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I just encountered another great pro for safety goggles unaware clefable: in sand and hail it fools people to believe clefable is magic guard instead of unaware and start setting up on it. I just encountered this against a garchomp who used swords dance against my clefable cause saw clefable getting no damage from the sand and clefable was paralysed so otherwise i would have lost the game :o
Hippowdon does not necessary has to go along with lucario and dragonite it also works as a physical wall fine on itself cause he also wants volcarona and cloyster and i dont know if volcarona cloyster hippowdon mega lucario dragonite mega kanghaskan will be a cohesive team. The idea of having lucario alongside hippowdon is because hippowdon can phase with yawn/whirlwind and stealth rocks but that can also work with other sweepers.
Speaking of Unaware, it's weird how many people I see boost on my Clef, then attack and not deal that much damage, and then...boost again, for some reason. I dunno what's wrong with these people. Maybe they've just given up at that point, are expecting a switch(yea right,) or think Unaware only ignores boosts up to a point, or only has a chance to ignore boosts.
I feel like a Unaware is the better ability, and usage stats reflect this, so it's weird that people will set up on Clef without some reason to believe Clef is Magic Guard.
I just encountered another great pro for safety goggles unaware clefable: in sand and hail it fools people to believe clefable is magic guard instead of unaware and start setting up on it.
Now with the obvious exception Defog-Mence, the rest of the team appears viable to me. A double (almost triple) Psychic is vulnerable to Dark but I think the addition of Mega Heracross could fix that with something else (maybe a scarfer) as a fast mode. But I'm useless at team building so I was wondering if someone could look over this.
The team would be Mega Abomasnow, Cress, Reuniclus, Crawdaunt. I suspect Garde is one Psychic type too much. I suspect a Scarfed ground type would be a fit (and there's one thing BSS is not short of it's good Ground types that would take a Scarf) plus hazards or something for chip damage.
Translating that team to BSS would require a bit of work since there's a lot of niche stuff there, the excess of Psychic-types is definitely something you want answered and a Scarf Ground type would be useful. Alternatively you can try Sash Garchomp with Stealth Rock and you have another emergency check to Mega Salamence, though Scarf works since that team could use a Thundurus check. Ferrothorn might be good too but you definitely need a reliable Talonflame check. Personally, I actually like the look of a sandstorm mode with Tyranitar and Sand Rush Excadrill there, and it synergizes well with Reuniclus while also giving you another good Psychic check if you run Shadow Ball since CM Reuniclus fares well against opposing Psychic-types. Tyranitar also offers some residual damage with the sandstorm too, which is always useful. That covers a lot of bases for you but also limits your Blaziken answers a bit.
Translating that team to BSS would require a bit of work since there's a lot of niche stuff there, the excess of Psychic-types is definitely something you want answered and a Scarf Ground type would be useful. Alternatively you can try Sash Garchomp with Stealth Rock and you have another emergency check to Mega Salamence, though Scarf works since that team could use a Thundurus check. Ferrothorn might be good too but you definitely need a reliable Talonflame check. Personally, I actually like the look of a sandstorm mode with Tyranitar and Sand Rush Excadrill there, and it synergizes well with Reuniclus while also giving you another good Psychic check if you run Shadow Ball since CM Reuniclus fares well against opposing Psychic-types. Tyranitar also offers some residual damage with the sandstorm too, which is always useful. That covers a lot of bases for you but also limits your Blaziken answers a bit.
Yes I definitely know if it would be a tough project. I've never used a trick room team but it's always something I struggle against as I usually struggle/neglect to put Taunt in my teams.
I meant to edit in that I saw Talonflame would be a threat so I'm not surprised you picked up on that. I know Cress would be good with the right support. Rocky Helmet would be my initial thoughts for that. While I'd love to use Mega Snow, I'm just assuming that is remotely viable.
The weak link in the transition to viable UU team to viable BS team is obviously Crawdaunt. I really like it in theory but like Bisharp I'm not sure it would work in practice. T-tar would make up for it and I think I've already bred a - Speed nature with a mixed IV spread. The fast mode stuff definitely appeals.
