One of the pokemon that fascinated me most when Generation V's roster was revealed was Bisharp. A unique Dark/Steel typing, an extremely cool look, and some neat moves, including a very powerful Sucker Punch. However, the Kamen Rider lookalike did not seem to me like he would be very viable for OU play with a 4x weakness to fighting, one of the most common attacking types, and a vulnerability to ground and fire. Still, he resisted dragon and doubly resisted dark and ghost while carrying a poison and psychic immunity, which led me to wonder if Bisharp could form a potent offensive core if partnered with one of my favorite pokemon, Gengar. Gengar would certainly love to have someone to soak up three of its weaknesses in exchange for baiting ground and fighting moves for him to get a free switch-in, after all. This team grew from that idea; I'm curious to see what more experienced battlers than myself think of it.
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Mienshao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
- Fake Out
- U-Turn
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
Mienshao struck me as a fairly solid opening pokemon, but that wasn't the only reason I included him on the team. With team previews, I wanted a lead who could still function well if he had to be put in a different slot, and Mienshao fit the bill. His EV spread means he can do a lot of damage with a one-two punch of Fake Out plus one of his power moves, but he can also use U-Turn to scout and regenerate so his focus sash won't break until it has to. Being able to hit-and-run or stand and fight as needed while providing Bisharp and Gengar an easier time getting in solidified my choice.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP/252 Attack/4 Defense
Nature: Adamant
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Brick Break
- Iron Head
The reason the team exists, Bisharp is meant to bide his time and come out in the later game to mop up the opposing team. I focused in giving him max HP over trying to improve his speed to help him take hits better, since Bisharp's big damage dealer tends to be Sucker Punch. Between his Life Orb and attack EVs, Bisharp can OHKO Choice Specs Latias without fail, meaning Deoxys-S and Latios can't simply switch in and vape him with their superior speed. Clean-up seems to be the job Bisharp's best suited for aside from tagging out with Gengar; early in the game, he's a lot more vulnerable than once things have been weakened and/or statused for him to finish off. Appropriate, given his pokedex entry.
Gengar @ Wide Lens
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Special Attack/252 Speed
Nature: Timid
- Hex
- Focus Blast
- Hypnosis
- Will-O-Wisp
Originally I filled this spot with my usual MYSTICgar, but that had mixed results. When I was polishing the team to try and improve its performance, I decided to change the game plan and help support Bisharp's cleanup by spreading around status effects. Gengar proves magnificently suited to this task, as Wide Lens makes Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp reliable for incapacitating a variety of switch-ins. Focus Miss becomes substantially more accurate as well, and Hex hits harder than Shadow Ball once most of the enemy team has been afflicted with one status effect or another. I am still debating whether or not this boosted power is worth sacrificing Shadow Ball's superior consistency, however. This Gengar set doesn't seem to be particularly common, so taking a hypnosis followed by a Will-O-Wisp catches a lot of teams off guard and will hopefully scare off quick physical attackers.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP/252 Defense/8 Special Defense
Nature: Bold
- Scald
- Roar
- Wish
- Ice Beam
Gengar and Bisharp make up for the core of this team, but I am all too painfully aware of how frail both of them are and noticed Gengar won't like taking fire moves much more than Bisharp. In comes Vaporeon to support the team like a champ. His defenses means he can take a pounding that neither Bisharp nor Gengar are up for while using Wish to keep himself and the rest of the team healthy. Scald keeps the burns going while scaring away Fire types and Ice Beam improves coverage. Roar keeps enemy sweepers from overwhelming the team. The water immunity also comes in handy, given the ubiquity of offensive and defensive water types looking to Scald or Hydro Pump.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Attack/236 Special Attack/208 Speed
Nature: Naive
- Work Up
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Close Combat
