion is the best move ever and will KO anything; I've actually seen the AI send out Carbink 4 (which has base 50 Atk/SpAtk and no super-effective moves on Drapion) ahead of Tyrantrum 4 (is fucking jacked, has EQ and Head Smash), so apparently the AI just thinks Explosion is a really good choice against a fully set-up Drapion.
Similarly, the most common third Pokemon reads like a list of "Pokemon who are awful against Drapion": Barbaracle 4 (10), Bronzong 4 (9), Carracosta 4 (9), Cradily 4 (10), Mienshao 4 (10), Mr. Mime 4 (10), Venusaur 4 (11), and Vileplume 4 (10). The exception to the rule is Carracosta 4, who made all three lists and is apparently just extremely common. It makes sense, though; Battle Girls and Black Belts run Fire/Fighting/Rock, Hikers run Rock/Ground/Fighting, Pokemon Rangers run Water/Grass/Ground, some Beauties and Chefs run Water/Ice, Scientists run fossil Pokemon in addition to their normal types, and Workers run Rock/Ground/Steel. Carracosta can even have Swift Swim, putting in Beauty Claire's team. So many trainers run either Water or Rock that a Water/Rock type is bound to be really common.
The most common leads were Chesnaught 4 and Gengar 4 at 10 battles a piece, with Carracosta 4 third at 9 and Victreebel 4 in fourth at 8. I was struck at how low that number was; there really is a huge variety of opponents in the Battle Maison. There were a ton of leads I only faced once, but among set 4 non-legendary Pokemon, I only faced Abomasnow, Ambipom, Breloom, Escavalier, Flygon, Gliscor, Gogoat, Goodra, Hariyama, Kangaskhan, Lilligant, Pinsir, Roserade, Skuntank, Tauros, Unfezant, Vanilluxe, and Yanmega once each. I have faced all four sets of Jolteon, Krookodile, Raikou, Regirock, Registeel, Terrakion, and Zapdos as leads. Krookodile is particularly striking, since Punk Guy Puck is literally the only trainer who can run Krookodile 1, 2, or 3 after battle 40.
Demonstrating the AI's tendency to select whichever of their remaining Pokemon is best (or at least is "good enough" against yours), here are the most frequent second Pokemon I faced, all at 10 battles a piece unless otherwise stated: Carracosta 4 (11), Claydol 4 (9), Dugtrio 4, Electivire 4, Gigalith 4, Hippowdon 4 (11), Jolteon 4, Metagross 4 (9), Muk 4 (9), Nidoking 4, Nidoqueen 4, Poliwrath 4, Skuntank 4, Tyranitar 4, and Tyrantrum 4 (9). That's a ton of Earthquake, but I was particularly surprised by the number of Explosion Pokemon. The AI seems to think that Explosion is the best move ever and will KO anything; I've actually seen the AI send out Carbink 4 (which has base 50 Atk/SpAtk and no super-effective moves on Drapion) ahead of Tyrantrum 4 (is fucking jacked, has EQ and Head Smash), so apparently the AI just thinks Explosion is a really good choice against a fully set-up Drapion.
Similarly, the most common third Pokemon reads like a list of "Pokemon who are awful against Drapion": Barbaracle 4 (10), Bronzong 4 (9), Carracosta 4 (9), Cradily 4 (10), Mienshao 4 (10), Mr. Mime 4 (10), Venusaur 4 (11), and Vileplume 4 (10). The exception to the rule is Carracosta 4, who made all three lists and is apparently just extremely common. It makes sense, though; Battle Girls and Black Belts run Fire/Fighting/Rock, Hikers run Rock/Ground/Fighting, Pokemon Rangers run Water/Grass/Ground, some Beauties and Chefs run Water/Ice, Scientists run fossil Pokemon in addition to their normal types, and Workers run Rock/Ground/Steel. Carracosta can even have Swift Swim, putting in Beauty Claire's team. So many trainers run either Water or Rock that a Water/Rock type is bound to be really common.
I was expecting to break the old record by a huge margin if I got to 1000, so I was really surprised to see StarKO all the way up at 991. It's awesome to know that different kinds of teams can get up to 1000 wins (which StarKO's team definitely can, but it's easier to misplay when you're already at the top of the leaderboard). I'll be playing the Maison on and off; I'll update with my progress periodically. Building up the streak is slow, though; the average battle takes a little over five minutes if I'm paying attention (which I need to be; using Protect when I should have used Sub can lead to a crippling burn that ends my streak).
Good luck, everyone!
EDIT: Got Whimsicott's Speed EVs wrong. They're fixed now.
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