I've put together a very basic importable but there are a whole bunch of slashes. (Please disregard the EVs for now as it's only a guide.)
Excadrill @ Life Orb/Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/Smack Down/Fissure
- Iron Head
- Protect/Brick Break
On the basis of this importable alone I feel vulnerable to a number of types, ice & ground for one, Knock Off is potentially an issue. Now I see this potential team written down, I wonder if Porygon2, Jellicent or Cofagrigus is worthy of a slot of Reun. Hell, even Klefki or Meowstic could use the secondary TR setter slot better because of type redundancy.
Yes I definitely know if it would be a tough project. I've never used a trick room team but it's always something I struggle against as I usually struggle/neglect to put Taunt in my teams.
I meant to edit in that I saw Talonflame would be a threat so I'm not surprised you picked up on that. I know Cress would be good with the right support. Rocky Helmet would be my initial thoughts for that. While I'd love to use Mega Snow, I'm just assuming that is remotely viable.
The weak link in the transition to viable UU team to viable BS team is obviously Crawdaunt. I really like it in theory but like Bisharp I'm not sure it would work in practice. T-tar would make up for it and I think I've already bred a - Speed nature with a mixed IV spread. The fast mode stuff definitely appeals.
I've put together a very basic importable but there are a whole bunch of slashes. (Please disregard the EVs for now as it's only a guide.)
Excadrill @ Life Orb/Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/Smack Down/Fissure
- Iron Head
- Protect/Brick Break
On the basis of this importable alone I feel vulnerable to a number of types, ice & ground for one, Knock Off is potentially an issue. Now I see this potential team written down, I wonder if Porygon2, Jellicent or Cofagrigus is worthy of a slot of Reun. Hell, even Klefki or Meowstic could use the secondary TR setter slot better because of type redundancy.
Abomasnow definitely looks viable, it's apparently 70th in usage (a little more than 1% usage according to estimates) so that's better than most. I say stick with it, looks like a fun option. They usually run under Trick Room anyway so TR Cresselia looks solid there. I would go for Giga Drain but either Grass STAB works, and Ice Shard is pretty useful in the event that you can't get Trick Room up. Protect + Leech Seed is an option though with Trick Room I think you're better off with Earthquake over Protect, since that lets Abomasnow actually beat Blaziken and Heatran under Trick Room as well as hit them on the switch. Furthermore you want Quiet or Brave nature (depends on Grass STAB choice).
Ground types could be annoying though Cresselia and Abomasnow give you some checks there. I don't think Ice types or Knock Off on their own are more annoying than normal, but Weavile does look like a problem for this team. It's not super common but you can consider Mega Heracross over Garchomp or one of the other slots if you're worried about that, it's an amazing partner to Cresselia and can also function under Trick Room (but it doesn't need to). It also offers solid Greninja check which this team could use if Trick Room isn't happening. That depends on if you're wanting to use two Megas that are weak to Talonflame though, which is much more relevant than Weavile. Sandstorm mode can also give Weavile (and obviously Talonflame) a bit of trouble though Tyranitar hates Low Kick. You can take a look here for more ideas on Weavile checks if you feel you need that answered more thoroughly though.
If you keep Reuniclus you want Life Orb with Magic Guard though, it gives you a free power boost with no recoil while also protecting you from Hail, Sandstorm and most importantly, Toxic. Overcoat is just a worse Magic Guard other than for the Sleep immunity. Recover over Protect is also important because you don't want to be wasting Trick Room turns with your own Protect. Calm Mind is also an option but you're probably dropping Trick Room for that if you do so.
Excadrill also wants Swords Dance over Protect, generally Excadrill doesn't need Protect for anything and it uses up your precious Sand turns. OHKO moves are more common on Scarf Excardrill since you can run Mold Breaker to hit Skarmory, but if you go with one I would go for Horn Drill to hit Gliscor.
Tyranitar is probably a big mystery at this point but that's okay because Tyranitar has a ton of options that are better left for last once you've settled on the team and figure out what you need most (like only one of Garchomp or Tyranitar needs SR, if you keep both). For this setup you probably want Smooth Rock, but if you choose not to run Mega Heracross then Tyranitarite is an option too, you just need to use a fast DD Tyranitar in that case.
