To be honest I'm actually looking for a Pokemon to completely replace it overall if there are any suggestions for that haha. I kinda threw Sylveon in there as it was strong and I had access to Eevee but I'm willing and probably going to change that slot.
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Battle Tree Discussion and Records
- Thread starter Eisenherz
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Call_Me_Charlie I would think that, since Aegislash has the Psychics and Fairies covered offensively, and Flying-types covered defensively--basically, there to cover the leads' asses--I would think that it would be something that then watches Aegislash's back, just in case.
Aegis takes care of itself with other Ghosts, Kommo-O can clear the path free of Fires, and Lopunny clears the path of Darks...so something to deal with Ground-types? Maybe something to the fight directly to Flying-types, should Aegis fall?
Also, RE:"...though legendaries will be tough as I'll be searching for those for a while on some trade forums..." that you mention these makes me think that you already have had some Legendaries in mind for that slot--what ideas have popped up in your head so far in this respect?
EDIT: I had it come into my head a little while ago that I haven't jumped into the Wi-Fi subforum for a while--I think I can take a look there for any Legendaries that you would be interested in and trade for them. Any ideas you get, let me know and I'll snoop/negotiate around.
Aegis takes care of itself with other Ghosts, Kommo-O can clear the path free of Fires, and Lopunny clears the path of Darks...so something to deal with Ground-types? Maybe something to the fight directly to Flying-types, should Aegis fall?
Also, RE:"...though legendaries will be tough as I'll be searching for those for a while on some trade forums..." that you mention these makes me think that you already have had some Legendaries in mind for that slot--what ideas have popped up in your head so far in this respect?
EDIT: I had it come into my head a little while ago that I haven't jumped into the Wi-Fi subforum for a while--I think I can take a look there for any Legendaries that you would be interested in and trade for them. Any ideas you get, let me know and I'll snoop/negotiate around.
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Take two on Buzzwole super singles ended at 46. Bold physical Def Calm Mind Fini with Aguav Berry and Taunt, same phys def shiny Buzzwole, SpD AV Heatran with a better EV spread. Much better team comp, so nice having the security of Fini's status protection and Taunt. Up until the loss the only matches that felt remotely threatening were the one where I struck a Raichu lead and it set up Nasty Plot turn one on my switch to Heatran and then hit two consecutive Thunders, and the one where Fini took down the opposing lead but used up its Terrain turns and took enough damage that I didn't want to stay in against the second mons strong electric attacks - naturally Tran got paralysed and then took several full para turns and a lot of damage before disposing of the offender.
The loss was another I could have won, Fini was set up to +3 or +4 and had taken down the first two mons, and then Mega-Medicham came in. It's Fake Out knocked me down to a couple of HP off triggering my berry, and then Psycho Cut got the KO. I brought in Tran, which got clean KOd by High Jump Kick, and Psycho Cut was sufficient for a 2HKO on Buzzwole after Leech Life and Leftovers recovery (although only just). Two things that I could have done was get Fini to +5/6 and let the second mon knock me down to trigger the berry, which would have assured survival against the last mon (I've done this a few times previously, but I didn't here), and against Medicham I could have switched back and forth from Tran into Buzzwole to try and get a HJK miss which would have netted the win also. Live and learn.
I think the Fini and Buzzwole sets and items are fine, whether Tran needs switching up or switching out is the question. It probably has enough SpD to make do without the AV, which could allow it a Z-Move to let it just delete the first mon opposing it, or possibly some recovery. The only issue here is that the AV does let it still check some tricky mons like SpA Tentacruel, which threaten the team across the board. Chansey could of course fit as an extremely effective special wall, SpD Toxic Orb/Misty Seed Gliscor also possible and the electric immunity would be nice.
The Buzzwole set is quite refreshing, things that have been threatening to other teams I've run like Wallys ScarfChomp are now 100% safe switch-ins and setup bait for Buzzwole, which feels kinda too good to be true at times.
Anyways, enough rambling, off to think some more.
ADDIT: Forgot there was some enemy AI behaviour I'd noted over both runs - the Weavile set with Taunt, which can't even really damage Buzzwole for more than its Leftovers recovery (even before Bulk Up) will stay for a couple of hits and then Taunt and switch. First time it switched it caught me off guard, second time I made sure to prioritise getting my Sub up and it replicated the behaviour.
