"IT remembered a sense of surprise, and then falling, but that was all. Then IT just waited.
IT waited a very long time, but IT could wait easily because there was no memory and nothing had screamed yet. And so IT did not know IT was waiting. IT did not know it was anything at that point. IT just was, with no way to mark time, with no way even to have the idea of time."
INTRODUCTION
This is an older team that I still use on occasion, it has been very successful for me. I was told to post it here on Smogon for better rates than where it was but I was hesitant for some reason. I decided just now to post it here, so yeah. Treat me nicely! :D
This team was based off of a thought I had about creating a team that brought some aspects from stall, most notably stability, into offense. To succeed in this endeavor I thought long and hard about what needed to be accomplished:
- 1) Resist every type at least twice -- I don't want only one reliable swap in to any given powerful STAB move like a Tran Fire Blast or Scizor Bullet Punch. (I didn't succeed with Flying type, but when do you see Flying moves in OU? lol)
2) Counter/check as many threats as possible, if I can't check them with a Poke, have a strategy, if the strategy falls through I must be able to revenge them.
3) Have Pokes that serve as reliable methods to rid each other of counters and checks while maintaining good offensive and defensive synergy.
4) Use moves as accurate as possible, missing powerful moves like Fire Blast and Stone Edge is one reason offense's success fluctuates a lot more than stall's.
Given my to do list I set out to make a team to fall under these conditions. This is the resulting team.
TEAM BUILDING
TEAM BUILDING
Well I went ahead and decided to use a two Poke combo that allows for the resistance of every type and which makes Scizor a very minimal problem for the team: Jolly Gyarados and Scarf Magnezone. With these two I had already halfway completed my first goal, began working into my second, maintained my third and fourth.
Next I needed to expand on this group. I was trying to think in terms of my first condition and decided to add Life Orb Latias because of it's fantastic host of resistances as well as it's ability to beat many threats, new and old, one on one (e.g Rotom-A, Gliscor, MixMence, etc). It also helped me keep my offensive feel and synergy.
Due to the team so far I needed a more reliable swap into Rotom-A, a better way to beat Blissey since Gyarados is Stealth Rock weak, and a way to help against general stall. Lum Berry Machamp was my initial addition, and after some advice from panamaxis this became a Bulk Up set.
Next I needed some more key resistances to be covered as well as key threats needed to be checked or revenge-able. A modified Choice Band Scizor was added in for this purpose, now giving me means to play around and revenge important threats like Mence and Gyarados (will be explained below).
The final member took a little whle to come up with, but I looked closely at my team so far. If Lucario got a set up opening on Scizor's Pursuit or somewhere else I was in trouble. Same if Gyarados got a Dragon Dance up against Scizor's Bullet Punch or Magnezone's Flash Cannon. So what could check these two threats and make an effective lead? I decided on Celebi.
TYPE CHART
|-
A CLOSER LOOK
- Natural Cure
- 76 HP | 252 SpAtk | 180 Spe
- Timid Nature [+Speed, -Attack]
- Moveset:
- Leaf Storm - Celebi's STAB move is used primarily mid-game to deal with things like Tyranitar who like to swap in on Celebi. This is the move Celebi here uses to check Gyarados and hit foes who take neutral damage.
- Earth Power - This move is used by Celebi to hits Steels, primarily Lucario and Heatran. Good overall coverage with Leaf Storm, although I do miss out on hitting Skarmory, Salamence, Dragonite, Bronzong, Zapdos, and a couple of other noteworthy OUs.
- U-Turn - A fantastic move in terms of utility. This move is in my opinion the best move for utility in the game when used correctly, allowing an essentially free counter swap.
- Stealth Rock - Access to this move is what allows Celebi to effectively lead. Stealth Rock is very important for this team, bringing Salamence and Gyarados into ranges in which it would be possible to revenge them with Scizor.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
This lead Celebi has been a great "glue" for this team. He was a final slot decided based on necessity to close some gaps, but is also an effective lead, getting up Rocks and surviving for most of the game when used correctly. Stealth Rocks are very important to the team as is a fall back check/counter to Gyarados if it happens to set up a Dragon Dance (although it obviously doesn't do this as well as the more defensive sets/spreads out there). While it's not the best lead out there it has worked quite well for me thus far especially in its main capacity on this team. The Occa Berry is just there as a buffer to survive Ape or Azelf Fire Blasts should they decide to act more like anti-leads than set up leads.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 180 Speed and the Timid nature allows Celebi here to outspeed all Lucario.
- 252 Special Attack is simply to allow for maximum damage dealing capacity.
- 76 HP EVs are the remaining points allotted to HP to allow Celebi to take things like Extremespeed or Stone Edge better.