Snorlax
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Def / 44 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- Crunch
- Body Slam
- Fissure
My current Kanto Classic team, but by no means a complete team since I frequently change things and feel I should again. This is just what I have right now.
I've had Gengar on my team since pretty much my first battle in this meta, weird since I never use it in regular BSS but oh well. There are quite a few options for Gengar's moveset. I can't quite remember if it's exactly what I started with, but I remember running Shadow Ball/ Clear Smog/ Taunt/ WoW. Someone suggested Sludge Bomb and I though it was a good idea so I put it over Clear Smog. Recently I added Hypnosis(largely for Machamp and Venusaur, but also kinda for everything. Sleep is a very potent status and worth that accuracy IMO,) and went Modest because it still outspeeds max Spe base 95s and lets me run far fewer EVs in SpA so I can invest more in bulk. The defensive investment always lives Stone a Edge followed by Bullet Punch from max Atk Machamp, and only has a 12.5% chance to be OHKOd by max Atk Snorlax's Crunch. Substitute is mainly for Venu's Sleep Powder, but not much else really goes for status moves on Gengar cause it's so frail, and Venu breaks my Substitute with Giga Drain(unless I want to run less Spe a and SpA, which is an option since base 95 Spe Pokes aren't too threatening and Gengar has enough SpA it can afford to run fewer EVs.)
I probably gotta be a bit more concise since that's actually one of the easier Pokes to explain lol.
I added Articuno over Zapdos recently mainly because how well it does against Machamp and Snorlax-at least in theory. In practice I can never seem to keep rocks off the field even with Starmie.
Speaking of Starmie, I got the idea for a defensive one from Vengeance417 RMT, though I've thought about it before. The main purpose is to Rapid Spin, and I put Starmie over Slowbro(which itself is a Pokemon I only somewhat recently started using over Alakazam, mainly for the dreaded Machamp, but also cause Zam is just too frail in general.) I've thought about using Reflect Type over T-Wave on Starmie mainly for Venusaur and some electric types. I've also considered running way less Spe(same as my Gengar,) but I think it's important to outspeed all Gengars, and making Starmie slower and Gengar max Spe instead is a bad idea. Starmie is the second Pokemon I've thought about replacing, since it can't have good coverage and be bulky and fast on the same set.
Clefable has bounced all over the place with moves. Early on I decided no Minimize cause Snorlax with Body Slam is everywhere, and soon after that decided no Stored Power since it's kinda situational. Clef used to have CM and Heal Bell, but I wanted Wish to support my team(open to people suggesting to go back to Moonlight,) so CM didn't make sense, and Chansey has an easier time switching in in general, so I made her my cleric. Swagger works nice with Unaware and T-Wave, and Clef is the most reliable T-Waver in this meta.
Chansey I got rid of early on cause she just couldn't do damage and is so physically frail. I added her back somewhat recently and decided not to run Seismic Toss(an idea I got from Miss Kaneda's Chansey,) and used to have Toxic over Aromatherapy cuz Clef was my cleric. But I'd rarely get an opportunity to Toxic-plenty of stuff has Rest and many teams have clerics, and I have so many T-Wave users Toxic'd often conflict. That's why I dropped it. Healing Wish is pretty good for bringing something back from death's door, and is nice when Chansey is useless(which is a lot of the time.) My Chansey is a Taunt bait, but it's important to note that Chansey is Taunt bait no matter what she runs, thanks to her petite SpA stat, non existent Atk, and Seismic Toss being easy to heal off/switch into. And Gengar is a Taunt Poke that's immune to it anyways.
Snorlax is everywhere in this meta, and the moves on mine aren't very surprising. What is perhaps surprising are the EVs. They're an adaptation on an EV spread for Slax suggested in the KC thread. Atk gives the same chance to 3HKO sat max Atk, and I don't lose much of anything else(still OHKO Gengars with no significant bulk investment all of the time.) Def is to survive a Dynamichpunch from max Atk Machamp, and has a 37.5% chance to live +2 DNite's Outrage. Both those are Ofc without SR damage. The SpD isn't doing much, but with Slax's giant HP it prefers defensive investment to more HP. SpD does make it unlikely max SpA Nidoking will 3HKO with Sludge Wave. 4 Spe is Ofc to speed creep Slowbro and enemy Slax.
