Other Battle Spot Singles RMT

[tiskat]

This is my attempt at a Battle Spot Singles team. It's doing ok, but I'm not sure whether the team is bad or I've just been making some really bad plays, so I've come here for some feedback :)

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Substitute

The teams first mega. The ev's and set is pretty simple. The aim is to set up dragon dance and plow through things roosting when necessary. Substitute is great and can be set up on a predicted status move or switch, and can help ensure Salamence gets a Dragon Dance and/or a Double Edge off.

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Swords Dance

The second mega. I added this originally as a Mega-Kanga check but it can usually get some heavy damage down on even resistant Pokemon after a Swords Dance. I actually mega'd this because it's other good items, Focus Sash and Life Orb, were taken by teammates. Close Combat and Bullet Punch are the standard stab moves, while I picked Ice Punch as coverage over other moves as it hits Garchomp, the most commonly used Pokemon on Battle Spot atm. Again, standard ev's.

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp

I added this because I wanted fast Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. It's stab moves can also dish out heavy damage against opposing Pokemon. I don't usually use this guy much though, since Salamence is fast enough to sub against most status inflictors and I usually prefer Rotom's bulk. Self explanatory Ev's.

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Gunk Shot / Dark Pulse / HP Fire
- U-turn

The standard Greninja which we all know and love. I added this because It was the fist thing that came to mind when I wanted a fast Ice Beam to take out those Garchomps. I like Surf and Gunk Shot as other coverage moves and U-Turn to get out of a bad match up (and damage Dark and Psychic types), but Gunk Shots accuracy can be a pain, which is why I've been wondering about other options. Life Orb for max damage output, Naive to outspeed but also not lower U-Turn and Gunk Shot's power.

Ferrothorn @ Lum Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 52 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Added this tank for more bulk on my team and a way to counter bulky water types. The ev's and moveset is actually straight out of the VGC set, but it works great in singles as well. I chose Lum Berry as avoiding burns so I could actually damage things seemed far more important than Rocky Helmet or Lefties. 204 Atk is to always OHKO Rotom-W.

Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp

Another bulky mon. This one is kind of awkward, with it's moveset consisting of three attacks and no investment in either offensive stat. I was running Chesto-Rest but found Thunderbolt more useful, allowing me to stay in against things that it can wall without risking Overheats low accuracy or stat drop. I added this to counter Talonflame and to have fire coverage on my team, as well as for the utility in Will-O-Wisp. I'm not sure whether I should invest more in Special Attack or replace the Sitrus Berry with Leftovers though.

 

[cant say]

Heya tiskat, pretty solid team you seem to have. For that I only have a few (minor) changes.

Substitute Mega Salamence is really good if you can get a Dragon Dance up since +1 Double Edge hurts a lot of things (even resists!). The only real change I would suggest on the set is to go with Adamant instead of Jolly. Mega Salamence is already super fast without a boost, and Jolly is overkill once you are at +1, meaning it's more beneficial to just go for extra power, especially since you're running only one attack which will need to be used against resists from time to time. The biggest advantage off the top of my head is that Adamant guarantees a 2HKO on fully physically defensive Rotom-W at +1, where as Jolly has to rely on lucky damage rolls. So therefore change Salamence's nature to Adamant.

For Greninja, if you decide to keep Gunk Shot (which I highly recommend you do!) you should pump 20 EVs into attack to guarantee the OHKO on 252 HP Azumarill, who otherwise walls special attacking Greninja. My recommended EV spread is 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Speed (with Naive obviously). I'm not the biggest fan of U-turn on Greninja since it takes away from his incredible coverage, which really is the main draw to using Life Orb Gren in the first place. I would swap it to Dark Pulse for coverage against stuff like Aegislash, Cresselia and (Mega) Gengar. Surf is ok, but if you want to go for balls-to-the-wall power then I would seriously consider Hydro Pump. There are other options you can use in that slot instead of your choice of Water move, these include Low Kick and Grass Knot

I'm not the biggest fan of physically offensive Ferrothorn, since its defensive capabilities are too good to pass up in this metagame infested with Kangaskhan, Garchomp and Landorus. I love the good old defensive / support set with Rocky Helmet. Your moveset could still work with an Impish / Relaxed nature (and full defensive investment), however I would recommend dropping Protect for Stealth Rock or Thunder Wave. Stealth Rock may seem a but silly in 3v3 but on a bulky mon like Ferrothorn it's easy to set them up and they won't get removed since Rapid Spin / Defog is non-existent, it destroys stuff like Talonflame, and breaks Focus Sashes which helps Salamence sweep. Thunder Wave is good for speed control and a handy paralysis proc could save a game for you.

One thing that stands out to me is that you have no decent answer to Greninja. Even though he isn't super popular, he is common enough and will destroy an unprepared team, this is why I am going to recommend replacing Mega Lucario with Conkeldurr. Not only does this guy not give a damn about Greninja, he also takes care of many of Salamene's common checks, such as Mega Kangaskhan, Garchomp, Aegislash, Porygon2 and Suicune (sort of). This is the set I'm proposing:

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

This guy is able to tank special hits, heal itself in the process, not care about status since it actually benefits from it (watch out for Toxic stalling though), gets great four-move coverage, and priority to pick off stuff at low health. Overall a really solid mon.

We also have a RMT / teambuilding discussion thread in the Battle Spot forum where you might want to consider posting in to get more specialised feedback. A lot of the BSS regulars frequent that forum (and probably don't venture here too often).

Good luck with the team, and I hope to see you around the Battle Spot forum!