The loss was another I could have won, Fini was set up to +3 or +4 and had taken down the first two mons, and then Mega-Medicham came in. It's Fake Out knocked me down to a couple of HP off triggering my berry, and then Psycho Cut got the KO. I brought in Tran, which got clean KOd by High Jump Kick, and Psycho Cut was sufficient for a 2HKO on Buzzwole after Leech Life and Leftovers recovery (although only just). Two things that I could have done was get Fini to +5/6 and let the second mon knock me down to trigger the berry, which would have assured survival against the last mon (I've done this a few times previously, but I didn't here), and against Medicham I could have switched back and forth from Tran into Buzzwole to try and get a HJK miss which would have netted the win also. Live and learn.
I think the Fini and Buzzwole sets and items are fine, whether Tran needs switching up or switching out is the question. It probably has enough SpD to make do without the AV, which could allow it a Z-Move to let it just delete the first mon opposing it, or possibly some recovery. The only issue here is that the AV does let it still check some tricky mons like SpA Tentacruel, which threaten the team across the board. Chansey could of course fit as an extremely effective special wall, SpD Toxic Orb/Misty Seed Gliscor also possible and the electric immunity would be nice.
The Buzzwole set is quite refreshing, things that have been threatening to other teams I've run like Wallys ScarfChomp are now 100% safe switch-ins and setup bait for Buzzwole, which feels kinda too good to be true at times.
Anyways, enough rambling, off to think some more.
ADDIT: Forgot there was some enemy AI behaviour I'd noted over both runs - the Weavile set with Taunt, which can't even really damage Buzzwole for more than its Leftovers recovery (even before Bulk Up) will stay for a couple of hits and then Taunt and switch. First time it switched it caught me off guard, second time I made sure to prioritise getting my Sub up and it replicated the behaviour.
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If it wasn't for Misty Terrain halving damage from Dragon-type moves, Tapu Fini would be a cinch. In its absence, I'm short on ideas - Azumarill (Wide Lens), Tapu Lele or Tapu Koko (can't stop the Tapu train), Mimikyu (Wide Lens).
Maybe Aegislash needs to be replaced with something different, say Scizor to free up a wider selection of possible back-ups. LO Scizor/Wide Lens Mimikyu priority duo, anyone?
..Interesting, I didn't even realize Bulu had access to Fling; the possibilities are limitless! I honestly haven't played enough to know what the optimal sets would be, I just gravitated towards Z-Bulu cause 'resistance' is a fairly loose term when you're using Bloom Doom, and it gets to worry a lot less about regular Wood Hammer recoil. Heat Wave and Rock Slide have earned a pass for the time being since I have Instruct (pretty fun to use with Gyro Ball and watch the Beast Boosts snowball); L51 suggested Chople as a way of surviving weaker STAB/coverage Fighting moves, I tried Life Orb for a little while but didn't like the '2 rounds of recoil per Instruct' factor much. But Rockium Z sounds solid as well, I appreciate the suggestions; I'll mull this over more after Christmas. So far Staka and Camerupt have covered Bulu's coverage shortcomings decently, though I realize Fling would be pretty good for a certain batch of Flying/Levitating Dragons.
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Been grinding out doubles on USUM to get battle points to re-buy all the items I need for BSS teams. Just beat Blue at battle 50 with this silly team that I want to keep using and see how far I can luck my way through
Blissey @ Psychium Z | Serene Grace
Impish | 252 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ally Switch | Rock Slide | Heal Pulse | Softboiled
For those that don't know the gimmick, Z-Ally Switch gives +2 speed which allows you to flinch everything to death with Serene Grace Rock Slide. It's disgusting in VGC/DOU but abusing the tree's AI with Ally Switch is funny.
Tapu Lele @ Babiri Berry | Psychic Surge
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Mind | Psyshock | Dazzling Gleam | Protect
I like Lele as the co-lead because Fake Out is dumb and its typing is really good for Ally Switch with Blissey. It 4x resists fighting attacks aimed at Blissey, while Blissey is immune to Ghost. I slapped a Babiri berry on it because I didn't have many viable items anyway, but it's the only attack i'm scared of Lele taking and has worked well (and the team sucks vs Steels lol)
Salamence @ Salamencite | Intimidate
Adamant | 148 HP / 116 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 140 Spe
Return | Dragon Dance | Roost | Protect
I slapped a Mence from a BSD team in my PC here because I liked Intimidate support for Blissey and being another Fighting resist. It's also strong af
Incineroar @ Assault Vest | Blaze
Adamant | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Fake Out / Flare Blitz / Darkest Lariat / Drain Punch
Desperately needed a Fire-type so I didn't get bodied by Steels. It rarely comes out though because Blissey + Lele kills everything, and when it has come out Psychic Terrain has been gone so Fake Out works.