Blaziken may have overtaken Infernape in many respects since he got Speed Boost, but Infernape still brings immediate speed and power on both ends of the spectrum, and Work Up means his mixed sets have never been stronger. Infernape takes full advantage of Vaporeon soaking up enemy water attacks and applies a ton of pressure, weakening or KOing a variety of threats like Swampert/Quagsire or Scizor and Ferrothorn. While he's not spreading status effects, Infernape can break through a lot of walls that would stymie my offensive core and kill or weaken a big portion of the enemy team before he goes down.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/152 Defense/104 Special Defense
Nature: Bold
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Burns were all well and good for weakening physical attackers, but I wanted a good pokemon to spread Paralysis around so even the pokey Bisharp could get the drop on things without a Sucker Punch. A personal aversion to legendary pokemon led me to shy away from Thundurus, despite his strong special attacks and priority Thunder Wave. I settled instead for another strong defender to take incoming attacks, Eviolite Porygon2. Swapping out Thunderbolt for Discharge, I maintain BoltBeam coverage while decreasing power slightly to improve my paralysis chances. Still, to avoid leaving the all-important paralyzing up to a 30% chance, Porygon2 also carries Thunder Wave for when something absolutely MUST be paralyzed. Porygon2's still the pokemon I'm tweaking now and then to try and see what works. Sometimes I switch out Thunder Wave for Toxic if even Infernape can't break certain walls, and every now and then I've been tempted to give him Psychic to deliver a nasty surprise to Fighting types trying to scare him off.
Major Threats:
-Conkeldurr: This thing is probably one of the biggest pains in the neck for the team as it is. That sky-high attack, a priority move that skips through Sucker Punch, Payback, and Guts mean I really have a hard time dealing with Conkeldurr unless I can catch it by surprise and sleep it with Gengar (or, for some reason, it's running Iron Fist and catches a burn off something.) I just don't know what's to be done about that thing.
-Excadrill: In the sand, Excadrill is likely to take down the entire team before they can so much as touch him. A HJK from Mienshao could send him packing, but I feel relying on him to take a hit and retaliate or be swept is not good enough for him not to be considered a huge threat.
-Blaziken: I'm told Blaziken is nearly unstoppable in the sun, and I can in theory see why. Barring paralysis or well-predicted Gengar switch-ins on a HJK, Blaziken's speed and power could let him overwhelm the entire team, especially if Vaporeon is incapacitated.
There are no doubt additional pokemon I've missed, but those three are the ones most heavily on my mind in considering what can threaten this team. If any of you have comments or advice, I would be delighted to hear them, and answer any questions you might have about why I am doing X instead of X.
--
Mienshao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
- Fake Out
- U-Turn
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
Mienshao struck me as a fairly solid opening pokemon, but that wasn't the only reason I included him on the team. With team previews, I wanted a lead who could still function well if he had to be put in a different slot, and Mienshao fit the bill. His EV spread means he can do a lot of damage with a one-two punch of Fake Out plus one of his power moves, but he can also use U-Turn to scout and regenerate so his focus sash won't break until it has to. Being able to hit-and-run or stand and fight as needed while providing Bisharp and Gengar an easier time getting in solidified my choice.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP/252 Attack/4 Defense
Nature: Adamant
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Brick Break
- Iron Head
The reason the team exists, Bisharp is meant to bide his time and come out in the later game to mop up the opposing team. I focused in giving him max HP over trying to improve his speed to help him take hits better, since Bisharp's big damage dealer tends to be Sucker Punch. Between his Life Orb and attack EVs, Bisharp can OHKO Choice Specs Latias without fail, meaning Deoxys-S and Latios can't simply switch in and vape him with their superior speed. Clean-up seems to be the job Bisharp's best suited for aside from tagging out with Gengar; early in the game, he's a lot more vulnerable than once things have been weakened and/or statused for him to finish off. Appropriate, given his pokedex entry.
