atsync
Where the "intelligence" of TRAINERS is put to the test!
I got a streak of 150 in singles with the following team:
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Prankster
Timid
IVs: 31/x/31/x/31/31
EVs: 36/0/252/0/0/220
Stats: 140/78/137/90/95/180
Charm
Memento
Taunt
Worry Seed
Cottonee @ Eviolite
Prankster
Calm
IVs: 31/x/31/x/31/31
EVs: 252/0/92/0/164/0
Stats: 147/42/92/50/100/86
Taunt
Memento
Stun Spore
Flash
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Multiscale
Adamant
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/31
EVs: 204/252/0/0/0/52
Stats: 192/204/115/99/120/107
Dragon Claw
Dragon Dance
Substitute
Roost
Using Cottonee and Whimsicott together is basically the same as using 2 Whimsicotts together. Basically I wanted to try a team with 2 Prankster cripplers. I went with Cottonee because I liked the idea of having a back-up Taunter, and the back-up Memento helps with Roar and Whirlwind leads (I can sacrifice Whimsicott and then Cottonee to ensure that Dragonite can't be swapped out while it boosts). Cottonee is also surprisingly bulky with Eviolite (and support from Whimsicott) so Flash spamming is easier. I still use Stun Spore over Cotton Spore despite Whimsicott knowing Worry Seed now, because the paralysis is so helpful for Dragonite.
Cottonee could be replaced by other Prankster pokemon though. Illumise could run a set of Struggle Bug/Charm/Flash/Thunder Wave which could work nicely. Volbeat lacks Charm but it has Trick as an egg move (and having no Charm isn't so bad thanks to Whimsicott). When the Snarl TM gets released, Murkrow could run Snarl/Featherdance/Thunder Wave/Taunt. I'm thinking of trying Illumise actually.
This team is rather slow, with sets of 7 approaching 40 minutes and beyond. However, the biggest problem for me has been the ridiculous amount of critical hits that have flown my way. There was one battle where I was against this:
684 | Gallade | Adamant | Scope Lens | Psycho Cut | Stone Edge | Night Slash | X-Scissor | Atk/SpD
I never felt threatened by it, but I swear nearly every 2nd hit it got was a crit. I was able to maximise my stats against it but after that it refused to let me keep my sub up at 100%. I actually ran out of sub PP but was thankfully able to avoid the crit at the right time and the battle went smoothly after that. Also, I faced at least 8 teams with 3 Focus Sash/Sturdy pokemon, though I survived them all.
I lost to a team that lead with Weavile 4. I forgot to save the battle so this is going by memory. Anyway Weavile has Taunt so I chose to Taunt it myself. I mispredicted and it hit me with Ice Punch. I Memento and send in Cottonee. I am thinking that Weavile is just going to attack me again so I Stun Spore and it hits. But then Weavile DOES Taunt. Cottonee Struggles against him a few times which breaks the Focus Sash at least but it dies before Taunt ends. In goes Dragonite. I try to set up, hoping for some luck with Paralysis, but it Taunts me. I am forced to kill it with Dragon Claw. The opponent sends in Probopass 4. Now I know it is going to be long and difficult if I want to win, but I'm gonna try! I'm still in Taunt so Dragon Claw does laughable damage. Probopass breaks the sub. One more Taunt turn so I use Dragon Claw, but then Probopass gets a crit and kills me.
Not sure if that last crit mattered because I'm too lazy to calculate the damage, though this battle does demonstrate the main flaw with using only one Sweeper: if something goes wrong, then that's it. No second chances. At least when I was using Bisharp I had a back up to give me a chance of getting out of this, though obviously I can't cripple the lead as easily.
Well 150 is a good streak though so yay.
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Prankster
Timid
IVs: 31/x/31/x/31/31
EVs: 36/0/252/0/0/220
Stats: 140/78/137/90/95/180
Charm
Memento
Taunt
Worry Seed
Cottonee @ Eviolite
Prankster
Calm
IVs: 31/x/31/x/31/31
EVs: 252/0/92/0/164/0
Stats: 147/42/92/50/100/86
Taunt
Memento
Stun Spore
Flash
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Multiscale
Adamant
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/31
EVs: 204/252/0/0/0/52
Stats: 192/204/115/99/120/107
Dragon Claw
Dragon Dance
Substitute
Roost
Using Cottonee and Whimsicott together is basically the same as using 2 Whimsicotts together. Basically I wanted to try a team with 2 Prankster cripplers. I went with Cottonee because I liked the idea of having a back-up Taunter, and the back-up Memento helps with Roar and Whirlwind leads (I can sacrifice Whimsicott and then Cottonee to ensure that Dragonite can't be swapped out while it boosts). Cottonee is also surprisingly bulky with Eviolite (and support from Whimsicott) so Flash spamming is easier. I still use Stun Spore over Cotton Spore despite Whimsicott knowing Worry Seed now, because the paralysis is so helpful for Dragonite.
Cottonee could be replaced by other Prankster pokemon though. Illumise could run a set of Struggle Bug/Charm/Flash/Thunder Wave which could work nicely. Volbeat lacks Charm but it has Trick as an egg move (and having no Charm isn't so bad thanks to Whimsicott). When the Snarl TM gets released, Murkrow could run Snarl/Featherdance/Thunder Wave/Taunt. I'm thinking of trying Illumise actually.
This team is rather slow, with sets of 7 approaching 40 minutes and beyond. However, the biggest problem for me has been the ridiculous amount of critical hits that have flown my way. There was one battle where I was against this:
684 | Gallade | Adamant | Scope Lens | Psycho Cut | Stone Edge | Night Slash | X-Scissor | Atk/SpD
I never felt threatened by it, but I swear nearly every 2nd hit it got was a crit. I was able to maximise my stats against it but after that it refused to let me keep my sub up at 100%. I actually ran out of sub PP but was thankfully able to avoid the crit at the right time and the battle went smoothly after that. Also, I faced at least 8 teams with 3 Focus Sash/Sturdy pokemon, though I survived them all.
I lost to a team that lead with Weavile 4. I forgot to save the battle so this is going by memory. Anyway Weavile has Taunt so I chose to Taunt it myself. I mispredicted and it hit me with Ice Punch. I Memento and send in Cottonee. I am thinking that Weavile is just going to attack me again so I Stun Spore and it hits. But then Weavile DOES Taunt. Cottonee Struggles against him a few times which breaks the Focus Sash at least but it dies before Taunt ends. In goes Dragonite. I try to set up, hoping for some luck with Paralysis, but it Taunts me. I am forced to kill it with Dragon Claw. The opponent sends in Probopass 4. Now I know it is going to be long and difficult if I want to win, but I'm gonna try! I'm still in Taunt so Dragon Claw does laughable damage. Probopass breaks the sub. One more Taunt turn so I use Dragon Claw, but then Probopass gets a crit and kills me.
Not sure if that last crit mattered because I'm too lazy to calculate the damage, though this battle does demonstrate the main flaw with using only one Sweeper: if something goes wrong, then that's it. No second chances. At least when I was using Bisharp I had a back up to give me a chance of getting out of this, though obviously I can't cripple the lead as easily.
Well 150 is a good streak though so yay.