I just slapped these things together but they feel pretty good so if anyone has suggestions for making it better let me know!!
Blissey @ Psychium Z | Serene Grace
Impish | 252 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ally Switch | Rock Slide | Heal Pulse | Softboiled
For those that don't know the gimmick, Z-Ally Switch gives +2 speed which allows you to flinch everything to death with Serene Grace Rock Slide. It's disgusting in VGC/DOU but abusing the tree's AI with Ally Switch is funny.
Tapu Lele @ Babiri Berry | Psychic Surge
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Mind | Psyshock | Dazzling Gleam | Protect
I like Lele as the co-lead because Fake Out is dumb and its typing is really good for Ally Switch with Blissey. It 4x resists fighting attacks aimed at Blissey, while Blissey is immune to Ghost. I slapped a Babiri berry on it because I didn't have many viable items anyway, but it's the only attack i'm scared of Lele taking and has worked well (and the team sucks vs Steels lol)
Salamence @ Salamencite | Intimidate
Adamant | 148 HP / 116 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 140 Spe
Return | Dragon Dance | Roost | Protect
I slapped a Mence from a BSD team in my PC here because I liked Intimidate support for Blissey and being another Fighting resist. It's also strong af
Incineroar @ Assault Vest | Blaze
Adamant | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Fake Out / Flare Blitz / Darkest Lariat / Drain Punch
Desperately needed a Fire-type so I didn't get bodied by Steels. It rarely comes out though because Blissey + Lele kills everything, and when it has come out Psychic Terrain has been gone so Fake Out works.
I just slapped these things together but they feel pretty good so if anyone has suggestions for making it better let me know!!
Well, I was feeling lazy, so I just went again without making alterations. Managed Fini and switching better and got the 50 stamp, which is nice, especially since I'd used an 'off the shelf' team to do it Sun with Mence/Aegis/Chansey and had challenged myself to do it with a team of my own devising this time around (Sun was my first ever battle facilities play).
I love Ally Switch and am happy to find another fan! Lotta bullshit to be had when the user is a Ghost. Before using Oranguru I was going to use Cofagrigus/Stakataka lead but shied away for other reasons. I’m especially pleased that your own set is gimmicky as fuck. My man.Been grinding out doubles on USUM to get battle points to re-buy all the items I need for BSS teams. Just beat Blue at battle 50 with this silly team that I want to keep using and see how far I can luck my way through
Blissey @ Psychium Z | Serene Grace
Impish | 252 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ally Switch | Rock Slide | Heal Pulse | Softboiled
For those that don't know the gimmick, Z-Ally Switch gives +2 speed which allows you to flinch everything to death with Serene Grace Rock Slide. It's disgusting in VGC/DOU but abusing the tree's AI with Ally Switch is funny.
Tapu Lele @ Babiri Berry | Psychic Surge
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Mind | Psyshock | Dazzling Gleam | Protect
I like Lele as the co-lead because Fake Out is dumb and its typing is really good for Ally Switch with Blissey. It 4x resists fighting attacks aimed at Blissey, while Blissey is immune to Ghost. I slapped a Babiri berry on it because I didn't have many viable items anyway, but it's the only attack i'm scared of Lele taking and has worked well (and the team sucks vs Steels lol)
Salamence @ Salamencite | Intimidate
Adamant | 148 HP / 116 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 140 Spe
Return | Dragon Dance | Roost | Protect
I slapped a Mence from a BSD team in my PC here because I liked Intimidate support for Blissey and being another Fighting resist. It's also strong af
Incineroar @ Assault Vest | Blaze
Adamant | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Fake Out / Flare Blitz / Darkest Lariat / Drain Punch
Desperately needed a Fire-type so I didn't get bodied by Steels. It rarely comes out though because Blissey + Lele kills everything, and when it has come out Psychic Terrain has been gone so Fake Out works.
I just slapped these things together but they feel pretty good so if anyone has suggestions for making it better let me know!!
