Bulky Charizard Y

[Milkshook]

So one day I had the idea of using a Focus Sash lead Landorus so I decided to build a team including it. Not sure if this is balance or hyper offense but it is quite offensive.

Team building process:

Landorus-I
Wanted to use it so I put it.
Landorus-I/Excadrill
Something to get rid of hazards. Since I was using a suicide lead, I decided Rapid Spin would be better than Defog.
Landorus-I/Excadrill/Zapdos
Talonflame and Mega Pinsir destroy my team at the moment and they are threats in general so I decided to add a check.
Landorus-I/Excadrill/Zapdos/Mamoswine
Mamoswine is here to revenge kill threats such as Thundurus, Landorus, Garchomp, Latis and to hit hard with a Life Orb. Great pokemon in general.
Landorus-I/Excadrill/Zapdos/Mamoswine/Aegislash
I realised my team was very weak to opposing Mamoswine and Excadrill can easily spin away my rocks so I added balloon Aegislash to check these pokemon. Also a secondary check to Pinsir and Latis. I used a physically biased mixed set.
Landorus-I/Excadrill/Zapdos/Mamoswine/Aegislash/Charizard(Y)
There is this thing called Bisharp that wins at +2. I decided to use bulky Charizard Y. It does well against stuff and is a great member of the team (will explain more in the set analysis)
Landorus-I/Excadrill/Zapdos/Mamoswine/Azumarill/Charizard(Y)
My team had a huge water weakness(most notably Keldeo) so I replaced Aegislash with Assault Vest Azumarill. It still checks similar stuff although not being able to spinblock kinda sucks.

Now the sets...

Landorus (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 Spd / 252 SAtk / 8 Atk
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast

248 Speed allows it to outspeed max+ speed base 100s and there is no need to speedcreep because it lacks any way of beating Thundurus-T/opposing Landorus-I and it has a Focus Sash. Stealth Rock is the main move on this set and usually the first move used. Sometimes my opponent switches to their defogger turn 1 (Mandibuzz and Zapdos don't mind taking hits from this guy) so turn 2 I explode and go to my appropriate check. However, the latis beat this set (you could choose to use Knock Off) so be cautious. Earth Power is there for STAB and hits decently hard with Sheer Force. Focus Blast is mainly there to do a lot to Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Not sure whether to use scarf or balloon but scarf is useful to revenge kill stuff like Thundurus, Charizard Y, Greninja, other frail things. It's just the standard scarf set and helps me against Magic Guard Clefable. However, it really sucks being locked into Rapid Spin or Rock Slide. I might try Jolly to Beat +1 adamant Charizard X which is a big problem for my team.

Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 160 Spd / 252 SAtk / 96 HP
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave

Scarf Zapdos is great. Revenge kills a lot of unsuspecting pokemonsuch as Garchomp, Landorus-I, Greninja, Thundurus-I, scarf Excadrill and hits hard with a Modest nature. The speed allows me to outspeed adamant Excadrill and the hp has saved me a couple of times and makes it a bit bulkier. Volt Switch is a great move that defensive Zapdos doesn't have room for and lets me scout. HP ice for Garchomp, Heat wave for Excadrill and an alternate STAB in the sun (situational but useful)

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 HP / 56 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Freeze-Dry

Standard. Hits hard with Earthquake, Icicle Spear is nice for Dragonite and Gliscor behind a sub. Freeze Dry is mainly there for Quagsire but can revenge kill heavily weakned Rotom-W (does around 46-50%). 56 speed is there to outspeed Rotom-A (assuming 4 speed EVs). I didn't max out the speed because I didn't see a good reason too and to take Pinsir Quick Attack/Talonflame Brave Bird a bit better).

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Standard Assault Vest Azumarill for Keldeo and Greninja. I chose Superpower over Ice Punch or Knock Off because I have no other fighting moves and the pink blobs are so annoying to my team.Aqua Jet is kind of weak and sometimes doesn't do enough to Excadrill when I'm trying to stop it spinning. 8 speed is just to outspeed opposing banded or AV Azumarill which is useful.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 108 Spd / 248 HP / 88 SDef / 64 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam (maybe Roar?)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

