TEAM OVERVIEW:
With the advent of BW2, Tornadus got a new forme, and a new lease on life. With fantastic base speed, the regenerator ability, and a super powerful hurricane under rain, Tornadus is one of the most terrifying forces in the current metagame, and I wanted to base a team around him:
The concept behind this team is supporting Tornadus-T: providing rain and entry hazards, and eliminating that which Tornadus can't handle.
With that in mind:
Politoed@Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Bold
252 HP/252 DEF/4 SP. DEF
Scald
Protect
Toxic
Perish Song
Defensive Politoed. Brings the rain that Tornadus loves. With the given EV's, Politoed is very bulky and can stick around for quite awhile. Scald has a chance to burn, Toxic punishes opponents who switch in. Protect scouts for moves while gaining additional turns of recovery. Perish song limits the effectiveness of enemy set-up. This is my favorite Politoed set...I prefer my weather setter to live as long as possible, and the given moves have some decent utility. Toxic especially can help weaken certain foes.
Tornadus-T@Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
4 ATK/252 SP. ATK/252 SPD
Hurricane
Superpower
U-Turn
Rain Dance
I've been reading the C&C forum ;) Tornadus is ridiculously fast, but his special attack isn't stellar so Life Orb boosts power. Thanks to Regenrator, he can switch out to heal off life orb recoil and stealth rock damage, keeping him around for longer. Hurricane is the main move: 120 base power, great neutral coverage, and a 30% confusion chance. Add to that 100% accuracy in rain, and you have a fearsome weapon that can decimate an entire team before they know what hit them. Superpower is to destroy blissey, U-Turn to hop out and keep momentum. Rain Dance is to put rain back in play if Politoed goes down. Of course, as potent as Tornadus is, he can't do the entire job by himself. First of all, he needs help eliminating steel types that aren't scared of superpower...
Dugtrio@Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
Nature: Jolly
252 ATK/32 DEF/224 SPD
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Sucker Punch
Shadow Claw
Dugtrio is fantastic at eliminating certain threats thanks to arena trap. He can trap steel types and destroy them with a STAB earthquake, or trap weakened foes and finish them off with Earthquake, or a Sucker Punch if they're going to attack. He also serves the purpose of eliminating Ninetales and Tyranitar. Both he and Tornadus, though, appreciate the presence of entry hazards in order to weaken their targets...
Deoxys-D@Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
252 HP/4 DEF/252 SPD
Stealth Rock
Spikes
Taunt
Night Shade
Deoxys-S was a fantastic hazard layer before it was banned...but Deoxys-D gives it some serious competition. It trades blazing speed for massive bulk, and it still happens to be fast for a support poke. The given EVs keep it as fast as possible, while still maintaining massive bulk. I was divided between leftovers and rocky helmet, and I decided to opt for rocky helmet to wear down physical attackers. Taunt prevents enemy set-up (and many foes try to set up on Deoxys) while Night Shade gives Deoxys a consistent source of damage if it needs to attack something. VERY reliable in its role. I'm surprised it's not used more. Ah, but what if the enemy gets their own hazards on the field? Well...
Starmie@Expert Belt
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
4 HP/252 SP. ATK/252 SPD
Surf
Thunder
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
When it comes to rain-based spinning, my best options are Starmie or Tentacruel. I decided to stick with Starmie so I'd have an offensive spinner. I went for expert belt to give some extra potency with Starmie's fantastic coverage (but without the life orb recoil). I've used Hydro Pump on Starmie in the past, but it's lack of reliability just sucks. I could use Scald, but I'd rather just do as much reliable damage as possible, so Surf it is. Thunder instead of Tbolt because rain. Rapid spin is a given. Generally very reliable at what he needs to do. Starmie is a fantastic poke and a staple on many of my teams. Now, the team needs a sixth member, somebody to clean up the rest...
Breloom@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
4 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Mach Punch
Low Sweep
Bullet Seed
Stone Edge
Breloom was once extremely annoying to face...now he is simply absolutely lethal thanks to Technician. Choice Band allows Breloom to hit at maximum power right from the start, mach punching his way through the opposition. Low sweep is a fantastic surprise against a switch in. Not only does it get boosted by technician (so it hits hard), but the victim has their speed dropped by one stage, setting them up for a 2HKO. Bullet Seed is massively powerful with the technician boost. Stone edge can hit stuff that Breloom's STABs can't handle, and I honestly couldn't think of anything else to put here.
CONCLUSION:
I like this team. I feel there is some real potential here. There are, however, some major issues:
1.) SCARF THUNDURUS-T, OTHER SCARFERS THAT BRELOOM CAN'T BEAT: Thundurus-T is VERY problematic for me when he's packing a scarf. Other scarfers are also potential disasters for me if Breloom's mach punch can't bring them down. Dugtrio's sucker punch can help too, but only if they're severely weakened or locked into a move that doesn't hurt him.
2.) DO I REALLY NEED STARMIE? I love Starmie. I find it to be a fantastic and reliable spinner. I am wondering, however, if I even need a spinner at all. Sure, it helps keep dugtrio alive a bit longer and generally supports the team, but I feel like I'm using a team slot that could be dedicated to another attacker. On the other hand, I hate to give up on rapid spin.
3.) SHOULD I CHANGE AROUND DEOXYS' SET? I really like the deoxys set I'm running, but I'm always open to suggestions as to what might be more effective overall.
The first issues is the biggest one, and the one I need the most help with. I feel if I can address that issue, I'll have a very solid team. I find that this team is VERY hard to stop once it gets going, and it really uses Tornadus-T to its fullest potential as a sweeper. Any suggestions on how I could fix the team to better support Tornadus would be greatly appreciated. After all, he's the center of the team. Every other member (bar Politoed) is perfectly replaceable.