Reporting a completed UM Singles streak of 107 wins. Loss: 6A4G-WWWW-WWWC-EKZX
After six grueling attempts and utter failures (streak 1 died at 89), streak 7 finally brought me to the leaderboard. I proudly present a team dubbed "Magnemite for leaderboard 2k17".
Spooky (Magnemite) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
EVs: 76 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recycle
- Toxic
- Protect
- Rain Dance
76 HP allows Magnemite to go to Berry Juice after two turns of Curse, potentially allowing it to set Rain Dance for the incoming Swampert. Ideally Magnemite would 1v1 the AI's lead and then scout what they choose to send it second, allowing me to either whittle away at it with Toxic and Protect spam for Naganadel or set up Rain for Swampert. If lead vs something that can't touch Naganadel I'd hard switch into it and set up the sweep immediately, against things like Steelix I'd PP stall Earthquake before switching Swampert in to minimize the incoming damage. PP stalling was also useful for Scarfers like Garchomp3 and for setting up Naganadel sweeps by stalling their only threatening attack out. I'd always spam Recycle vs opponents spamming inaccurate moves that don't have dangerous second effects and it'd often pay off (i.e. Focus Blast vs Fire Blast).
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rain Dance
On paper Swampert was the ideal second Pokemon, it could break through most Steel and Poison types while allowing Magnemite to make good use of its 4th moveslot. Not really a lot to say besides that, Swampert did its job beautifully, although I wish it was a tad bulkier.
Naganadel @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
Naganadel, while unfortunately squishy, worked wonders in combination with Swampert. When searching for a 3rd Pokemon I wanted something that could hard wall Grass types and set up on them, since Ludicolo doesn't carry Ice coverage I decided on using a Dragon and Naganadel was a perfect fit, breaking through the Latis was another added bonus as Swampert's Ice Punch doesn't trade well with Draco Meteor.
Amoonguss isan unstoppable killing machine the biggest threat to the team as it snacks on Swampert, is immune to Toxic, and isn't weak to Sludge Wave. Amoonguss4 is far and away the biggest threat, since it has Clear Smog and Synthesis the team is forced to hope that Naganadel doesn't get ungodly sleep turns, or that it comes in on weakened Swampert so it doesn't heal completely from Giga Drain after Ice Punch. Fairly certain that any run with this team would be halted by lead Amoonguss4.
While not as threatening in the back, the only option vs these on lead is to let Magnemite consume Berry Juice turn 1 and then sack it to set up Rain Dance for Swampert to come in.
Hax.
Scald burns are the biggest offenders, followed by flinches from things like Dark Pulse. Occasionally I'd get burned by Fire Blast, so it was important for me to weigh the risks, against trainers with potentially threatening lineups I wouldn't risk it so I could safely scout Pokemon 2.
Z-moves.
The smallest threat on the list, but the AI's seemingly random timing on using them makes it impossible to alternate Recycle/Protect safely, quickly depleting Recycle's PP.
Really proud of this run, it took a lot of perseverance and painful failures but I finally managed to get it after 7 tries, probably won't touch Singles again for a while after this (if ever) after seeing how mentally taxing it can be. s/o to paperquagsire for inspiring this madness. Planning to get on the Multis board before New Years, after that, Lillie for leaderboard 2k18?
After six grueling attempts and utter failures (streak 1 died at 89), streak 7 finally brought me to the leaderboard. I proudly present a team dubbed "Magnemite for leaderboard 2k17".
Spooky (Magnemite) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
EVs: 76 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recycle
- Toxic
- Protect
- Rain Dance
76 HP allows Magnemite to go to Berry Juice after two turns of Curse, potentially allowing it to set Rain Dance for the incoming Swampert. Ideally Magnemite would 1v1 the AI's lead and then scout what they choose to send it second, allowing me to either whittle away at it with Toxic and Protect spam for Naganadel or set up Rain for Swampert. If lead vs something that can't touch Naganadel I'd hard switch into it and set up the sweep immediately, against things like Steelix I'd PP stall Earthquake before switching Swampert in to minimize the incoming damage. PP stalling was also useful for Scarfers like Garchomp3 and for setting up Naganadel sweeps by stalling their only threatening attack out. I'd always spam Recycle vs opponents spamming inaccurate moves that don't have dangerous second effects and it'd often pay off (i.e. Focus Blast vs Fire Blast).
