Big, Bulky and Beautiful (First timer)

Aedan

Aedan

Hello everyone!

Finally decided to post my team to get some feedback and advice on how to improve. I've played the games since RBY and feel somewhat like a veteran, but obviously I still have a way to go. Did some testing, and found that I win around 6 out of 10 battles, so there should be room for improvement. It feels like I am quite strong against dragons, but somewhat weak againt Ferrothorn and Jolteon. Metagross seem to be struggling to get SR out half of the time. I might end up using Steelix instead, to get a hazer on the team as well. I hope this is enough testing to get my team rated :)

Here's my team.


Metagross @ Leftovers/Air Balloon
Adamant, 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 SpD

Moveset
~ Stealth Rock
~ Meteor Mash
~ Pursuit
~ Earthquake

Metagross is my lead. His weaknesses are covered by the rest of my team. He seems to be a bit on the weak side. I might use him wrong.


Starmie @ Life Orb
Timid, 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Thunderbolt
~ Rapid Spin

Starmie is my Rapid Spinner. He is usually the one paving the way for Volcarona, as he can't survive without spin support. I'm very pleased with the little starfish.


Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Jolly, 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moveset EVs
~ Icicle Crash
~ Ice Shard
~ Earthquake
~ Superpower

Mamoswine is the bane of dragons. His immunity to electric helps cover Jellicents weakness, and Jellicent enjoys whatever water attack my opponent choose to send Mamoswine's way, but Jolteon still gives him trouble.


Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Rash, 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moveset
~ Draco Meteor
~ Flamethrower
~ Superpower
~ Dark Pulse/Crunch

My revenge killer! I actually think he functions quite well. I went with Flamethrower instead of Fire Blast (I hate missing), and I can't decide between Crunch and Dark Pulse. Doesn't most Psychic and Ghost types have lower Defense than Special Defense? Wouldn't Crunch be better against Alakazam for example?


Jellicent @ Leftovers
Bold, 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpD
Moveset
~ Scald
~ Toxic
~ Recover
~ Shadow Ball

Jellicent loves to sponge any water attack and take special attacks pretty good in general. He's got excellent synergy with the team, especially Mamoswine. I went with Shadow Ball instead of Taunt for a STAB move against pokemons that resist water.


Volcarona @ Leftovers
Modest, 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset
~ Quiver Dance
~ Bug Buzz
~ Fiery Dance
~ Whirlwind/Will'o'Wisp

Quite a powerhouse, but still he falls short sometimes. Physical moves seem to break him completely. I have considered to use Will'o'Wisp instead of Whirlwind recently to get them on the switch, but I also enjoy hazing them and rack up some SR damage.


My core for the team was Jellicent, Mamoswine and Metagross. They seemed to complement eachother fairly good. I'm open for suggestions! Also, I'd like to hear your ideas about using Steelix, a pokemon I find doesn't get enough credit! Since I play mostly with my Fiance and my Brother, I can't use Legendaries on my teams since we decided to ban them, so I'd prefer suggestions that doesn't include these.

Thanks for reading!

Can't wait to hear the suggestions :)
 
Hi there think you have a good team but I see room for improvement

I think your Metagross has weird Evs . I think you are underestimating the power that Metagross can have I suggest running this set

Metagross @ choice band
adamant, 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4SpD

Meteor mash
Earthquake
Pursuit
Zen Headbutt

Ok so I think stealth rock is a little weird on this team and I think with this set you will find Metagross a much better Pokémon overall.

I think your starmie is just fine the way it is, I also think your mamoswine is just fine except I find it weird that you put EVs into speed as oppose to HP other than that he's fine.

I also use a Hydreigon and I think you should put choice specs instead of choice scarf and I know you said you don't like fire blast but it doesn't miss that much and I find it pretty reliable. I also think you should use dark pulse instead of crunch much more effective with choice specs

I also use jellicent which I love I just find it weird you put EVs into Def instead of SpD being most effective moves are SpA. And I like your Volcarona and I would use will-o-wisp over whirlwind mainly because statuses can be very helpful
 
Thank you so much for your reply!

I'm a little concerned with leaving Stealth Rock out completely from the team, as some of my sweepers might miss out on some KO's if I leave it out. I will consider your suggestion however. Metagross rarely gets a chance to use them anyway.

Icicle Crash on Mamoswine has 30% flinch chance, which is why I want him to be a bit faster than some nasty pokemons, such as Skarmory. I'm not sure if HP EV's would help his survival rate much, as he is already pretty tough to defeat. I'll give it a shot though :)

If I go with Choice Specs on Hydreigon, I have a couple of problems. First, I loose my revenge killer. Second, Superpower won't be as effective, and I have no means of defeating Blissey. I would need to remedy this if I change him. I guess it comes down to what I decide to do with the rest of the team. There might be better revenge killers out there than Hydreigon.

I actually posted the wrong EV's on Jellicent. My bad, corrected it now, He's my special wall :)
 
Hi there again

I can see where your concern from leaving stealth rock comes from as I know how effective they can be in which case I think if you switch metagross for Steelix as He can pull it off easily because of his high Def. so here's the set I suggest for him

Steelix @ leftovers
EVs: 252HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Careful nature
Earthquake
Iron Head
Stealth Rock
Rock slide
Ok so I think this set will work for you as since you said you wanted stealth rock and With Steelix naturally high def, and lower SpD I think you should put Evs into it . I have iron head because it has 30% flinch rate which you seem to like from what I read about mamoswine. However if you want you can put the Evs from HP to Spe even though I think having it in HP will help Steelix tremendously.

