Clear Skies Offense

[Downf4ll]

Hello there everyone, and welcome to my 2nd ever RMT. This time around, I tested it on the PO server, where I peaked at 1276. Now, this is most likely due to my ineptitude at battling, but I'd much rather blame my team instead. So, without further ado; my Clear Skies Offense!

TEAM AT A GLANCE​

Team Building Process

This team Started off after seeing Darmanitan and its ridiculous flare blitz. I then decided to have an FWG core, so Breloom and Starmie soon followed.

At first, this team was intended to be balanced, so I decided to have a bulkier pokemon, who can tank the most common types, while subsequently killing them; dragon and fighting. Enter Gliscor and Empoleon.

At this point I realized I couldn't just tack on a dedicated special wall and call this team balanced, so I decided to forgo that line of thinking, and turn this team into an offense with a flavour of bulk. I wanted a sweeper who isn't very common, and that my friends, is how I found Terrakion.

When this was done and I started testing this out, I realized how much Special Attackers just destroy my team, especially Rotom-W. I still wanted a sweeper, but I wanted one who could tank those Hydro Pumps and Thunderbolts aimed at my Terrakion and Starmie Respectively. That's why I decided to switch Breloom to Virizion. I knew I was still Ice weak, but I thought that killing the Ferrothorn-Jellicent combo was more important.

I then began to test this more, and I found that Dragons still destroyed my Empoleon, and ground types just laugh at him with EQ. That's why I decided to switch to Metagross with an air balloon. After testing, I find that two ground immunities, even if one is temporary, is extremely beneficial to my Darmanitan and Terrakion. He also takes DMs like a champ and rapes back with Ice Punch.

IN DEPTH LOOK​

CHANGES WILL BE IN RED

Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

This guy ends up being my lead many, many times, and with his four attacks I have great coverage. Hydro Pump is my ultrakill move, taking out Hippowdons and various fire types like nobody's business. Ice Beam in conjunction with Thunderbolt for the BoltBeam combo, and Rapid Spin to laugh at entry hazards. The EVs are quite obvious, and the Life Orb is for the extra power, which is great considering how he's so fast. He's really frail though, and dies to some resisted moves even. Natural Cure is great though.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SAtk/ 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Dragon Pulse
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock

This guy is a monster. Now, I usually have a very large aversion to Heatran (he just looks so FUCKING STUPID) but I can make an exception since he's just that awesome for this team. Flash fire gives me an immunity to fire, a pseudo-SAtk boost and a 3rd Will-O-Wisp absorber all in one (joining Gliscor after he's poisoned and Starmie). Not much I can say about this set though; he's the standard stealth rock variant, only with an Air Balloon.

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn

This guy is the star of the show, I swear. Him and Terrakion have both single-handedly swept teams. Did I mention that his Flare Blitz 2HKOs things like Gliscor? It's crazy. I wouldn't change him for anything, especially since most people wonder why I switch him in to something like a thundurus, only for them to go slack-jawed when I kill half their team with FB. Superpower, Rock Slide and U-turn are there for coverage (while U-turn is there for momentum), though I only really use them when FB is resisted.

Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

NOTE: WILL BE CHANGING THIS TO CM ROAR LATIOS ONCE I FIGURE OUT A SET. FOR THE TIME BEING, PRETEND HE'S A LATIOS XD

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

This guy has saved my ass MANY times. He's so reliable. I mean, I'll switch this into like Ferrothorn if my Virizion is down, then I SD on the switch (it's usually Gliscor). they almost always go for a protect, so I SD again. Now, not even a Gliscor can take a +4 CC, and I get off a sweep till they bring in Scizor or something. Well anyway, EdgeQuake for STAB on Stone Edge and the coverage, CC for STAB and rape-age and SD to get to +2 on the switches I force.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Protect

Gliscor is almost as irreplaceable as Darmanitan is on this team. EQ immunity, and an ice resist from Darmanitan gives them decent synergy, and this guy can wall fighting types like no other. Swords Dance to laugh at opposing Gliscor who protect, Ice Fang to kill said Gliscor, EQ for STAB, and Protect to scout for an ice/water move. Although Gliscor is permanent, his moveset isn't and I feel like I'd be able to do more with another moveset. What that moveset is, I don't know, but hey, that's why you're here, right?

FINAL GLANCE​

Well that's it. Now, before anyone says it, I know this team is really ice and Reuniclus weak, but I can't think of anyone to replace in order to counter these threats. I'm also thinking of changing a few people up, because so many set-up moves isn't always a good thing. Any comments are appreciated though, thanks in advance!

I'll post a threat list once I garner enough replies, to help me really iron out the kinks in this team.

Unrelated request

Can anybody direct me to a place where I can get animated sprites? I'd really appreciate it.