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rain Dance
On paper Swampert was the ideal second Pokemon, it could break through most Steel and Poison types while allowing Magnemite to make good use of its 4th moveslot. Not really a lot to say besides that, Swampert did its job beautifully, although I wish it was a tad bulkier.
Naganadel @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
Naganadel, while unfortunately squishy, worked wonders in combination with Swampert. When searching for a 3rd Pokemon I wanted something that could hard wall Grass types and set up on them, since Ludicolo doesn't carry Ice coverage I decided on using a Dragon and Naganadel was a perfect fit, breaking through the Latis was another added bonus as Swampert's Ice Punch doesn't trade well with Draco Meteor.
Turn 0.
vs
At this point the goal of getting Magnemite to 90 wins has been completed, so now I'm seeing how much further I can push it. I don't remember how Comatose works (and have nothing better to do with Berry Juice intact) so I decide to Toxic it.
Turn 1.
Komala4 Z-Thrashes Magnemite and Toxic fails.
Turn 2.
I see that Komala is using Thrash, so I decide to try and confusion stall it with Protect and Recycle.
Turn 11.
I attempt to double Protect and fail as Komala doesn't hit itself in confusion (it didn't ever), turns out I didn't have the Berry Juice like I thought I did for whatever reason, Magnemite is left with 1 HP.
Turn 12.
"Uh oh, better Rain Dance" Komala doesn't hit itself in confusion, Magnemite faints, and I send in Naganadel.
Turn 13.
vs
I Z-Draco for an OHKO as I'm away from my computer and can't calc if Naga can eat a Thrash. (Turns out Thrash only has a 31.3% chance to KO). AI sends in Drizzle Politoed.
Turn 14.
vs
Sludge Wave does ~40%, and Politoed4 connects Blizzard for the OHKO.
Turn 15.
vs
Earthquake picks up the KO on Politoed. Shiinotic replaces Politoed.
Turn 16.
vs
I think about it for a bit and decide to go for an Ice Punch crit/freeze over the Waterfall flinch, I get neither and deal 50% to Shiinotic while Giga Drain heals it completely and leaves Swampert at 7 HP.
Turn 17.
One last chance to keep the dream alive, I lock in Ice Punch and unfortunately the magic doesn't happen. Shiinotic takes what little HP Swampert has along with my hopes and dreams.
What I learned: Not really much this time, after hitting 90 wins I abandoned most focus to have some fun so it doesn't really bother me that I goofed up here.
At this point the goal of getting Magnemite to 90 wins has been completed, so now I'm seeing how much further I can push it. I don't remember how Comatose works (and have nothing better to do with Berry Juice intact) so I decide to Toxic it.
Turn 1.
Komala4 Z-Thrashes Magnemite and Toxic fails.
Turn 2.
I see that Komala is using Thrash, so I decide to try and confusion stall it with Protect and Recycle.
Turn 11.
I attempt to double Protect and fail as Komala doesn't hit itself in confusion (it didn't ever), turns out I didn't have the Berry Juice like I thought I did for whatever reason, Magnemite is left with 1 HP.
Turn 12.
"Uh oh, better Rain Dance" Komala doesn't hit itself in confusion, Magnemite faints, and I send in Naganadel.
Turn 13.
I Z-Draco for an OHKO as I'm away from my computer and can't calc if Naga can eat a Thrash. (Turns out Thrash only has a 31.3% chance to KO). AI sends in Drizzle Politoed.
Turn 14.
Sludge Wave does ~40%, and Politoed4 connects Blizzard for the OHKO.
Turn 15.
Earthquake picks up the KO on Politoed. Shiinotic replaces Politoed.
Turn 16.
I think about it for a bit and decide to go for an Ice Punch crit/freeze over the Waterfall flinch, I get neither and deal 50% to Shiinotic while Giga Drain heals it completely and leaves Swampert at 7 HP.
Turn 17.
One last chance to keep the dream alive, I lock in Ice Punch and unfortunately the magic doesn't happen. Shiinotic takes what little HP Swampert has along with my hopes and dreams.
What I learned: Not really much this time, after hitting 90 wins I abandoned most focus to have some fun so it doesn't really bother me that I goofed up here.
Amoonguss is
While not as threatening in the back, the only option vs these on lead is to let Magnemite consume Berry Juice turn 1 and then sack it to set up Rain Dance for Swampert to come in.
Hax.