..... - Considered Changes
Nothing at the moment
..... - Lead Comparison
- Metagross: Set up Rocks together then use Earth Power to scout it's attack, generally Meteor Mash which I then redirect to Scizor or Magnezone via U-Turn to scout a swap. If they swap I simply play accordingly.
- Azelf: U-Turn on the Taunt and go to Scizor to quickly kill it off.
- Jirachi: Set up Rocks. Depending on its first move and whether I outspeed it I will either Earth Power or swap to Gyara/Magnezone.
- Swampert: Set up Rocks as they run, react accordingly to the swap in.
- Aerodactyl: U-Turn to break the sash, then swap to Scizor to finish it.
- Infernape: U-Turn to break the sash, then swap to Latias to take it out.
- Hippowdon: Set up Rocks as they swap, play according to the swap.
- Bronzong: Set up Rocks, then swap to Scizor to U-Turn.
- Ninjask: Set up Rocks, then swap to Scizor or Gyarados if it hasn't yet set up a Sub.
- Tyranitar: Set up Rocks, then U-Turn to Machamp.
"So IT waited, and IT watched. There was not a great deal to see at first; fire, rocks, water, and eventually some little crawly things, which began to change and get bigger after a while. They didn't do very much except to eat each other and reproduce. But there was nothing to compare that to, so for a while that was enough.
Time passed. IT watched as the big things and the little things killed and ate one another aimlessly. There was no real joy in watching that, since there was nothing else to do and there were plenty more of them. But IT didn't seem able to do anything but watch. And so IT began to wonder: Why am I watching this?
IT could see no real point to anything that happened and there was nothing IT could do, and yet there IT was, watching. IT thought about this a very long time, but came to no conclusions. There was still no way to think any of this through; the whole idea of purpose wasn't quite there yet. There was just IT and them."
- Levitate
- 6 Def | 252 SpAtk | 252 Spe
- Timid Nature [+Speed, -Attack]
- Moveset:
- Dragon Pulse - This is Latias's STAB move here, and the main attacking move.
- Surf - Surf gives great neutral coverage with Dragon Pulse, being resisted by only Empoleon and Shedinja (but who uses him, lol).
- Thunderbolt - Thunderbolt rounds out the moveset, hitting bulky Waters, including Empoleon for Super Effective damage making them therefore much less effective when trying to take out other members of the team, like Gyara or Scizor.
- Recover - Recover makes it possible for Latias to run a simple Life Orb set, preventing residual damage and recoil from killing her prematurely.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
Does one need a reason to use Latias? I mean I do have one, but does one normally need one? Latias not only provides a host of good resistances, but makes it easier for my team to beat Salamence, Infernape, Heatran, and Rotom-A. Those are important "targets" since they are among the top threats and dangers of OU and every good team needs to beat them. Latias. Is. A. Beast. Seriously, if Machamp wasn't the MVP of the team Latias would be. I would never say Latias is broken, but she is certainly a top threat in OU and I love having her in my arsenal.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 252 Spe and the Timid nature maximize Latias's speed, allowing her to outspeed opposing Latias that carry Hidden Power [Fire] and allowing a speed tie against other non-Scarf Latias.
- 252 SpAtk is to maximize Latias's damage output.
- 6 Def is more or less random.
..... - Considered Changes
- I'm considering making Latias a Scarfer, to more effectively take on DD Mence
"There were lots of them, more all the time, busily killing and eating and copulating. But there was only one of IT, and IT did none of those things, and IT began to wonder why that was, too. Why was IT different? Why was IT unlike everything else? What was IT, and if IT was something, was IT supposed to do something, too?
More time passed. The countless changing crawly things slowly got bigger and better at killing each other. Interesting at first, but only because of the subtle differences. They crawled, hopped, and slithered to kill one another--one actually flew through the air to kill. Very interesting--but so what?
IT began to feel uncomfortable with all this. What was the point? Was IT supposed to be a part of what IT watched? If not, then why was IT here watching?
IT became determined to find the reason IT was here, whatever that was. So now when IT studied the big things and the little things, IT studied the ways IT was different from them. All the other things needed to eat and drink or they died. And even if they ate and drank, they eventually died anyway. IT didn't die. IT just went on and on. IT didn't need to eat or drink. But gradually IT became aware that IT did need...something--but what? IT could feel that somewhere there was a need, and the need was growing, but IT could not tell what it was; there was just a sense that something was missing."
- Intimidate
- 252 Atk | 88 Def | 168 Spe
- Jolly Nature [+Speed, -Special Attack]
- Moveset:
- Waterfall - Gyarados's Water STAB and main attack.
- Earthquake - This move is used here for Steel types, Empoleon in particular who can otherwise be a pain, especially if Scizor is down.
- Ice Fang - Ice Fang is very convenient here for hitting Latias, Mence, Gliscor, and other flyers quite well.