That's probably not too gigantic of a post compared to what I was envisioning, but still a lot. I'd like some suggestions, particularly on...
Wish or Moonlight on Clef? If Moonlight, then CM>Swagger.
Is Sludge Bomb the best thing for Gengar? I didn't mention it before, but I've thought about Focus Blast for the perfect coverage, mainly hitting Snorlax. Sludge Bomb really only gets Clef, and a slightly harder hit than Shadow Ball when both are neutral, and the poison chance rarely matters for me. Also think I can do without Substitute. Any ideas for what to run over it? I think it's between Clear Smog, Taunt, and Focus Blast. Gengar has a lot of other moves I'd like to use, but it's too frail yo properly utilize any of them. A surprise Counter could be pretty good, especially since Gengar has a chance to live max Atk Snorlax's Crunch.
Should I keep Articuno and Starmie? If so, would it make sense to change Sleep Talk to something else on Articuno since I have a cleric. And what about Reflect Type over T-Wave for Starmie?
Is Chansey's moveset ok? I've had quite a bit of success with it. Also, should I get rid of Chansey for another SR setter? She does compound a fighting weakness.
Should I change anything about Snorlax? Maybe a bulkier spread with Whirlwind?
So I've been trying this out on Showdown. I hate low ladder stuff. I'd guess I've got a 50% win rate (rating bounces around 1175) which about matches my on cart success rates.
Tyranitar and Excadrill have been marginally effective. Exca moreso than T-tar to be honest and Brick Break was a nice addition to the moveset although I've struggled nailing down the item.
Cress has been OK. I'm going to try it out some more on a dedicated TR squad. I need to get used to this style. Aboma has been interesting. Nothing more than that. Big power comes out when there's a weakness to exploit but on neutral hits it's lacking. And it's so vulnerable. Aboma and Cress are total opposites.
So I've been trying this out on Showdown. I hate low ladder stuff. I'd guess I've got a 50% win rate which about matches my on cart success rates.
Tyranitar and Excadrill have been marginally effective. Exca moreso than T-tar to be honest and Brick Break was a nice addition to the moveset although I've struggled nailing down the item.
Cress has been OK. I'm going to try it out some more on a dedicated TR squad. I need to get used to this style. Aboma has been interesting. Nothing more than that. Big power comes out when there's a weakness to exploit but on neutral hits it's lacking. And it's so vulnerable. Aboma and Cress are total opposites.
For a special TR attacker, you'll generally want Ampharos. Its coverage combined with Mold Breaker and 165 SpA make it perfect for wallbreaking. Added to that, it has a terrible Speed rivaling that of Aegislash's, making it a prime candidate for Trick Room. It's also much less susceptible to priority then Abomasnow is, not being weak to Mach Punch, as well as resisting Bullet Punch and Flying-type attacks, although it is weak to Ice Shard. Its natural bulk aids the task of wallbreaking, allowing it to take neutral hits well. However, its moves have relatively low base power, bar Focus Blast. If you want a REALLY good TR attacker, try Mega Mawile (or Heracross, RMT is coming boyz!). Coming in at 200+ Attack, it's the strongest Pokemon in the game Attack-wise. It's got a terrible Speed stat as well, making it an excellent choice for Trick Room teams. In addition, it also has Swords Dance, allowing it to boost its own Attack even FURTHER. It has plenty of opportunities to set up as well, with a fantastic defensive typing sporting only 2 weaknesses, albeit common ones. It isn't weak to any form of priority, and once Trick Room is down, it can still sweep unprepared teams with +2 Sucker Punch. However, like Ampharos, it's base power of its moves is generally average, but this isn't usually an issue when you're sitting at 700+ Attack.