Gengar @ Wide Lens
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Special Attack/252 Speed
Nature: Timid
- Hex
- Focus Blast
- Hypnosis
- Will-O-Wisp
Originally I filled this spot with my usual MYSTICgar, but that had mixed results. When I was polishing the team to try and improve its performance, I decided to change the game plan and help support Bisharp's cleanup by spreading around status effects. Gengar proves magnificently suited to this task, as Wide Lens makes Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp reliable for incapacitating a variety of switch-ins. Focus Miss becomes substantially more accurate as well, and Hex hits harder than Shadow Ball once most of the enemy team has been afflicted with one status effect or another. I am still debating whether or not this boosted power is worth sacrificing Shadow Ball's superior consistency, however. This Gengar set doesn't seem to be particularly common, so taking a hypnosis followed by a Will-O-Wisp catches a lot of teams off guard and will hopefully scare off quick physical attackers.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP/252 Defense/8 Special Defense
Nature: Bold
- Scald
- Roar
- Wish
- Ice Beam
Gengar and Bisharp make up for the core of this team, but I am all too painfully aware of how frail both of them are and noticed Gengar won't like taking fire moves much more than Bisharp. In comes Vaporeon to support the team like a champ. His defenses means he can take a pounding that neither Bisharp nor Gengar are up for while using Wish to keep himself and the rest of the team healthy. Scald keeps the burns going while scaring away Fire types and Ice Beam improves coverage. Roar keeps enemy sweepers from overwhelming the team. The water immunity also comes in handy, given the ubiquity of offensive and defensive water types looking to Scald or Hydro Pump.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Attack/236 Special Attack/208 Speed
Nature: Naive
- Work Up
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Close Combat
Blaziken may have overtaken Infernape in many respects since he got Speed Boost, but Infernape still brings immediate speed and power on both ends of the spectrum, and Work Up means his mixed sets have never been stronger. Infernape takes full advantage of Vaporeon soaking up enemy water attacks and applies a ton of pressure, weakening or KOing a variety of threats like Swampert/Quagsire or Scizor and Ferrothorn. While he's not spreading status effects, Infernape can break through a lot of walls that would stymie my offensive core and kill or weaken a big portion of the enemy team before he goes down.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/152 Defense/104 Special Defense
Nature: Bold
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Burns were all well and good for weakening physical attackers, but I wanted a good pokemon to spread Paralysis around so even the pokey Bisharp could get the drop on things without a Sucker Punch. A personal aversion to legendary pokemon led me to shy away from Thundurus, despite his strong special attacks and priority Thunder Wave. I settled instead for another strong defender to take incoming attacks, Eviolite Porygon2. Swapping out Thunderbolt for Discharge, I maintain BoltBeam coverage while decreasing power slightly to improve my paralysis chances. Still, to avoid leaving the all-important paralyzing up to a 30% chance, Porygon2 also carries Thunder Wave for when something absolutely MUST be paralyzed. Porygon2's still the pokemon I'm tweaking now and then to try and see what works. Sometimes I switch out Thunder Wave for Toxic if even Infernape can't break certain walls, and every now and then I've been tempted to give him Psychic to deliver a nasty surprise to Fighting types trying to scare him off.
Major Threats:
-Conkeldurr: This thing is probably one of the biggest pains in the neck for the team as it is. That sky-high attack, a priority move that skips through Sucker Punch, Payback, and Guts mean I really have a hard time dealing with Conkeldurr unless I can catch it by surprise and sleep it with Gengar (or, for some reason, it's running Iron Fist and catches a burn off something.) I just don't know what's to be done about that thing.
-Excadrill: In the sand, Excadrill is likely to take down the entire team before they can so much as touch him. A HJK from Mienshao could send him packing, but I feel relying on him to take a hit and retaliate or be swept is not good enough for him not to be considered a huge threat.
-Blaziken: I'm told Blaziken is nearly unstoppable in the sun, and I can in theory see why. Barring paralysis or well-predicted Gengar switch-ins on a HJK, Blaziken's speed and power could let him overwhelm the entire team, especially if Vaporeon is incapacitated.
There are no doubt additional pokemon I've missed, but those three are the ones most heavily on my mind in considering what can threaten this team. If any of you have comments or advice, I would be delighted to hear them, and answer any questions you might have about why I am doing X instead of X.
