Defensive teams beware!

[devilry]

EDIT: I changed Azelf for Ninjask..I think it suits my team better =O

Well I recently just bought pokemon platinum and I'm planning to have a shot at competitive battling. As it'd take immense effort to train any single pokemon for the final team, however, I want to make sure my choices are at tip top condition so I do not end up regretting later. Personally I feel my team can handle most threats decently, and any stalling/defensive team would especially fall hard.

So yeah, I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could rate my team =P

Overview:

Lead

Ninjask

Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Jolly (+Spe - SpA)
EVs: 252 Def, 252 Hp, 4 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Baton Pass
Substitute
Swords Dance
Protect

Yeah, I am aware there aren't any offensive moves on Ninjask. Personally, though, I don't think I need them. The trick is to basically get a protect in on the first turn (if I predict the opponent will attack), then it's substitute/protect the rest of the way plus swords dances in if I have the chance to. Who I will baton pass to basically depends on who I'm up against. If an incoming Heatran threatens me, then it's probably Swampert I will switch out to. An ice pokemon would face Lucario. A grass pokemon skarmory. Basically, I think I have enough choices to counter any hard hitting move a lead can pack. If I'm threatened with a focus sasher, TTar with sand stream could perhaps do the job.



Physical sweeper/Status support

Breloom

Ability: Poison heal
Nature: Jolly (+Spe -SpA)
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Spe, 252 Att
Item: Toxic Orb
Moves:
Spore
Leech seed
Substitute
Focus Punch

Ah good ol' breloom; this guy will get the jump on any unsuspecting pokemon slower than it. And at close to 262 speed, it'll still be a whole lot faster than most walls out there. The strategy is simple; spore, put up a substitute, and let the focus punching begin. When executed at the right time, Breloom can even OHKO an entire team that is not prepared for it. Also, the sleep support is extremely useful for disabling the opponent's team, especially since the rest of my pokemon rely on stat-boosting moves to strengthen themselves. I know this guy contradicts the style of my team, but honestly it's precisely this that makes it so unpredictable. Breloom still can survive in a sandstorm, and will lay waste to any slow tankers the opponent might try to use. I may change this guy out though.


Now the fun begins...
Physical Sweeper/Sandstorm support

Tyranitar

Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Adamant (+Att -SpA)
Evs: 4 HP, 252 Spe, 252 Att
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Dragon Dance
Crunch
Stone Edge
Fire punch

With the sandstorms whirling, moon light-hopefuls like Cresselia are automatically shut down and fragile sweepers will have to watch themselves. Thankfully, the remaining three of my pokemon dwell in the sand comfortably. Tyranitar basically switches in, sets up a dragon dance, and goes for the sweep.


Physical Sweeper

Lucario

Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Adamant (+Att - SpA)
EVs: 4HP, 252 Att, 252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Moves:
Swords Dance
Extremespeed
Close Combat
Crunch

If my opponent thinks he or she is safe with tyranitar's sweeping rampage out of the way, there is another surprise right up. Starting off with a swords dance, this guy will not be stopped until he is absolutely forced to. Personally, I'm also considering bullet punch over extremespeed should any threats like gengar rise up.


Physical Wall/Stealth Rock Support

Skarmory

Ability: Keen Eye
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Drill Peck
Spikes
Whirlwind
Roost

I decided that since my team is already so offensively inclined, a little less attack power on skarmory would not matter much, considering most of the time I'd rack damage by a spikes/whirlwind combo anyway. This guy balances out the immense earth weakness on my team, safely switching in to any gliscors or hippowdons. Once given the chance, I'd set up my spikes immediately.

Mixed Wall

Swampert

Ability: Torrent
Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
EVs: 252 HP, 100 Def, 100 SpD, 52 SpA
Item: Leftovers
Moves:
Earthquake
Ice Beam
Surf
Stealth Rock

Okay I'm really not sure about the EV spead of this guy, but I figured that since I already have a skarmory as a physical wall and this guy already nicely covers it's two weaknesses to fire and electric, it's role as a physical defensive pokemon is no longer that important. The dual type is awesome as skarmory can easily resist it's grass weaknesses and ice beam could take down any potentially troublesome dragon pokemon- especially since most of them would not be packing a grass move.





So yeah, that's basically my team. My strategy would be to try to weaken the opponent's team as much as I can with azelf and breloom, hopefully bringing out and weakening their walls in the process. Then, once those are settled, tyranitar comes out with sandstorm and the real fun begins.

I know that some people may think my team is too physical oriented, but I personally do not feel that most physical walls would be a problem. Skarmory falls prey to Tyranitar's fire fang (Forettress too) and Lucario's SDed close combat. Gliscor can't do much against skarmory and falls prey to Swampert's ice beam.

I might have a problem with bulky waters though, especially since I lack a strong electric or grass move.

