Greetings to all! I want to state that I play exclusively WiFi battles via the atrocious festival plaza. This is supposed to be a 6v6 singles team. I have had excellent success with this team for the last year (winning 4 out of 5 battles) but something still feels a bit off in some battles. Please help me figure out what I can do to improve my success rate. Thank you.
Greninja (Ribbit) w/Choice Scarf
Naïve 176 Atk/80 SpA/252 Spe
Rock Slide
Gunk Shot/Waterfall
Ice Beam
U-Turn
The nature and EV’s come right from Smogon’s Choice Scarf set. I start him off as a lead and U-Turn out on the first turn. So far this seems to make my opponents stumble because they aren’t always expecting him to go first. The moves that I have allow me to handle Volcarona, the Charizards, Tapu Bulu and Lele, the various dragons like Garchomp, Kartana, and U-Turn just stings enough to help. The thing with Gunk Shot is that it is awesome when it works, but I don’t click it very often because of the accuracy or the number of steel types that on every team. Since I don’t have a strong water attack I was looking at Waterfall because of this Greninja’s higher attack stat and Waterfall’s handy flinch rate.
Tapu Bulu (Durabulu) w/Assault Vest
Adamant 156 HP/252 Atk/32 SpD/68 Spe
Horn Leech
Superpower
Rock Tomb
Zen Headbutt
Here is one of the most durabulu members of my team. He frequently finished matches for me by sustaining himself and bludgeoning the opponent to death. I don’t use Wood Hammer because of the recoil. He can’t be durable if he is causing himself damage afterall. I utterly hate Superpower but I have come to understand why it is so important. Many Heatran’s have fallen to its power. I have Rock Tomb on this set because Bulu causes a lot of switches for me and the speed drop is rather handy. My opponent usually switches out again because Bulu now out speeds their counter or I can get a super strong hit the next turn with Horn Leech to make them really nuts. As for the fourth move I have tried Zen Headbutt, Megahorn, and Nature’s Madness but only ZH has been repeatedly useful for catching Venusaur, Amoongus, Toxapex, and Breloom off guard.
Toxapex (Ivan) w/Black Sludge
Bold 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Toxic
Baneful Bunker
Haze
Scald
The second part of my water grass fire core is Toxapex and this guy was a huge boon to me. As many know by now, Toxapex is easily the best Gen 7 Pokemon or right up there for nearly everyone. I never found much success with Toxic Spikes because of Toxapex’s popularity so I went with Toxic itself. I often think of trading it with Knock Off though. Haze and Scald are pretty self-explanatory although I think Toxapex might be too slow for Haze. As for Baneful Bunker, I prefer this move because of Toxapex’s low speed. I can’t ever seem to get a Recover off at the right time and BB allows me to scout the opponent’s attack. An interesting side note is that I have used this move many times to faint my opponents Pokemon when they are on their last leg. They make contact, get poisoned, and faint at the end of the turn. It is quite hilarious to me.
Mega Scizor (Pinch) w/Scizorite
Adamant 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
Bullet Punch
Roost
Swords Dance
U-Turn
This is pretty basic stuff here for Mega Scizor. In the early stages of the match I use him as a defensive pivot but once the opponent’s fire type is out of the way I can set up and go for the sweep. More than once I have been able to set up three SD’s and go to town, once while burned in front of a Mega Sableye with Landorus-T backing it up. I know that Knock Off is a very popular move on a set up Scizor but I prefer the versatility of U-Turn.
Rotom H (Malware…for now) w/Aguav Berry
Calm 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
Thunderwave
Pain Split
Volt Switch
Overheat
And the last part of my FWG core, Rotom has been one of those Pokemon that I have fired repeatedly but always bring back because it had something I sorely missed. Sometimes he gets re-fired or changed but he never stays away for long. I even tried out Heatran but she was a very hot and cold Pokemon depending on the match up (Smogon specially defensive set with Roar over Toxic). One thing that has always proven beneficial is Thunderwave over Will-O-Wisp. Tanking the hit to paralyze and following up with Pain Split has always been good to me, provided the Aguav berry doesn’t activate. I use the Aguav berry because I have noticed how much more survivable the berry makes him compared to leftovers. This is most prominent to me when a pre-battle bonded Greninja is trying to get a quick KO with Water Shuriken or Cloyster with Rock Blast. Volt Switch and Overheat are standard STAB moves and Rotom helps take out Volcarona, Charizards, Celesteela, Heatran (cripple it at least), etc… This form truly works better than Rotom Wash although that is a good one too.
Hydreigon (Leilani) w/Dragonium Z
Timid 252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spe
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
Roost/Taunt/Flash Cannon
Defog/Fire Blast/Earth Power
Hydreigon has been my favorite Pokemon for years now but I haven’t found as much success with her since I decided to Scarf my Greninja. She just wasn’t fast enough to handle what I was facing and not strong enough to really break down anything that wasn’t already half dead. I have been using the Dragonium Z because it makes her a fantastic Knock Off absorber and turns Draco Meteor into a catastrophic nuke for anything not Fairy or Steel, but everything else seems kind of lackluster. I want her on my team, period. The question is what role should she fill? I like the idea of a Wallbreaker but once the Z-move is used she isn’t as hard hitting. A Choice Specs is rather popular but Knock Off neuters her just the same. I have been using an Offensive Defog set but rarely used Defog. More than any other Pokemon I feel this cheeky girl always needs the other set I didn’t use this match and finds herself as dead weight.