This guy can beat +2 Bisharp after rocks. Main reason I'm using it however it doesn't stop there. It answers Mawile extremely well and is a good check to Keldeo, Azumarill, Greninja, Landorus-I and most special attackers. Flamethrower is there for STAB and still hits really hard even with 0 EVs (Drought and 354 special attack o.o). Solar Beam is there for Keldeo, Azumarill and bulky water types. Roar could be used for Baton Pass and to stop Charizard X setting up and sweeping me at +1 but I think Solar Beam is generally more useful. Will-O-Wisp is mainly there to avoid Sucker Punch from Mawile and Bisharp and then lower their attack but it can also be used to burn Tyranitar before dying or catch something on the switch. Roost is nice recovery. 108 speed allows it to outspeed jolly Bisharp and Breloom, 248 HP is there for bulk and to take a bit less from rocks. 64 defense to live +2 Bisharp (burnt) Knock Off after rocks. The rest is in special defense to make it bulkier.

Importable:

Landorus (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 Spd / 252 SAtk / 8 Atk
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 160 Spd / 252 SAtk / 96 HP
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 HP / 56 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Freeze-Dry

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 108 Spd / 248 HP / 88 SDef / 64 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

 

[Darnell]

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock/U-turn
Psychic > Explosion The loss of Psychic is just something you don't want to avoid as it allows you to Check Mega-Venusaur, something that is always considered an annoyance. With the decrease of Special Attack on the Charizard Y and Mamoswine not invested in Attack fully, this only becomes harder for you.The set you are running loses coverage on many Pokemon due towards one move being focused as a suicide and the other on getting up hazards, this quickly becomes a waste of a Landorus, I have included U-turn just for the shenanigans between predicting your opponent and getting the switch initiative.

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 HP / 240 SpDef
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
You want to change up those EVs on Azumarill, make it bulky in Special Defense as much as possible, rather than investing in HP. This allows you to take those Special hits nicely and fire back with your own hard hitting attacks. This bulk assures things like Keldeo and Greninja don't become an issue to your team due towards the rest of them being weak in both Water or Ice throughout, it makes sure that you can take those attacks even better rather than investing in HP. Knock Off > Superpower as you can support your team by removing items from Pokemon likely to switch-in. This can be provided to be useful to you later on towards the game.

 

[Milkshook]

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock/U-turn
Psychic > Explosion The loss of Psychic is just something you don't want to avoid as it allows you to Check Mega-Venusaur, something that is always considered an annoyance. With the decrease of Special Attack on the Charizard Y and Mamoswine not invested in Attack fully, this only becomes harder for you.The set you are running loses coverage on many Pokemon due towards one move being focused as a suicide and the other on getting up hazards, this quickly becomes a waste of a Landorus, I have included U-turn just for the shenanigans between predicting your opponent and getting the switch initiative.

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 HP / 240 SpDef
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
You want to change up those EVs on Azumarill, make it bulky in Special Defense as much as possible, rather than investing in HP. This allows you to take those Special hits nicely and fire back with your own hard hitting attacks. This bulk assures things like Keldeo and Greninja don't become an issue to your team due towards the rest of them being weak in both Water or Ice throughout, it makes sure that you can take those attacks even better rather than investing in HP. Knock Off > Superpower as you can support your team by removing items from Pokemon likely to switch-in. This can be provided to be useful to you later on towards the game.

Thanks for the rate. Explosion is a good escape option and makes Defog and Rapid Spin fail (no target) but I'll try Psychic in case someone tries to use Venusaur against it. Focus Sash is too useful as there are many things that can outspeed and OHKO me before setting up rocks so I'll continue using that instead of Life orb. Also I'm not sure about the Azumarill EVs as I frequently use it to fight physical attackers too such as Excadrill or Mamoswine so HP investment gives me decent bulk in both sides. I'll try Knock Off though as it still helps against Chansey while Blissey will die to a few hits from Mamoswine.

 

[realiti]

I would also think you should try out Charizard X. 248 HP / 40 Atk / 188 Sdef / 40 Spd with an an Adamant nature works wonders. Dragon Claw nails most pokemon that try to switch in for good power along with Tough Claws. Fire Punch is also great, and WoW and Roost are the remaining moves. Advantages are not taking 50% from SR, bulkier, and cool typing. Doesn't power down Azumarill's water attacks too :)

 

[Penguin4478]

I would say try hidden power ice because mixed explosion sets aren't very useful IMO. The point of explosion is to either get a revenge hit when you have really low HP, or, far more importantly, to just get rid of REALLY annoying or lethal threats to your team, in which case would be hard unless you outspeed via something like scarf (hence why I run it on my landorus-t since its massive 145 base attack and the amazing synergy its movepool/intimidate has with scarf). It's pretty funny how their garchomp would totally screw over your team, but a scarfed landorus-t will just kill it with explosion. It's definitely worth it if you need to get rid of threats that exploit those few weaknesses of a team. But anyways, hidden power ice would probably be better, because...