 

[AndyColton]

http://www.arkeis.com/animatedsprites.html

Works well for the sprites occasional problem with alternate formes (Deoxys, Giratina, Shaymin, etc)

I'd like to see Virizon go. He's got too many weaknesses, and you could use the open space to fit in a special wall. Cleric Blissey? I prefer Vaporeon, but it does leave you open to Grass attacks.

 

[Platypus Venom]

No entry hazards, seriously? Add a ferrothorn or something.

 

[Downf4ll]

http://www.arkeis.com/animatedsprites.html

Works well for the sprites occasional problem with alternate formes (Deoxys, Giratina, Shaymin, etc)

I'd like to see Virizon go. He's got too many weaknesses, and you could use the open space to fit in a special wall. Cleric Blissey? I prefer Vaporeon, but it does leave you open to Grass attacks.

Thanks for the website, I'll be replacing my sprites with those ones now :D

Now, back on topic. I think a cleric would be a good idea, but I hate blissey. A lot. Vaporeon is interesting though, especially since grass type attacks are almost always STAB, and if I run Ice Beam I'll probably be taking those pesky grass types out. He also provides good synergy with Gliscor, luring those t-bolts and all.

The problem though is that I lose my ability to take out Rotom-W. Giga drain is always a 2HKO (OHKO at +1) and since HP Ice is barely a 2HKO (Timid Specs does 48%-58% to 4/0 Jolly Virizion, while Modest does 53-63% ), he's my only real surefire counter.

Vaporeon on the other hand, is 2HKOed when specially defensive, and OHKOed when physically defensive by T-bolt, and even if I switch to Gliscor, I can't do anything back. Blissey can most likely take whatever Rotom-W does, but if he's running pain Split I'm rendered unusable later in the match.

Ah speaking of Rotom-w, do you think I should replace Starmie with him? The speed difference might be a pain though...

Thanks for the suggestion though. Also for future reference, I'd like to keep my FWG core, unless someone deems that it isn't that important.

No entry hazards, seriously? Add a ferrothorn or something.

Who should I replace then? Virizion?

 

[UpperclassDiglett]

No entry hazards, seriously? Add a ferrothorn or something.

it would probably be best to not run a ferrothorn in this case, as people usually run multiple counters to it now and it slows down the pace, stealth rock would definately be useful though.

running a more offensive rocker such as a heatran or deoxys may prove very effective, probably used over metagross since it doesnt sound like it does much for your team.

 

[Downf4ll]

it would probably be best to not run a ferrothorn in this case, as people usually run multiple counters to it now and it slows down the pace, stealth rock would definately be useful though.

running a more offensive rocker such as a heatran or deoxys may prove very effective, probably used over metagross since it doesnt sound like it does much for your team.

Well, you were right about the Ferrothorn part. I tried it and it just didn't work out at all.

Heatran instead of Metagross sounds like a good idea to be honest. The only problem though is that I suddenly become very Gyrados weak (even if I couldn't exactly do much to him with Metagross). Regardless I'll test him out, so thanks for that.

I don't want Deoxys-S, since if I put him on I'll probably end up using the Dual Screens set and changing this into an HO team, which I don't necessarily want.

 

[Umbrellacorp495]

Hey Downf4ll how ya doin'? First off I will say I like the overall idea of this team. But there are a few small things I would consider changing.


For one on Starmie you should have a LO. Even though it means losing a bit of HP it still gives you an average of about 10% damage increase over Expert belt, and that's only considering if it is super-effective. And also in place of Psychic you should put in Rapid Spin. No one likes entry hazards, and not having it on Starmie is a huge waste. With Psychic you won't be killing anything like Conkeldurr. And outside of that Hydro Pump will do just as good or better for damage output then Psychic.


For Metagross I think you should have EQ over Hammer Arm. While it does give slightly better coverage the speed drop from the necessary +2 is detrimental and should really not be considered. Maybe consider Lum Berry over Air Balloon for when pokes like Rotom-W or Jellicent come in to W-o-W you or something else with Para Sleep etc... I could see Heatran working well here, if you decide to go with that I could hopefully help you with him i you need it.


With Darmanitan you should definitely have an Adamant set regardless of Scarf or Band. And imo, Band is better, even with Adamant. Jolly Band won't outspeed anything else dangerous bar Lucario and it will hit much harder with Adamant. I would suggest Band but what you decide is up to you.


I think Virizion is bad for this team. Even though F/G/W is good, putting Dragon in place of one of those spots is really good. Latias would help here because it covers your Reunclius weakness, and is covered/covers alot on your team and you have a lack of Dragon typing or even moves on your team. Here is the set I recommend.

@ Leftovers
Trait:Levitate
EVs: 252/HP 4/SpAtk 252/Spe
Nature:Timid
-Substitute
-Recover
-Calm Mind
-Dragon Pulse

This set is really good for bulky sweeping. Being the fastest non Uber Dragon in the game and being able to just get one or two CMs up with a possible sub = fun. It doesn't really take away much from your team but does give a bit. As well as giving a poke with reliable recovery it gives good resistances and another Ground immunity that you can obviously use. And even with the one move it has the bulk to take out any Steel since most steels bar Skarm and Rachi don't have any form of reliable recovery.