Scald burns are the biggest offenders, followed by flinches from things like Dark Pulse. Occasionally I'd get burned by Fire Blast, so it was important for me to weigh the risks, against trainers with potentially threatening lineups I wouldn't risk it so I could safely scout Pokemon 2.
Z-moves.
The smallest threat on the list, but the AI's seemingly random timing on using them makes it impossible to alternate Recycle/Protect safely, quickly depleting Recycle's PP.
Battle 50 vs Battle Legend Red: SRRG-WWWW-WWWC-EMZW
Good example of how Naganadel can sweep, after scouting the lead Venusaur3 I send in Naganadel hard to set up Nasty Plot. Naganadel removes Venusaur and 9X% of Snorlax's health, allowing Swampert to clean with Earthquake.
Battle 53 vs Police Officer Rendor: HAAW-WWWW-WWWC-ENFM
This replay is from streak 1 when Magnemite didn't have the HP investment (why it's 11). Couldn't find a Magnemite 3-0 from the other replays I have, probably never bothered to save one since I had this.
Battle 90 vs Pokemon Trainer Wally: V2FW-WWWW-WWWC-EN4N
Nothing feels better than starting off the definitive battle with a Toxic miss. Fortunately Swampert managed to clutch through Garchomp3 and Magnezone.
Good example of how Naganadel can sweep, after scouting the lead Venusaur3 I send in Naganadel hard to set up Nasty Plot. Naganadel removes Venusaur and 9X% of Snorlax's health, allowing Swampert to clean with Earthquake.
Battle 53 vs Police Officer Rendor: HAAW-WWWW-WWWC-ENFM
This replay is from streak 1 when Magnemite didn't have the HP investment (why it's 11). Couldn't find a Magnemite 3-0 from the other replays I have, probably never bothered to save one since I had this.
Battle 90 vs Pokemon Trainer Wally: V2FW-WWWW-WWWC-EN4N
Nothing feels better than starting off the definitive battle with a Toxic miss. Fortunately Swampert managed to clutch through Garchomp3 and Magnezone.
Really proud of this run, it took a lot of perseverance and painful failures but I finally managed to get it after 7 tries, probably won't touch Singles again for a while after this (if ever) after seeing how mentally taxing it can be. s/o to paperquagsire for inspiring this madness. Planning to get on the Multis board before New Years, after that, Lillie for leaderboard 2k18?
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3923127&postcount=984
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3791088&postcount=691
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4046169&postcount=1199
There were a few teams using Shuckle back in the Subway - Power Split with minimal attacking stats seems like a pretty okay crippling option for weakening enemy attacks, but the power creep since might be unkind towards it.
I found a HUGE bug in Skewtr's spreadsheet. For the Royal Pokemon tab, in column I he uses "Spd" to denote that a set is speed-invested, but in column T where he lists the actual speed investment in order to combine it with the Pokemon's base speed in column Z to give the actual speed tier in AF and AG, he abbreviates it as "Spe"
This causes column T to read that every set has 0 speed investment, and is thus probably throwing off the calculations on the affected rows. I'd go in and do it myself, but I don't have edit privileges. Could someone drop him a PM? Seems like an easy fix (Find and Replace, Spe to Spd to maintain consistency, since the Tree Pokemon sheet uses Spe). Please quote my post if you do.
This causes column T to read that every set has 0 speed investment, and is thus probably throwing off the calculations on the affected rows. I'd go in and do it myself, but I don't have edit privileges. Could someone drop him a PM? Seems like an easy fix (Find and Replace, Spe to Spd to maintain consistency, since the Tree Pokemon sheet uses Spe). Please quote my post if you do.
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Skewtr visits this topic. By tagging him you'll likely ensure that he sees it eventually. If it takes longer than a day or two, you can drop him a PM (but unless he has email notifications or something, it may not help much more.)
Edit: Twas fun while it lasted, but I lost battle 130 to Kukui with my Oranguru/M-Heracross/Aloggutor/Stacked team. He lead Incineroar3 and Lycanroc4, and all previous battles with Thundercat indicated it liked to go for the guaranteed OHKO on Heracross with Flare Blitz. I predicted wrong and sacked Oranguru to the damage from LO Rock Slide and Darkest Lariat (which critted, not that it mattered) and the battle went sharply downhill from there. Heracross would flub a second protect and die from the oncoming Inferno Overdrive.