As for Excatar, I'll tag bobochan. He seems to be pretty well versed with the mons ;)
For a special TR attacker, you'll generally want Ampharos. Its coverage combined with Mold Breaker and 165 SpA make it perfect for wallbreaking. Added to that, it has a terrible Speed rivaling that of Aegislash's, making it a prime candidate for Trick Room. It's also much less susceptible to priority then Abomasnow is, not being weak to Mach Punch, as well as resisting Bullet Punch and Flying-type attacks, although it is weak to Ice Shard. Its natural bulk aids the task of wallbreaking, allowing it to take neutral hits well. However, its moves have relatively low base power, bar Focus Blast. If you want a REALLY good TR attacker, try Mega Mawile (or Heracross, RMT is coming boyz!). Coming in at 200+ Attack, it's the strongest Pokemon in the game Attack-wise. It's got a terrible Speed stat as well, making it an excellent choice for Trick Room teams. In addition, it also has Swords Dance, allowing it to boost its own Attack even FURTHER. It has plenty of opportunities to set up as well, with a fantastic defensive typing sporting only 2 weaknesses, albeit common ones. It isn't weak to any form of priority, and once Trick Room is down, it can still sweep unprepared teams with +2 Sucker Punch. However, like Ampharos, it's base power of its moves is generally average, but this isn't usually an issue when you're sitting at 700+ Attack.
As for Excatar, I'll tag bobochan. He seems to be pretty well versed with the mons ;)
Mega Amph sounds like a great shout. I've already cottoned onto Hera. It was mentioned previously as a great partner and it's stood up well. Mega Amph may work as part of a volt turn core I was theory-monning about separately (with Aegi or Banded Scizor (ground weak much) plus Cress).
Mega Amph sounds like a great shout. I've already cottoned onto Hera. It was mentioned previously as a great partner and it's stood up well. Mega Amph may work as part of a volt turn core I was theory-monning about separately (with Aegi or Banded Scizor (ground weak much) plus Cress).
Aegis doesn't have VoltTurn, neither does Cress. Scizor is neutral to Ground. Outside of Trick Room, there are much better candidates for a Volt Switcher, such as Megaman, Raikou, or even Thund. However, I can see a core of Mamph/Scizor/Cress actually being pretty good.
Sorry, was kinda just replying to the 2nd post and only looking at the original post for your team. Still, I woulda assumed you meant disregard what EVs you're using(they can be really tricky,) not disregard that you're wasting some EVs. I hope hat makes sense.
252 HP and 76 Def would give your TTar 1 more HP at level 50, without lowering Def at all.
Hi guys! I'm a veteran of OU, but very new to Battle Spot singles, looking for some help building a team that can play competitively. Aegislash is my favorite pokemon to use, so that's going in, and Azumarill is an all star in my experience, so he's staying too. Beyond that, I'm not sure who/what I should be using! Here's what I have so far:
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
What I'd like: a grass pokemon (currently using Breloom, but I'm not attached to him...maybe Mega-Venusaur?), something that flies/levitates and something with a partial ground typing, if all of those things fit on my team.
Here's the Breloom, for reference:
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb
Hi guys! I'm a veteran of OU, but very new to Battle Spot singles, looking for some help building a team that can play competitively. Aegislash is my favorite pokemon to use, so that's going in, and Azumarill is an all star in my experience, so he's staying too. Beyond that, I'm not sure who/what I should be using! Here's what I have so far:
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower
What I'd like: a grass pokemon (currently using Breloom, but I'm not attached to him...maybe Mega-Venusaur?), something that flies/levitates and something with a partial ground typing, if all of those things fit on my team.
Here's the Breloom, for reference:
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb
Azumarill and Aegislash make for a solid start in terms of wallbreaking so you've got plenty of options here. You definitely want a good Ground switch-in, and given your description Landorus-T would work nicely. Something like:
Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Rock Tomb / Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Knock Off / Superpower
Rock Tomb is the preferred move for accuracy though any Rock move works. Unlike OU, Jolly is generally not needed and the power from Adamant is more useful. It can also soft check Talonflame which is useful for the two you've listed since BD Azumarill is a bit more vulnerable to Talonflame than usual, and while Aegislash can come out on top it can be risky. This would make Thundurus potentially annoying though so if you do add Landorus-T, Mega Venusaur is definitely an option over Breloom. Venusaur actually pairs nicely with Aegislash due to its Flying and Psychic resistances and it creates a very sturdy core, though Venusaur tends to be a Pokemon that will either outright win games on its own or just fall flat so you'd need to be especially wary of what your opponent's team is before bringing it. For Mega Venusaur you can opt for bulky offensive or just defensive, Sludge Bomb/Giga Drain/Synthesis are the three moves you typically want. HP Fire, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed and EQ are all options in the last slot though that'll depend on how tanky or offensive you want Venusaur to be, as well as the rest of your team. Just note that with those 4, Talonflame and Mega Salamence are still somewhat annoying so I'd consider patching that up. Rotom-H/W and Thundurus are good options here.
