Shandeur Presents:
Beautiful Pain: ORAS LC ParaSpam
Hello Smogon, I've recently tried out ORAS LC to find out it was a very fun metagame, and has been something I've wanted to play more of ever since I started playing with my friends. This was a team I've been using in some friendly matches, and I wanted to share it with the site tonight. I'll go indepth about each Pokemon's role, as well as how it fills in gaps for the team.
Beautiful Pain: ORAS LC ParaSpam
Hello Smogon, I've recently tried out ORAS LC to find out it was a very fun metagame, and has been something I've wanted to play more of ever since I started playing with my friends. This was a team I've been using in some friendly matches, and I wanted to share it with the site tonight. I'll go indepth about each Pokemon's role, as well as how it fills in gaps for the team.
Bad Guy (Scraggy) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Moxie
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Substitute
"I represent everything, you take for granted"
Scraggy was a mon that I was really interested in, but never got to use since I generally only played Sword and Shield Little Cup until recently when I started trying out ORAS. It's the team's main cleaner/breaker, forming a pair with Snivy to break through common defensive cores for each other, such as Frillish and Ferroseed. Substitute is to fish for paralysis on a paralysed Pokemon, or a Pokemon that it naturally threatens out. It's able to grab a Dragon Dance and then can roll through weakened teams with ease due to Moxie.
Rhyme or Reason (Chinchou) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 212 Def / 152 SpA / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
"But I still am a CRIMINAL"
Scraggy puts a weakness to Fletchling on the team, so I needed a Flying resist. Chinchou is a great flying resist, as it can pivot out with Volt Switch, and can spread burn and paralysis with Scald and Thunder Wave respectively. The last slot is used with Ice Beam, to not let Pokemon such as Snivy come in for free. It's also a good midground move if the opponent has a Flying and a Grass Type, allowing you to hit both hard by clicking Ice Beam.
Berzerk (Onix) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
"We're gonna rock this house until we knock it down"
Onix and Chinchou form a good core, as they both resist similar things, and can stop overload strategies well. Things such as Magnemite and FlyingSpam are shut down by both. Onix provides a secondary flying and fire resist, as well as a switchin to Poison-types, bar Croagunk. Due to a helpful Normal resistance, it can help vs Non-Seed Bomb Zigzagoon. It also can set Stealth Rock and stop other rocks from going up with Taunt. SturdyJuice can be a stopgap to sweepers if at full health.
The Monster (Snubbull) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 36 Atk / 196 Def / 116 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thief
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed"
I noticed that my team was weak to Fighting Types, such as the ever-present Mienfoo. Defensive Snubbull helps with the cause. It deters High Jump Kick, and does a lot of damage back with Play Rough. Thunder Wave can help Snivy and Scraggy fish for Paralysis with Substitute. Earthquake hits nearly every Fairy-Resist, while Thief does massive damage to Gastly and can steal opposing items after its lost its Berry Juice.
Brainless (Snivy) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Contrary
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Hidden Power [Ground]
"Smoke and mirrors, tactical, practical jokes, yeah You motherf***in' [insert insult here]"
Like the nickname suggests, Snivy is a very brainless pokemon. It mainly wants to click Leaf Storm and roll teams. Substitute + Glare helps Scraggy and the otherwise slow team, even vs Ground Types. HP Ice is used to help versus Fletchling, and other Snivy. Berry Juice allows Snivy to fish for more substitutes, and can eat a hit in a pinch if need be.
Legacy (Porygon) @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
"I used to be the type of kid that would always think the sky is falling"
Lastly, we have Porygon. It's the main switchin to Pokemon such as Abra and Gastly. It is also a good wall to have, as it can keep its self healthy with Recover, and can help with the Paralysis Spam cause. It's also able to eat weaker hits for breakfast, and can hit Gastly with Psychic, and Pokemon such as Archen and Snivy with Ice Beam. It's a general annoyance for teams lacking a Fighting-type or teams that cannot break through it.
Threatlist
When your only Poison resist is hit hard by Fighting-Type attacks, Croagunk will always be a rough matchup. However, it can't switch-in to Onix without risking imminent death via Earthquake.
Gastly can break many holes in the team, and it can get in via U-turn support. The matchup gets a thousand times worse if it has Dazzling Gleam. Keep your Porygon healthy if you see one in team preview.
Snivy is very annoying, as I only have one grass resist, and that resist can get blasted by a potential HP Ice. However, it does not appreciate a paralysis from being switched in.
No Fairy resist is a tough matchup vs Snubbull. Your best bet is Onix, but Earthquake can do a lot of damage. However, Pokemon such as Chinchou and Snivy target its weaker defense stat.
That's all I have for right now, I'll see you next time.
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