Stakataka and Exeggutor KOed the two leads but by now I pretty much know I'm royally done because neither of them can deal with Primarina or Snorlax without TR and some other factors working for me. It's Snorlax4 and Alolatales, and I select moves anyway just to see what Kukui says when I lose. Aurora Veil, Snorlax insults me by landing a Fissure on Staka (so much for killing Ninetales) and Exeggutor only does about 50% plus poisoning in retaliation. Snow Warning activated, so bye bye Blizzard. At least I get a Lansat and some good items out of this.
I'll see what I can do with Josh's awesomely creative team, albeit wielded by a less competent user. I failed well below my personal standard, so I'm not providing the proof to get me a shitty spot on the leaderboard. It was a fun experiment, about as fun as team Guzzy.
Edit: Twas fun while it lasted, but I lost battle 130 to Kukui with my Oranguru/M-Heracross/Aloggutor/Stacked team. He lead Incineroar3 and Lycanroc4, and all previous battles with Thundercat indicated it liked to go for the guaranteed OHKO on Heracross with Flare Blitz. I predicted wrong and sacked Oranguru to the damage from LO Rock Slide and Darkest Lariat (which critted, not that it mattered) and the battle went sharply downhill from there. Heracross would flub a second protect and die from the oncoming Inferno Overdrive.
Stakataka and Exeggutor KOed the two leads but by now I pretty much know I'm royally done because neither of them can deal with Primarina or Snorlax without TR and some other factors working for me. It's Snorlax4 and Alolatales, and I select moves anyway just to see what Kukui says when I lose. Aurora Veil, Snorlax insults me by landing a Fissure on Staka (so much for killing Ninetales) and Exeggutor only does about 50% plus poisoning in retaliation. Snow Warning activated, so bye bye Blizzard. At least I get a Lansat and some good items out of this.
I'll see what I can do with Josh's awesomely creative team, albeit wielded by a less competent user. I failed well below my personal standard, so I'm not providing the proof to get me a shitty spot on the leaderboard. It was a fun experiment, about as fun as team Guzzy.
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Unfortunately, no.
Mainly for 2 reasons: you'd be relying on a weather that's going to be replaced very easily since being Tyranitar scarfed will outspeed all other passive weather setters, and also you have a lead that is not really threatening at all to large majority of the tree.
Plus you will unlikely if ever get to use Last resort, and Play Rhough accuracy would inevitably bite you back, with Tyranitar having a disastrously bad defensive typing and lacking KO potential on a lot of fighting types or mons with fighting coverage.
Overally if you want to attempt a Sand team (which so far sadly hasn't proved being viable outside of simply for fun), scarf Tyranitar is not a good plan. Rather the opposite, use a slow (mega) Tyranitar but at same time you need a backline that'd be able to cover if Sand gets replaced.
Mainly for 2 reasons: you'd be relying on a weather that's going to be replaced very easily since being Tyranitar scarfed will outspeed all other passive weather setters, and also you have a lead that is not really threatening at all to large majority of the tree.
Plus you will unlikely if ever get to use Last resort, and Play Rhough accuracy would inevitably bite you back, with Tyranitar having a disastrously bad defensive typing and lacking KO potential on a lot of fighting types or mons with fighting coverage.
Overally if you want to attempt a Sand team (which so far sadly hasn't proved being viable outside of simply for fun), scarf Tyranitar is not a good plan. Rather the opposite, use a slow (mega) Tyranitar but at same time you need a backline that'd be able to cover if Sand gets replaced.
http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...with-gen-4-records.102593/page-4#post-3449443
Here is an old Team using Sand a bit. The problem seems to be, that if you use a Sand setter and a natural choice of something with Sand Rush, you mostly are Rock/Ground heavy and therefore very weak to many things. The Sand Rush Mon (or anything that benefits from Sand) often doesnt give you much diversity offensively as well as defensively. So back to the team i mentioned, one approach might be to play such a mon in the back and build the rest of the team without considering Sand as much. However be aware, that the mentioned team today probably wont work as well as back then, because in the Subway wereno only passive Sand and Ice weather setters, and weather lastet for ever.