4x damage against other landorus and garchomp. Not to mention if you ever get into the situation where you fight a breloom or other grass type it's less risky than focus blast, and I'm not even sure if mixed landorus-I explosion can kill pokemon like conkeldurr in 1 hit. I'd say it's your best bet considering flying is immune to ground and resistant to fighting, and the amount of pokes that you will encounter which take 4x damage from ice is surprisingly higher than you would expect. Free kill for you if they don't predict it.

IMO excadrill isn't even worth anything if you don't have sand stream to boost its speed with sand rush. Landorus-I already has ground coverage and bisharp is typically better to counter defog/intimidate users with defiant and has a pretty nasty iron head to deal with clefables and other fairies. If you want a spinner I'd go with assault vest tentacruel with:

Rapid Spin
Knock Off
Scald/Surf/Ice Beam
Ice Beam/Acid Spray

Acid spray forces switches against many fairy types like togekiss, assault vest just makes you a ridiculously bulky special wall, knock off has amazing utility on your team and is just plain annoying, and, as mentioned before, ice is great to have on at least one poke, especially since ice shard lacks in power. Surf/scald actually hits a pretty decent amount too, and if you predict earthquake (which will 1-hit KO you by most users of it such as excadrill, landorus-t, and garchomp) you can get a free switch to landorus and then proceed to destroy them with hidden power ice being super-effective.

Because I suggested taking away excadrill for tentacruel, you'll still need a good amount of physical damage, and I think that the belly drum set is just amazing, especially at low ratings on the ladder. So try sitrus berry + belly drum on azumarill cause if you get set up, you just wreck.

I think there are better pokes than zapdos for revenge killing. I personally love wobuffet cause of the trolling he does, and his capabilities for revenge killing is just really, really great. Zapdos is better for countering opposing defog users and defog-counters like bisharp. So don't really use him if you need a revenge killer. I haven't played for a month or so but there are really just better options for revenge killing, scarf or not. I'd suggest Wobuffet if you already have enough speed on your team, but there are also other options.

Hmm, mamoswine. Not really a fan of this poke, and from what I know he's best used as a start and since you already have stealth rock landorus, I don't think he's needed on your team, especially if you put hidden power ice on your landorus. I can see why you would like a mult-hit move like icicle spear (especially to kill gliscor cause I hate that thing so much), but cloyster is just better for that purpose if you can utilize it correctly. Cloyster has really safe switches on physical moves and a single turn of shell smashing can easily get you tons of kills. You also lack a physical wall on your team, and cloyster has a massive defense stat albeit having poor defensive typing.

As for your ZardY... I have never seen a bulky set on him before, but I don't doubt it could work. I also don't doubt that he gets outsped very easily by rock slide/stone edge users and gets killed in one shot, but that's just a weakness that comes with ZardY. Roost is great though cause it handles part of that problem with its removal of flying typing, but you can easily get revenge killed by scarf stone edge. I think that having a weather ability is really great, but it's almost entirely pointless if you cannot have it synergize with the rest of your team, in which case ZardY is the only one that benefits from it aside from halving water damage (which will in turn penalize your azumarill if your plays are not well-thought out). ZardX I think has better bulk and somewhat better defensive typing, as well as an ability that isn't put to waste because it doesn't synergize with your team, so you might want to try that out, but you should keep in mind that if you do you'll have not much special attack damage on your team. If you still want to use ZardY, DEFINITELY consider using a grass type with chlorophyll, such as venusaur. Here's why:

-Leech seed/toxic is GREAT because your team lacks much status aside from wisp. Leech seed handles eviolite chansey fairly well because it just gives you free 25%+ heals per turn and forces chansey to switch. If you don't have a sure-fire counter to chansey your life will be hell against one.
-Solarbeam STAB = much hurt
-Chlorophyll = much speed. Add that to much hurt and you get a poke on steroids.
-Synthesis + sun = much heal. Add that to your venusaur that's on damage and speed steroids and now you have sustainability steroids. Now you're a freaking god.