Good general idea but bad presentation. You need to not lose that natural good bulk
(Even more so in sand) with CC. Sacred Sword is almost as good with only a 30 bp drop and is has the bonus of ignoring star raises. (I'm not sure if ths includes abilities or items like Eviolite but I'll check) As for EVs I would suggest putting 50 from speed into HP for just a bit more bulk while still not losing out on speed. That small drop won't matter for any poke you could name and Still outspeeds Garchomp which is pretty vital since it would kill you first chance. Also replace LO with Leftovers or Lum Berry to avoid being Status'd or gaining some health from a hard hit Scizor/Conkeldurr.


Great set that was somewhat made famous by KG. though I would still stick with that set and use Taunt over Protect which would help setup sweepers from hurting you to bad. Also you should put much more into Atk and Spe, still keep some into HP and maybe Def, I don't use this set personally so I'm not sure if I can help you here.


All in all a good team with potential as a pure sweeping team. I can actually see this as a good sand sweeping team if you had T-Tar in place of Starmie but I won't change up your team that bad haha. Good luck and have fun dude

 

[Downf4ll]

Hello there to you too Umbrella, and thanks for the rate! :D

With regards to Starmie, I will probably be putting LO on it, since I ran a few damage calcs and LO is just better overall. Also, while I will agree to taking out psychic, I'm not too sure about replacing it with Rapid Spin. I had it before I posted this RMT, and I barely, (if ever) used it. That might be because back then I wasn't using him properly, but still. I want to put recover instead , but that's useless on a pokemon as frail as Starmie anyway. Well regardless, on paper Psychic does absolutely nothing in comparison to Rapid Spin, so I'll be replacing it. Thanks for that!

Now, for Metagross, I replaced him with BalloonTran, and it's working waaaaay better than Metagross did. Due to this, I'll be replacing him for Heatran shortly after this reply.

Hmm, here's something that I only really half agree to. While I agree to making Darmanitan Adamant (only one who would outspeed unboosted is ninjask, but who cares if ninjask outspeeds...), unscarfing him makes me lose out on the reason i used him in the first place; a powerful flare blitz. If he doesn't go first, what's the point? (PS: Jolly Scarfed outspeeds every unboosted pokemon in the game. Just saying)That, and he's my go to guy for pretty much any pokemon barring water types.

Hmm, while I like Latias, do you think I should use CM Roar Latios instead of Virizion? At this point I think a pokemon with more coverage is better suited in virizion's position. I can't think of the attacks I'd put though, care to help me out with that? :D

As for Terrakion, while I like his bulk, his attacking prowess is much more important. I've discovered that with a LO and CC and a Swords Dance under my belt, I can pretty much OHKO anything I need to, whereas Sacred Sword would only be useful for things like curse umbreon, which is extremely situational. Honestly though, I won't keep Terrakion in on something that outspeeds him, since that usually means his demise :/.

Concerning Gliscor, thanks for that. I've been meaning to drop some EVs from Hp into Atk, but I don't know how much I should put in. I know you said you're unfamiliar with Gliscor, but might you have any suggestions?

 

[Umbrellacorp495]

Okay I can help on a few more things I think if you'll let me.

Heatran- Even though having SR is nice, having a more reliable sweeper is better. Use Flame Charge over SR to get your speed up when, say, a Ferrothorn is in play, you send in Heatran, and it switches which means you get a free Flame Charge and +1 Spe. make Heatran Modest and this means that after Flame Charge you have around 390 in both stats. Also replace Dragon Pulse with HP Ice for better Super Effective coverage and also kills all the Dragons you would be trying to hit with Dragon Pulse anyway (Garchomp, Dragonite, Salamence etc...)

(he just looks so FUCKING STUPID)

Dude I so totally feel you on that haha! I didn't use him much in gen 4 just for that reason.


Latios?- CM is always good and you gave me a hell of an idea. Most people use Latios as a Specs user (Which does do very well) But what I think you should do is use the same set that I gave you for Lati@s only instead of 252 in HP put 252 in SpAtk. This way you can get a Sub up and one CM is enough to hit very hard with max SpAtk. Dragon Pulse will only be completely Walled b something like T-Tar or Jirachi, but wait you have Terrakion and Heatran for those two. Haha, isn't being a bitch in Pokemon great?

Gliscor- As far as I can say EV's could look like this.

Adamant
EV's: 200/HP 96/Atk 212/Spe

I have been using this and it has worked pretty well for me. (96 in Atk for an extra EV point) Speed outspeeds Max Timid Heatran. If this doesn't work for you then KG's Solums Core RMT has the set with EV's and his advice is as good as any. And like I said Taunt over protect will save your ass one day.

Hope I could help a bit more, cya