Any suggestions or comments? Thank you in advance.
Greninja (Ribbit) w/Choice Scarf
Naïve 176 Atk/80 SpA/252 Spe
Rock Slide
Gunk Shot/Waterfall
Ice Beam
U-Turn
The nature and EV’s come right from Smogon’s Choice Scarf set. I start him off as a lead and U-Turn out on the first turn. So far this seems to make my opponents stumble because they aren’t always expecting him to go first. The moves that I have allow me to handle Volcarona, the Charizards, Tapu Bulu and Lele, the various dragons like Garchomp, Kartana, and U-Turn just stings enough to help. The thing with Gunk Shot is that it is awesome when it works, but I don’t click it very often because of the accuracy or the number of steel types that on every team. Since I don’t have a strong water attack I was looking at Waterfall because of this Greninja’s higher attack stat and Waterfall’s handy flinch rate.
Tapu Bulu (Durabulu) w/Assault Vest
Adamant 156 HP/252 Atk/32 SpD/68 Spe
Horn Leech
Superpower
Rock Tomb
Zen Headbutt
Here is one of the most durabulu members of my team. He frequently finished matches for me by sustaining himself and bludgeoning the opponent to death. I don’t use Wood Hammer because of the recoil. He can’t be durable if he is causing himself damage afterall. I utterly hate Superpower but I have come to understand why it is so important. Many Heatran’s have fallen to its power. I have Rock Tomb on this set because Bulu causes a lot of switches for me and the speed drop is rather handy. My opponent usually switches out again because Bulu now out speeds their counter or I can get a super strong hit the next turn with Horn Leech to make them really nuts. As for the fourth move I have tried Zen Headbutt, Megahorn, and Nature’s Madness but only ZH has been repeatedly useful for catching Venusaur, Amoongus, Toxapex, and Breloom off guard.
Toxapex (Ivan) w/Black Sludge
Bold 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Toxic
Baneful Bunker
Haze
Scald
The second part of my water grass fire core is Toxapex and this guy was a huge boon to me. As many know by now, Toxapex is easily the best Gen 7 Pokemon or right up there for nearly everyone. I never found much success with Toxic Spikes because of Toxapex’s popularity so I went with Toxic itself. I often think of trading it with Knock Off though. Haze and Scald are pretty self-explanatory although I think Toxapex might be too slow for Haze. As for Baneful Bunker, I prefer this move because of Toxapex’s low speed. I can’t ever seem to get a Recover off at the right time and BB allows me to scout the opponent’s attack. An interesting side note is that I have used this move many times to faint my opponents Pokemon when they are on their last leg. They make contact, get poisoned, and faint at the end of the turn. It is quite hilarious to me.
Mega Scizor (Pinch) w/Scizorite
Adamant 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
Bullet Punch
Roost
Swords Dance
U-Turn
This is pretty basic stuff here for Mega Scizor. In the early stages of the match I use him as a defensive pivot but once the opponent’s fire type is out of the way I can set up and go for the sweep. More than once I have been able to set up three SD’s and go to town, once while burned in front of a Mega Sableye with Landorus-T backing it up. I know that Knock Off is a very popular move on a set up Scizor but I prefer the versatility of U-Turn.
Rotom H (Malware…for now) w/Aguav Berry
Calm 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD
Thunderwave
Pain Split
Volt Switch
Overheat
And the last part of my FWG core, Rotom has been one of those Pokemon that I have fired repeatedly but always bring back because it had something I sorely missed. Sometimes he gets re-fired or changed but he never stays away for long. I even tried out Heatran but she was a very hot and cold Pokemon depending on the match up (Smogon specially defensive set with Roar over Toxic). One thing that has always proven beneficial is Thunderwave over Will-O-Wisp. Tanking the hit to paralyze and following up with Pain Split has always been good to me, provided the Aguav berry doesn’t activate. I use the Aguav berry because I have noticed how much more survivable the berry makes him compared to leftovers. This is most prominent to me when a pre-battle bonded Greninja is trying to get a quick KO with Water Shuriken or Cloyster with Rock Blast. Volt Switch and Overheat are standard STAB moves and Rotom helps take out Volcarona, Charizards, Celesteela, Heatran (cripple it at least), etc… This form truly works better than Rotom Wash although that is a good one too.
Hydreigon (Leilani) w/Dragonium Z
Timid 252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spe
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
Roost/Taunt/Flash Cannon
Defog/Fire Blast/Earth Power
Hydreigon has been my favorite Pokemon for years now but I haven’t found as much success with her since I decided to Scarf my Greninja. She just wasn’t fast enough to handle what I was facing and not strong enough to really break down anything that wasn’t already half dead. I have been using the Dragonium Z because it makes her a fantastic Knock Off absorber and turns Draco Meteor into a catastrophic nuke for anything not Fairy or Steel, but everything else seems kind of lackluster. I want her on my team, period. The question is what role should she fill? I like the idea of a Wallbreaker but once the Z-move is used she isn’t as hard hitting. A Choice Specs is rather popular but Knock Off neuters her just the same. I have been using an Offensive Defog set but rarely used Defog. More than any other Pokemon I feel this cheeky girl always needs the other set I didn’t use this match and finds herself as dead weight.
Any suggestions or comments? Thank you in advance.