As far as having a Grass-type Pokemon goes, Aegislash is pretty solid against Fairies, so I don't think you'd need Venusaur, whose primary use outside of being a Grass-type is checking Fairies. Breloom seems like a solid choice. However, Talonflame does severe damage to most of your current mons, assuming you use Lando-T. Aegislash can mindgame a Choice Band set, but that's about all your team can do against it. Choice Band or Life Orb variants of Talonflame can neuter an Azumarill trying to sweep, and the Breloom - Talonflame matchup is severely one-sided if Breloom's Sash is broken. Thundurus, while being 2HKOed by Choice Band variants, can do serious damage with a Life Orb-boosted Thunderbolt. It also doesn't hurt to have paralysis support for your team, as Azumarill and Breloom are very slow. A standard Life Orb Attacker set would work well with your team; the analysis one works, but you should probably add Focus Blast over Grass Knot.
Thanks for the suggestions! These are all perfect pokemon, especially since I already have them bred and ready from previous teams. What should I be using in the mega slot(s)? In OU I use Mega-Diancie, but since that's banned in Battle Spot singles, I need something else (or two somethings else?)
Here's the full team I've been testing, but both Megas and Thundurus have been swapped around a bunch of times, so I'm not sure about those 3 slots yet. Breloom is still a maybe, perhaps I don't REALLY need a grass type?
I wouldn't say Breloom is the problem, but more so your lack of Talonflame checks in general. Breloom wins 1v1 if Sash is intact, though obviously you can't always rely on that. Your only Flying resists are Thundurus and Aegislash, one of which is weak to Fire and the other of which is frail and can't always be relied upon to beat Talonflame. That being said you're right in that you don't need the Grass-type, Thundurus checks Suicune while Gengar can trap it and prevent it from setting up whereas Azumarill checks Dark-types for you. It doesn't hurt because you have two Dark-weak Pokemon and no other Dark resists but Aegislash can win 1v1 against most of them and Kangaskhan fares decently against most things that aren't a nuke or lack Fighting moves.
At any rate, another Talonflame check is definitely more important for your team than the extra Dark-type check. For lack of a more "creative" choice, Rocky Helmet or Sash Garchomp would be a good fit here for Talonflame, while Rocky Helmet Suicune can also beat it down (though it must be a bit more careful with SpDef Talonflame). Suicune is a bit redundant with Azumarill though. Heatran is a guaranteed switch into any Talonflame though you can't do much back unless you run Ancient Power, which is absolutely viable here. Toxic SpDef Heatran also works although that tends to fit better on more defensive teams which have less trouble with Talonflame anyway. However, Heatran would mean you need to play more carefully around Ground types unless you run Air Balloon, which I would recommend on this team if you decide to try it.
All that aside, I'd say that team looks pretty solid overall. Thundurus is kind of annoying for that team though so I'd definitely consider some form of Garchomp (ScarfChomp in particular if you find your Talonflame problem isn't too bad with it).
I have a few suggestions as well. First, I think you should use the bulky thundurus set. The second set in the smog dex fits perfectly on your team since your team lacks a defensive presence. It can also survive three brave bird from a choice banded talonflame. http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/thundurus/battle_spot_singles/
Second, I'd change the gengar set as well. I think you will benefit more from this set:-
Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Bomb
The main problem your team faces is that all the pokemon you are using are quite common so often players are well prepared for them. The best thing to do is to keep practicing till you can predict what the opponent is gonna do. I am sure this will come quite easy for you since you mentioned you are a veteran OU player.