So anyway, comments please? =D

 

[wildfire393]

Hm.... NP Azelf lead. Interesting. The thing is, most common leads expect Taunt from Azelf and will simply attack it, trying to take it down before it can get Rocks and an attack or two off. And since Azelf is fairly fragile (especially with no hp/defs investment), one attack often kills him. Meta's Meteor Mash, Heatran's Fire Blast, Tyranitar's Crunch, these things all will OHKO and these are all common leads. And even with a NP, Azelf has a hard time dealing with dedicated walls like Cresselia and Blissey, and is nearly 100% walled by Heatran, Starmie, Slowbro, and Tyranitar.

Also your Tyranitar should have Babiri Berry over Leftovers. The only reason to use Lefties over LO is to survive a LO Scizor Bullet Punch, but Babiri Berry does that anyways and also lets you survive a CB Scizor Bullet Punch, so it clearly gets the nod (it also helps to deal with Metagross, Jirachi, and Bronzong).

Also, you want Brave Bird over Drill Peck on Skarmory so he can break Taunt/DD Gyarados, rather than simply letting him set up all over your team.

 

[devilry]

Hm.... NP Azelf lead. Interesting. The thing is, most common leads expect Taunt from Azelf and will simply attack it, trying to take it down before it can get Rocks and an attack or two off. And since Azelf is fairly fragile (especially with no hp/defs investment), one attack often kills him. Meta's Meteor Mash, Heatran's Fire Blast, Tyranitar's Crunch, these things all will OHKO and these are all common leads. And even with a NP, Azelf has a hard time dealing with dedicated walls like Cresselia and Blissey, and is nearly 100% walled by Heatran, Starmie, Slowbro, and Tyranitar.

Also your Tyranitar should have Babiri Berry over Leftovers. The only reason to use Lefties over LO is to survive a LO Scizor Bullet Punch, but Babiri Berry does that anyways and also lets you survive a CB Scizor Bullet Punch, so it clearly gets the nod (it also helps to deal with Metagross, Jirachi, and Bronzong).

Also, you want Brave Bird over Drill Peck on Skarmory so he can break Taunt/DD Gyarados, rather than simply letting him set up all over your team.

Hmm I see. Perhaps I need to rethink my lead pokemon.
I've always had trouble with deciding one. Any suggestions that could compliment my team perhaps? I mainly just want a special attacker in to make up for my inclination towards physical moves.

As for TTar, I guess I should consider Babiri Berry although leftovers would allow it to tank certain moves better. Hmm luckily that's a smaller issue. And yeah, I realise that gyarados is potentially a problem =/

 

[Darkmalice]

Your team suffers from typing problems. There is no Ice or Fighting resist on your team (Lucario is too frail to take Ice attacks). Ninjask and Breloom are going to have to go. Ninjask Speed boosts' won't, as your Pokemon didn't really benefit from them. Breloom's Spore will, as well as it's status absorbing abilities, but the typing issue is too strong to ignore. The status isn't much of a problem either when Swampert resists Thunderwave and Skarmory/Lucario resists Toxic, though WoW is problematic.

Anyways, have Tentacruel on the team to take some special attacks, most notably Ice Beam. Against Boltbeam, use Swampert (though if you suspect an Ice attack first, use Tentacruel to take that attack, and then Swampert to take the Electrick attack that follows). Swampert beats the common users of Boltbeam. Tentacruel also provides Tspikes support, giving you all three entry hazard layers, and allowing your team to easily go on the offensive or the defensive. Tspikes also work great for taking down the bulky waters your team has troubles with.

For the Fighting attacks, use Rotom-H. Use the standard set, but with a Timid nature with 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 Spe to outrun Adamant Lucario (no other Pokemon on your team had an easy time against it). It also acts as a spin-blocker to protect your entry hazards.

The biggest threat I see to your team is Magnezone. Once it removes Skarmory, your best Salamence and Gyarados check is removed. Give it a Shed Shell to prevent this.

Without Leftovers recovery, however, Skarmory may be overstressed at its job of walling physical threats. Swampert should be the standard Mixpert instead of a special defensive version. This is especially true when considering it's your only Tyranitar counter. Use Mixpert as the lead, as it makes a great one, and no other Pokemon on your team is suitable for that role. I would use Roar in place of Surf to shuffle your opponent's team, and fully utilize your entry hazards, often scoring two hits when you pHaze the Swampert counter heading its way. Roar also helps against bulky waters to quickly bring down their HP.

Finally, Tyranitar should have Aqua Tail in place of Fire Punch. Rotom-H is one of the best Scizor counters that exist, and Tentacruel, Skarmory and Swampert all check Scizor to a degree. Aqua Tail will prevent bulky grounds from ending your sweep. This will also mean that Tyranitar can have Leftovers in plae of the Babiri Berry.

 

[devilry]

Your team suffers from typing problems. There is no Ice or Fighting resist on your team (Lucario is too frail to take Ice attacks). Ninjask and Breloom are going to have to go. Ninjask Speed boosts' won't, as your Pokemon didn't really benefit from them. Breloom's Spore will, as well as it's status absorbing abilities, but the typing issue is too strong to ignore. The status isn't much of a problem either when Swampert resists Thunderwave and Skarmory/Lucario resists Toxic, though WoW is problematic.