Here is an old Team using Sand a bit. The problem seems to be, that if you use a Sand setter and a natural choice of something with Sand Rush, you mostly are Rock/Ground heavy and therefore very weak to many things. The Sand Rush Mon (or anything that benefits from Sand) often doesnt give you much diversity offensively as well as defensively. So back to the team i mentioned, one approach might be to play such a mon in the back and build the rest of the team without considering Sand as much. However be aware, that the mentioned team today probably wont work as well as back then, because in the Subway were
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The other main issue of sand based comps is that they play awfully bad against the 2 other big weathers should they manage to set their own: rain teams will just run you over with supereffective boosted hits, while sun trainers will have access to istant solar beam.
Hail isnt too threatening, but ground types also are weak to blizzard, though rock and steel at least are not.
Plus obviously, the absence of accurate rock attacks on top of your own sand rushers or sand streamers weak to EQ itself is generally a problem (and Garchomp34 is a common thing with both versions possibly abusing your own weather against you)
Hail isnt too threatening, but ground types also are weak to blizzard, though rock and steel at least are not.
Plus obviously, the absence of accurate rock attacks on top of your own sand rushers or sand streamers weak to EQ itself is generally a problem (and Garchomp34 is a common thing with both versions possibly abusing your own weather against you)
Call it mild PTSD but one of the worst instances I've ever been raped by TR was while using a sand team. Back in the days of the Subway I was leading Tyranitar and Sand Rush Excadrill and all was well until Claydol set off TR and a Mamoswine4 came in. I was promptly, brutally murdered. Haven't used a sand team since! lol
As someone who likes to alternate teams, I wish battle facilities had streaks of 10 instead.
Well honestly, all of us would like if it was possible to have separate streaks. It's kind of annoying expecially if you have a 100+ streak going (not even mentioning 500+) and you basically cannot even think of trying new teams.
Don't pretend that you can't change teams, silly. You're overstating peoples' unwillingness to accept the risk for the sake of a number on the leaderboard. Perpetuating nonsense!!!!!!!!! :P
And that's about all it is. The only real "inhibitor" is the fear that any new team is risking a loss of progress. But boredom can and will eventually trump that fear, especially if you're confident in multiple teams. Turskain repeatedly changed teams during his largest streak last gen, for instance. It only made his streak more interesting. I believe Smuckem also did that often, though he likes to experiment.
And that's about all it is. The only real "inhibitor" is the fear that any new team is risking a loss of progress. But boredom can and will eventually trump that fear, especially if you're confident in multiple teams. Turskain repeatedly changed teams during his largest streak last gen, for instance. It only made his streak more interesting. I believe Smuckem also did that often, though he likes to experiment.
There's something to be said for being a purist, though. While it'd definitely be far less boring to use 2-3 different teams over a long streak, it feels a little underwhelming, at least personally, because you can't say that one team managed to be resilient enough to survive awful odds over a streak of say, 500, 1000, etc. Personally speaking, it's a lot more satisfying to have one team eat up 500 battles in a row in the tree.
Another reason people probably wouldn't want to switch teams across the same streak is that teams often play very differently and by switching teams often you're actively impeding your ability to remember battles and build up and store a "database", so to speak, of appropriate responses for different situations, since different teams will obviously play the same situation differently (e.g. PheroLele lead vs Colress' Metagross / Electrode vs Scarf Eruption Typhlosion + Zard Y against the same lead). I find it way more consistent to just play the same team over and over again, and I think I would stick to that even if I was confident in more than one of my teams.
Another reason people probably wouldn't want to switch teams across the same streak is that teams often play very differently and by switching teams often you're actively impeding your ability to remember battles and build up and store a "database", so to speak, of appropriate responses for different situations, since different teams will obviously play the same situation differently (e.g. PheroLele lead vs Colress' Metagross / Electrode vs Scarf Eruption Typhlosion + Zard Y against the same lead). I find it way more consistent to just play the same team over and over again, and I think I would stick to that even if I was confident in more than one of my teams.
Heheh, I know. That mindset is shared by just about everyone, and the reasoning behind it is valid.
The implication behind Worldie's remark was that it was simply preposterous to consider changing teams once a streak was well under way, and some players habitually changed teams... ...not the least of all myself. So I took a cheap shot at his semantics. It's not that you can't, it's that you won't. And maybe shouldn't. ;)
The implication behind Worldie's remark was that it was simply preposterous to consider changing teams once a streak was well under way, and some players habitually changed teams... ...not the least of all myself. So I took a cheap shot at his semantics. It's not that you can't, it's that you won't. And maybe shouldn't. ;)