Now you are going to have to pardon my ignorance, I have recently switched over to Battle spot format and enjoying the additional dimensions. Currently I have just been using other peoples teams and modifying them little bits at a time as I learn the meta. Now I have not built my own battlespot team yet but I have an idea and want to run this by you
What I like about battespot is combos. Now on a 3 3 split at team of 6 can effectively have two different teams. However with 6 pokemon there are 20 different combinations of 3. Could I attempt to make a team that has as many different game plans as possible, utilising pokemons wide movepools and multi-role abilities. For example in that 6 I am able to pick 3 that fully utilise trick room or baton pass. Stall, balanced, Hyper offensive etc. So instead of cores that concentrate solely on covering type weaknesses (while still important) but a core that concentrates of flexibility and adaptability
Hope this makes sense but do you think it is possible
Now you are going to have to pardon my ignorance, I have recently switched over to Battle spot format and enjoying the additional dimensions. Currently I have just been using other peoples teams and modifying them little bits at a time as I learn the meta. Now I have not built my own battlespot team yet but I have an idea and want to run this by you
What I like about battespot is combos. Now on a 3 3 split at team of 6 can effectively have two different teams. However with 6 pokemon there are 20 different combinations of 3. Could I attempt to make a team that has as many different game plans as possible, utilising pokemons wide movepools and multi-role abilities. For example in that 6 I am able to pick 3 that fully utilise trick room or baton pass. Stall, balanced, Hyper offensive etc. So instead of cores that concentrate solely on covering type weaknesses (while still important) but a core that concentrates of flexibility and adaptability
Hope this makes sense but do you think it is possible
No its not feasible. The better idea is to make a core with an idea and stick to building around that idea. Cover yourself with support, have solutions to the threats to your core idea.
I'm an unoriginal guy and I went trough the pain that is breeding/soft-resetting the offensive team that is really popular both on the showdown and the official ladders, according to the usage stats. I'm referring to the standard garchomp+kangaskhan offense which I'm pretty sure you have already seen. It took me quite a while but when I finally played with it I was really, really disappointed; on average I have 1:1 win-loss ratio on cart while on showdown it's slightly better.
I don't know if the issue is with me or with the team. Anyways, I feel like I'm using suboptimal sets but the point is that each member has different viable set, and narrowing down all the sets is quite challenging. Gengar by far is the weakest link. thundurus and blaziken are good but they are not very consistent. Hiding the importable here
I'm an unoriginal guy and I went trough the pain that is breeding/soft-resetting the offensive team that is really popular both on the showdown and the official ladders, according to the usage stats. I'm referring to the standard garchomp+kangaskhan offense which I'm pretty sure you have already seen. It took me quite a while but when I finally played with it I was really, really disappointed; on average I have 1:1 win-loss ratio on cart while on showdown it's slightly better.
I don't know if the issue is with me or with the team. Anyways, I feel like I'm using suboptimal sets but the point is that each member has different viable set, and narrowing down all the sets is quite challenging. Gengar by far is the weakest link. thundurus and blaziken are good but they are not very consistent. Hiding the importable here
Hi Hublo, not sure how much help I can be considering how new I am to Battlespot, however when I started I played a similar team (different sets) now I struggled too but as soon as I moved to a Bulky Conkeldurr>Blaziken everything improved for me. Maybe check it out
Conkeldurr (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 212 HP / 140 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
On that note maybe someone can help me, I am trying to build a non-mega heracross build to try instead. I think the extra base speed may really help, still need the bulk though. What about this as an 'equivalent'
Non-Mega Heracross is generally too frail and has too many common weaknesses (Talonflame Charizard Salamence Blaziken Aegislash Mawile) to try and run any kind of defensive set. Guts is a good enough ability that you can afford not to force status using Rest or a Flame Orb - simply switching into an opposing Will-o-Wisp or Spore is usually enough. Try out this set, it's the best that Heracross can run without it's Mega Stone:
Outside of Heracronite and Scarf, Assault Vest is a niche pick as a special tank that also beats Gengar. Neat! It's literally the same as the set above, but take off Knock Off for Pursuit.