Ok that make more sense why you would want Evs in Spe instead of HP on mamoswine. Ok I think I have a solution to Hydriegon you can keep the moves you have on him but change the Choice scarf to wise glasses as these boost SpA by 1.1 but lets you use your other moves as well. However its just a suggestion.

Ok i hope i help
 
I have a few thoughts about your team. Since Hydreigon is choiced, you are going to be doing a lot of switching, and being locked into any one of the moves you have now is easy to take advantage of the next turn. I'd put U-Turn in the last slot and 164 EVs into attack, as this secures a OHKO on Alakazam.

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 164 Atk / 252 Spd / 92 SAtk
Rash Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Superpower
- U-turn

U-Turn is great for scouting and keeping momentum, as always. The only real threats you miss out on without a dark move is Jellicent, but Jelly is bulky enough to take a Crunch/Dark Pulse anyway. Reuniclus and bulkier Starmie can still be smacked pretty hard with a U-Turn, and you can switch into something which threatens them.

My other thought was on Volcarona. Seeing as he's dying to physical moves frequently, a bulkier spread may be more useful.

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Whirlwind/Roost

Assuming there are no rocks up, Volcarona can all of a sudden survive many powerful neutral hits (it still dies to rock moves though). Roost is on here as an option to heal off damage, although Whirlwind is still fine if you are partial to phazing. Bulky Volcarona can take physical hits pretty well, and the burn chance with Flame Body is awesome. A lucky burn is sometimes enough for you to win the game right then and there. Keep in mind that Heatran needs to be eliminated before Volc can sweep, as he is immune to Fiery Dance and 4x resists Bug Buzz.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I love ghost- I would still loose my revenge killer with your suggestions, a function that he fills very well. If he should use another power item I guess I would go with Expert Belt or Life Orb, but it would leave me vulnerable to a lot of fast sweepers.

If I go with Steelix I might go with Gyro Ball instead of Iron Head, since he is quite slow. I was thinking something like this.

Anti-Lead Steelix
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Sturdy
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP, 132 ATK, 126 DEF

~ Stealth Rock
~ Earthquake
~ Roar/Dragon Tail
~ Gyro Ball

Steelix won't be able to survive super effective special attacks even with investment, so I went with this instead.

Roar is more reliable than Dragon Tail, though Dragon Tail will surprise a few nasty pokémons carrying Taunt. It also deals fair damage to a few of the frail dragons who think they can just Outrage their way through Steelix.

The EV Spread allows Steelix to 1hko Heatran, Aerodactyl and Gengar most of the time, while 2hko’ing Jirachi. With 220 Attack, Steelix will 2hko Metagross and guarantee a 1hko on Gengars who don’t hide behind a substitute with Gyro Ball. Steelix gets all it’s important KO’s from Earthquake and Gyro Ball so I don’t bother with Fire Fang. Steelix should always roar Ferrothorn, Bronzong and Skarmory away, as it can’t do much against them. But then again, they can’t really do much to Steelix either.

What do you guys think about that?

Sparktrain - I like your ideas for Hydreigon. However, Draco Meteor will guarantee a 1hko on Alakazam unless it carries Focus Band. I suppose U-turn is still a good choice since I would escape Alakazam's Focus Blast this way. If I go with this I might have to change a few moves or pokemons in order to counter Alakazam on my team, as he can punch through most of it.

Volcarona keeps disappointing me, so I might consider another pokemon altogether. His weaknesses are too much to bear. I'm considering an annoyer, something like Jumpluff or Whimsicott, but I'm not sure if it will win me any battles.

THanks you so much for your suggestions and ideas!
 
Hi there it was just a suggestion and at the end of the day it still your team. so you can do whatever works best for gaming style And i never thought of gyro ball but that works better because like you said he so slow . I think roar and dragon tail both have there advantages but i like dragon tail more but again it comes down to your gaming style. And it think your Evs are fine on Steelix.

Again i hope i helped even in the slightest
 
You definately helped! It's always good to consider all the options available :) I'll make a few twists and try out the new improved team. I'll return when I try out the new stuff :)
 
well about the weather teams you should put giga drain on Jellicent as this will help against rain dance teams and maybe something fast in the sun that can sweep maybe a chlorophyll venasuar with access to earthquake and double speed hes a menace , and i don't think sandstorm teams are that much of threat being you have mamoswine and Steelix. but if you don't like any of these you can go with a Pokémon who has a cloud nine ability maybe licky licky just because he can learn moves that are good against weather based teams while also taking away the weather effects but again there are just a couple of suggestions
 
Alright, made some adjustments, and things have improved. Weather teams are still my weakness. Tried out Giga Drain but Shadow Ball had more uses. I replaced Volcarona with Arcanine, and have been really pleased with him. He's still weak to entry hazards, but he manages to get a few punches in.

U-Turn functions well on Hydreigon.

Steelix functions better than Metagross did. Definately got that surprise factor. It's quite nice to use roar all the time and watch the damage from SR multiply >:) Steelix is incredibly easy to switch into battle due to his many resistances and immunities. He forces a lot of switches. The best thing is that he uses Roar on switches, racking up massive damage with a little luck.

I kill most teams who don't rely on weather now. But how do I get better at killing teams that does use weather? Here's how the team is now.



Steelix @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Atk / 126 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Superpower
- Icicle Crash

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Atk
Rash Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
- Superpower

Arcanine @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Wild Charge

Starmie @ Choice Specs
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Trick

Thanks for helping guys :)
 
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