Anyways, have Tentacruel on the team to take some special attacks, most notably Ice Beam. Against Boltbeam, use Swampert (though if you suspect an Ice attack first, use Tentacruel to take that attack, and then Swampert to take the Electrick attack that follows). Swampert beats the common users of Boltbeam. Tentacruel also provides Tspikes support, giving you all three entry hazard layers, and allowing your team to easily go on the offensive or the defensive. Tspikes also work great for taking down the bulky waters your team has troubles with.

For the Fighting attacks, use Rotom-H. Use the standard set, but with a Timid nature with 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 Spe to outrun Adamant Lucario (no other Pokemon on your team had an easy time against it). It also acts as a spin-blocker to protect your entry hazards.

The biggest threat I see to your team is Magnezone. Once it removes Skarmory, your best Salamence and Gyarados check is removed. Give it a Shed Shell to prevent this.

Without Leftovers recovery, however, Skarmory may be overstressed at its job of walling physical threats. Swampert should be the standard Mixpert instead of a special defensive version. This is especially true when considering it's your only Tyranitar counter. Use Mixpert as the lead, as it makes a great one, and no other Pokemon on your team is suitable for that role. I would use Roar in place of Surf to shuffle your opponent's team, and fully utilize your entry hazards, often scoring two hits when you pHaze the Swampert counter heading its way. Roar also helps against bulky waters to quickly bring down their HP.

Finally, Tyranitar should have Aqua Tail in place of Fire Punch. Rotom-H is one of the best Scizor counters that exist, and Tentacruel, Skarmory and Swampert all check Scizor to a degree. Aqua Tail will prevent bulky grounds from ending your sweep. This will also mean that Tyranitar can have Leftovers in plae of the Babiri Berry.

I think I'll take Breloom out for the scarfed heatran variation. That should provide decent ice resistance. Hmm as for Ninjask, I tested my team on Shoddy Battle and it has been doing decently so far without giving me much problems, so I think I'll hold on to it for a bit longer. It really can go up against almost any lead.

As for toxic spikes...I recognise it's beneficial but I'm still wondering if it's beneficial enough to add it to my team. I'm pretty sure heatran can tank an ice attack and counter back with a kill..plus it provides additional fire coverage.

As far as Scizor is concerned..I believe scarfed Heatran can counter it too as long as I predict properly and not switch into a brick break or something. I'll definitely consider Rotom H, since I need it to counter rapid spins and fighting moves, but at the moment I'm still keen on maintaining sandstorm immunity for as long as I can.

Aqua tail for TTar is an interesting choice..I'll consider that =D

 

[wildfire393]

I think I'll take Breloom out for the scarfed heatran variation. That should provide decent ice resistance. Hmm as for Ninjask, I tested my team on Shoddy Battle and it has been doing decently so far without giving me much problems, so I think I'll hold on to it for a bit longer. It really can go up against almost any lead.

As for toxic spikes...I recognise it's beneficial but I'm still wondering if it's beneficial enough to add it to my team. I'm pretty sure heatran can tank an ice attack and counter back with a kill..plus it provides additional fire coverage.

As far as Scizor is concerned..I believe scarfed Heatran can counter it too as long as I predict properly and not switch into a brick break or something. I'll definitely consider Rotom H, since I need it to counter rapid spins and fighting moves, but at the moment I'm still keen on maintaining sandstorm immunity for as long as I can.

Aqua tail for TTar is an interesting choice..I'll consider that =D

Ninjask is not good. You may win with him a little at the lower levels, but as your rank increases he will get worse and worse. Here is a short list of all of the things he loses to, as well as the leads that run them:

Taunt - Azelf, Aerodactyl, some Ttar and Heatran
Trick - ScarfedAlakazam outspeeds after 1 speed boost and can lock you in to sub
Encore - Infernape is the most common user of it
Roar/Whirlwind - Swampert, Hippowdon, rare Heatrans
Any priority attack - Metagross

Basically the only common leads you can do anything against are non-roar Heatrans and Bronzong, though Bronzong can keep your Subs broken with Gyroball and then Hypnosis or Explode on your Baton Pass target.

 

[devilry]

Ninjask is not good. You may win with him a little at the lower levels, but as your rank increases he will get worse and worse. Here is a short list of all of the things he loses to, as well as the leads that run them:

Taunt - Azelf, Aerodactyl, some Ttar and Heatran
Trick - ScarfedAlakazam outspeeds after 1 speed boost and can lock you in to sub
Encore - Infernape is the most common user of it
Roar/Whirlwind - Swampert, Hippowdon, rare Heatrans
Any priority attack - Metagross

Basically the only common leads you can do anything against are non-roar Heatrans and Bronzong, though Bronzong can keep your Subs broken with Gyroball and then Hypnosis or Explode on your Baton Pass target.

Hmm I see. Okay then, maybe I'll try putting Swampert up first and adding Rotom H.

 

[Rellik]

If you're only going to rack up damage with whirlwind on Skarmory anyway you could move SR off of Swampert and onto Skarmory in place of drill peck. SR+3layers of spikes=serious residual damage. You lose an attack, but will it really be missed that much?
I would recommend putting in Toxic then on Swampert to help with it's walling role. Or you could have a secondary phaser and give Swampert roar.