- Dragon Dance The bread and butter fo this set. This move makes Gyarados a top OU threat almost on it's own.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
Gyarados was one of the initial choices for the team because of his key list of resistances and his combination with Magnezone. He also makes Scizor much easier to deal with with is great for Celebi and Latias. Gyarados is the team's main "muscle", being the one that often finishes the opposing team. He wasn't added for a specific reason since it more or less started with him, so there isn't much to say here. <3 mah Jumbo Shrimp.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 168 Spe and the Jolly nature allow Gyara to outrun Jolteon after a single boost.
- 252 Atk allows for the maximum damage.
- 88 Def EVs are the leftovers and are here to allow Gyara to take hits like Scizor's Bullet Punch or MixApe's CC better.
..... - Considered Changes
- Increasing Gyara's Speed to outrun ScarfTran after a boost.
"No answers came as ages of scales and egg clutches paraded by. Kill and eat, kill and eat. What is the point here? Why do I have to watch all this when I can't do anything about it? IT began to feel just a little bit sour about the whole thing.
And the suddenly on day there was a brand-new thought: Where did I come from?
IT had figured out long ago that eggs the others hatched from came from copulation. But IT had not come from an egg. Nothing at all had copulated to bring IT into existence. There had been nothing there to copulate when IT first became aware. IT had been there first and, seemingly, forever, except for the vague and disturbing memory of falling. But everything else had been hatched or born. IT had not. And with this thought the wall between IT and them seemed to grow vastly higher, stretching up impossibly tall, seperating IT from them completely and eternally. IT was alone, completely alone forever, and that hurt. IT wanted to be a part of something. There was only one of IT--shouldn't there be a way for IT to copulate and make more, too?"
- Magnet Pull
- 26 Atk | 252 SpAtk | 232 Spe
- Naive Nature [+Speed, -Special Defense]
- Moveset:
- Thunderbolt - Magnezone's main STAB move on this set; This move is what is used against most opponents since it does amazing damage coming from my UFO.
- Hidden Power [Fire] - This is what makes Magnezone so great at taking out Scizor and Forretress, the former being able to U-Turn out if not OHKOd/Choiced and the latter being able to EQ if not OHKOd. Without this move Magnezone would have a tough time dealing with this pair.
- Flash Cannon - This is Magnezone's secondary STAB, essentially here for two reasons: Hitting Dragons without forced Explosions, and hitting Tyranitar for Super Effective damage. Sadly without this move Tyranitar would wall me completely.
- Explosion - This is just a useful move to have on any team, being essentially a last ditch move to beat threats that I may have already exhausted my checks for. Nice little options like that are why this move is so fantastic.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
Magnezone was one of the two Pokes the team started of, and plays two largely important roles: Firstly, giving me a large amount of key resistances which helps with my first objective, and secondly killing Scizor off, which helps my Pokes, Latias and Celebi in particular, perform in a safer environment and therefore be of much more use. And then there's always the fact that a killswitch move like Explosion always has a place on an offensive team. So yeah...Since he was a starting member of the team there wasn't a specific reason to include him, but he does have a very nice niche here.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 232 Spe and the Naive nature allow Magnezone to outspeed positive nature base 110s (Latias and Gengar), after factoring the Hidden Power IV drop.
- 252 SpAtk maximizes the damage Magnezone can do.
- 26 Atk EVs are the leftovers put into Atk to increase the damage Explosion does.
..... - Considered Changes
Nothing at the moment, Magnezone does his function well.
"And that began to seem infinitely more important, that thought: MORE of IT. Everything else made more. IT wanted to make more, too.
It suffered, watching mindless things in their roiling riotous living. Resentment grew, turned to anger, and finally anger turned to rage toward the stupid, pointless things and their endless, inane, insulting existence. And the rage grew and festered until one day It couldn't stand it any longer. Without pause to think what IT was doing, IT rose up and rushed at one of the lizards, wanting somehow to crush it. And a wonderful thing happened.
IT was inside the lizard.
Seeing what the lizard saw, feeling what it felt.
For a long while IT forgot rage altogether."
- Technician
- 248 HP | 252 Atk | 10 SpDef
- Adamant Nature [+Attack, -Special Attack]
- Moveset:
- Bullet Punch - This move has brought Scizor from just a cool looking bug type to the forefront of competitive battling. And for good reason; Who doesn't want a priority move with more base power when resisted as a regular unSTABed priority move. The main flaw of the move is, of course, its miserable offensive typing, but for the most part one can understand why this move has garnered the acclaim it has.
- U-Turn - As I said in Celebi's analysis, this move is one of the best out there and very much my favorite. Even without its respectable base power, the utility this move has to offer is fantastic, especially when it's STABed coming off Scizor's 130 Base Atk.
- Pursuit - Scizor's unique in having a Technician Pursuit, making him the only non-Dark type with a 60 Base power Pursuit, which often does enough damage to KO Psychics without them even needing to swap out.