With the advent of BW2, Tornadus got a new forme, and a new lease on life. With fantastic base speed, the regenerator ability, and a super powerful hurricane under rain, Tornadus is one of the most terrifying forces in the current metagame, and I wanted to base a team around him:
The concept behind this team is supporting Tornadus-T: providing rain and entry hazards, and eliminating that which Tornadus can't handle.
With that in mind:
Politoed@Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Bold
252 HP/252 DEF/4 SP. DEF
Scald
Protect
Toxic
Perish Song
Defensive Politoed. Brings the rain that Tornadus loves. With the given EV's, Politoed is very bulky and can stick around for quite awhile. Scald has a chance to burn, Toxic punishes opponents who switch in. Protect scouts for moves while gaining additional turns of recovery. Perish song limits the effectiveness of enemy set-up. This is my favorite Politoed set...I prefer my weather setter to live as long as possible, and the given moves have some decent utility. Toxic especially can help weaken certain foes.
Tornadus-T@Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Naive
4 ATK/252 SP. ATK/252 SPD
Hurricane
Superpower
U-Turn
Rain Dance
I've been reading the C&C forum ;) Tornadus is ridiculously fast, but his special attack isn't stellar so Life Orb boosts power. Thanks to Regenrator, he can switch out to heal off life orb recoil and stealth rock damage, keeping him around for longer. Hurricane is the main move: 120 base power, great neutral coverage, and a 30% confusion chance. Add to that 100% accuracy in rain, and you have a fearsome weapon that can decimate an entire team before they know what hit them. Superpower is to destroy blissey, U-Turn to hop out and keep momentum. Rain Dance is to put rain back in play if Politoed goes down. Of course, as potent as Tornadus is, he can't do the entire job by himself. First of all, he needs help eliminating steel types that aren't scared of superpower...
Dugtrio@Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
Nature: Jolly
252 ATK/32 DEF/224 SPD
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Sucker Punch
Shadow Claw
Dugtrio is fantastic at eliminating certain threats thanks to arena trap. He can trap steel types and destroy them with a STAB earthquake, or trap weakened foes and finish them off with Earthquake, or a Sucker Punch if they're going to attack. He also serves the purpose of eliminating Ninetales and Tyranitar. Both he and Tornadus, though, appreciate the presence of entry hazards in order to weaken their targets...
Deoxys-D@Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
252 HP/4 DEF/252 SPD
Stealth Rock
Spikes
Taunt
Night Shade
Deoxys-S was a fantastic hazard layer before it was banned...but Deoxys-D gives it some serious competition. It trades blazing speed for massive bulk, and it still happens to be fast for a support poke. The given EVs keep it as fast as possible, while still maintaining massive bulk. I was divided between leftovers and rocky helmet, and I decided to opt for rocky helmet to wear down physical attackers. Taunt prevents enemy set-up (and many foes try to set up on Deoxys) while Night Shade gives Deoxys a consistent source of damage if it needs to attack something. VERY reliable in its role. I'm surprised it's not used more. Ah, but what if the enemy gets their own hazards on the field? Well...
Starmie@Expert Belt
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
4 HP/252 SP. ATK/252 SPD
Surf
Thunder
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
When it comes to rain-based spinning, my best options are Starmie or Tentacruel. I decided to stick with Starmie so I'd have an offensive spinner. I went for expert belt to give some extra potency with Starmie's fantastic coverage (but without the life orb recoil). I've used Hydro Pump on Starmie in the past, but it's lack of reliability just sucks. I could use Scald, but I'd rather just do as much reliable damage as possible, so Surf it is. Thunder instead of Tbolt because rain. Rapid spin is a given. Generally very reliable at what he needs to do. Starmie is a fantastic poke and a staple on many of my teams. Now, the team needs a sixth member, somebody to clean up the rest...
Breloom@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
4 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Mach Punch
Low Sweep
Bullet Seed
Stone Edge
Breloom was once extremely annoying to face...now he is simply absolutely lethal thanks to Technician. Choice Band allows Breloom to hit at maximum power right from the start, mach punching his way through the opposition. Low sweep is a fantastic surprise against a switch in. Not only does it get boosted by technician (so it hits hard), but the victim has their speed dropped by one stage, setting them up for a 2HKO. Bullet Seed is massively powerful with the technician boost. Stone edge can hit stuff that Breloom's STABs can't handle, and I honestly couldn't think of anything else to put here.
CONCLUSION:
I like this team. I feel there is some real potential here. There are, however, some major issues:
1.) SCARF THUNDURUS-T, OTHER SCARFERS THAT BRELOOM CAN'T BEAT: Thundurus-T is VERY problematic for me when he's packing a scarf. Other scarfers are also potential disasters for me if Breloom's mach punch can't bring them down. Dugtrio's sucker punch can help too, but only if they're severely weakened or locked into a move that doesn't hurt him.
2.) DO I REALLY NEED STARMIE? I love Starmie. I find it to be a fantastic and reliable spinner. I am wondering, however, if I even need a spinner at all. Sure, it helps keep dugtrio alive a bit longer and generally supports the team, but I feel like I'm using a team slot that could be dedicated to another attacker. On the other hand, I hate to give up on rapid spin.
3.) SHOULD I CHANGE AROUND DEOXYS' SET? I really like the deoxys set I'm running, but I'm always open to suggestions as to what might be more effective overall.
The first issues is the biggest one, and the one I need the most help with. I feel if I can address that issue, I'll have a very solid team. I find that this team is VERY hard to stop once it gets going, and it really uses Tornadus-T to its fullest potential as a sweeper. Any suggestions on how I could fix the team to better support Tornadus would be greatly appreciated. After all, he's the center of the team. Every other member (bar Politoed) is perfectly replaceable.