- Quick Attack - This is what makes Scizor here, on this team, pretty unique. Normally this slot is used for Superpower, but here we have Quick Attack. The reason for this is Gyarados. I can't always rely on Celebi to beat him and he can be dangerous if left unchecked, so Quick Attack is here to allow Scizor to revenge Gyarados if Celebi is unable to counter him. This move does ~32-37% to Bulky Gyara.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
Scizor is here for a few reasons: Firstly, he's the premier revenge killer in the game these days, being able to revenge Salamence, Gyarados, Latias, Gengar, and many other top threats; Secondly, he has very good typing that provides me with a good amount of resistances while only providing one weakness. Not to mention he has the most powerful U-Turn in the game and provides the fantastic service of giving me a check and strategy to use against Salamence, the bastard. Scizor is also just fantastic at checking misc. OU viable threats like Abomasnow, the bastard.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 252 Atk and the Adamant nature allow for the absolute maximum damage output from the clamps here.
- 248 HP hits a SR point, important for Scizor, while helping to otherwise maximize overall bulk.
- 10 SpDef EVs are the leftovers thrown into SpDef to allow for marginally better revenging of Latias, Starmie, etc.
..... - Considered Changes
Nothing at the moment
"The lizard did not appear to notice it had a passenger. It went about its business of killing and copulating, and IT rode along. It was very interesting to be on board when the lizard killed one of the littler ones. As an experiment, IT moved into one of the little ones. Being in the one that killed was far more fun, but not enough to lead to any real purposeful ideas. Being in the one that died was very interesting and it did lead to some ideas, but not very happy ones.
IT enjoyed these new experiences for a while. But although IT could feel their simple emotions, they never went beyond confusion. They still didn't notice IT, didn't have any idea that--well, they simply didn't have any idea. They didn't seem capable of having an idea. They were just so limited--and yet they were alive. They had life and didn't know it, didn't understand what to do with it. It didn't seem fair. And soon IT was bored once more, and growing angry all over again."
- No Guard
- 252 HP | 56 Atk | 194 SpDef | 8 Spe
- Adamant Nature [+Attack, -Special Attack]
- Moveset:
- Dynamicpunch - Machamp's main STAB move here, and one of the main reasons he is so dangerous; He has the ability to use a move like this without missing. Great power and effect, such that nothing in the game likes to come in on this attack except Slowbro.
- Payback - This move rounds out Machamp's coverage with Dynamic Punch very well, only Heracross resisting both moves, and it takes advantage of Machamps overall low speed.
- Stone Edge - This move is here replacing the BoltBeam punches I initially had here to hit flyers like Gyarados and Salamence. The only thing I miss about the swap is being able to Ice Punch a Gliscor.
- Bulk Up - A move added to make Machamp an even more effective killing machine: I love Bulking Up as Gyarados comes in and absolutely destroying one on one.
..... - Why this Pokemon?:
Machamp provides several things to this team that it appreciates -- For one, it has a great combination of bulk and power that operates well in bulky offense. Secondly, it's No Guard ability means it won't miss ever, this helps to limit possible hax on the team; It still happens, but not taking using high miss risk moves is something I wanted to avoid, but I can make use of them here. In addition Machamp is great at beating misc. Special threats that come in on him, like Latias (without Draco Meteor), Rotom-A, or Heatran, making life easier for my other members, particularly Gyarados and Scizor. In addition Machamp does amazingly well against stall on his own, hitting both Blissey and Skarmory for massive damage with her STAB. Machamp has been the MVP for this team in ~90% of my games.
..... - EVs & Nature:
- 8 Spe is enough to outspeed Blissey and those who aim to outspeed her by 1.
- 56 Atk with an Adamant nature is the minimum to 2HKO 252/252 Bold Rotom-A with Payback.
- 252 HP helps to maximize Machamp's overall bulk.
- 194 SpDef EVs are the remaining EVs added onto Machamp's special bulk to allow better intercepting of Rotom-A, Latias, and other misc. special threats.
..... - Considered Changes
None at the moment, this guy is the team's MVP in most matches.
"And finally one day the monkey things started to show up. They didn't seem like much at first. They were small and cowardly and loud. But one tiny difference finally caught IT's attention: they had hands that let them do some amazing things. IT watched as they became aware of their hands, too, and began to use them. They used them for a great variety of brand-new things: masturbating, maiming one another, and taking food from the smaller of their kind.
IT was fascinated and watched more closely. IT watched them hit each other and then run away and hide. IT watched them steal from one another, but only when no one was looking. IT watched them do horrible things to each other and then pretend that nothing had happened. And as IT watched, for the first time, something wonderful happened: IT laughed."
MAJOR THREATS
"And as IT laughed, a thought was born, and grew into clarity wrapped in glee.
IT thought: I can work with this."
