Team Divide and Conquer
I'm not a great battler. I lack the patience for serious laddering. My prediction skills are pretty good, but certainly not exceptional. I often rage quit after a move misses or hax, even when I still had a chance to win the battle.
That said, I do pride myself on my team building. The teams I build are almost always anti-metagame. Basically, I'll sit down and play twenty games, saving the logs. I then pick the most powerful and popular strategies that my opponents utilized and find a way to counter them. I also do this by looking through RMT's.
This team is actually the direct result of a bit of an epiphany I had. Many other people must have figured this out, but this was the first time I'd really understood it. Read on to discover it.
Team Building
Note: This is not a normal Team Building Section. To see why I picked each member go to individual analysis. This is just an explanation of this team's concept. My philosophy on competive Pokemon is that it is a game of adaptability. You have to be prepared to change and mutate your strategy to fit your opponents. This means not relying overly on one team member, or if you must, being able to play that member conservatively without adverse affects for the rest of your team.
Thus, my epiphany was that the best way to utilize this was to subdivide my team into three groups of two. These groups of two would all have a seperate strategy that combined into one group strategy. Best of all, if I lost one section, the other two would be able to carry out their strategies independantly. I cannot tell you how many games I have won with this team when I had two pokemon left and the opponent had 4, 5, or even 6.
Unfortunately, when I sat down to make the team, I realized I couldn't just throw two pokemon with good type synergy (i.e. Ferrothorn and Jellicent) on the same division and hope they just work. It has to go deeper than that. This is my team. The first two are Division 1, the second two Division 2, and the third two Division 3.
Divisions
Division One
This division is made up of Rotom-W and Latios.
Specially focused
Job: Division One is all my basic utility wrapped into one. They are what serious battlers often call "situational counters", just a fancy term for what you switch into when you don't know what to switch into. Whenever I don't know what to do, Division One is sent in to recapture the momentum.
Reason: Rotom-W is there to spread around a lot of burns, as well as countering the three genies and bulky waters. Latios is there to do a lot of damage. They have great synergy. After burning something, I switch into Latios. Either my opponent will switch, and I get a free switch in, or I take a weak hit from a burned physical attacker. Better yet, Rotom counters the bulky waters that often carry ice beam that can really hurt Latios.
Division Two
This division is made up of Tyranitar and Excadrill
Physically focused
Job: This Division is there to clean up and revenge kill. Division Two is usually the last division left alive, and they are meant to finish up any late game issues.
Reason: It infuriates me that people think Excadrill is only good on a pure sand team. Excadrill is actually far more effective when it doesn't have to engage in a weather fight. What I mean by that is that when two opposing teams of different weather face each other, their sweepers are pushed off to the side and their walls become more important. This team does not rely on sand at all, so when facing rain/sun/hail teams I will use Divisions One and Three, which don't care about the weather, to take out the opponent's weather inducer. I will then bring in Ttar and Excadrill to clean up. This duo is just threatening in every way. If I get up two swords dances with Sand storm up, I am almost guaranteed to win. Tyranitar is mainly here to set up Sand Storm, but it is a pretty potent physical sweeper in its own right.
Division Three
This division is made up of Blissey and Skarmory
Mixed
Job: Pure support and walling capability.
Reason: SkarmBliss is still the easiest way to wall entire teams using the least amount of members. Because they are together, I can each let them do what they do best without worrying about being mauled by opponents of the opposite physical/special. SkarmBliss force a lot of switches and thus rack up a lot of Stealth Rock damage.
Closer Look
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
I've never liked the Rotom Forms. I didn't use them as spinblockers last generation, and I haven't used them this generation at all. That is, until now. This set is just so brilliant at what it does. It is perfect for crippling physical sweepers with burns, just as Blissey does with special sweepers with paralysis. It hits quite hard, and perfectly counters bulky waters.
Use Within Division: It helps Latios be able to switch in safely and take out something slower than it.
Use Within Team: Status, and the walling of bulky waters.
threats: Ferrothorn, forretress, Venusaur, Haxorus
Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
Latios hits ridiculously hard. In fact, nothing can really wall this. Even Blissey, the best special wall, falls to Psyshock. Although it is impossible to wall completely, a combination of residual damage and priority can easily eliminate Latios.
Use Within Division: To take advantage of how easily it can switch in. The combination of Rotom-W and Latios forces so many double switches.
Use Within Team: Generally, Latios is used to eliminate walls that could take a hit from an unboosted Excadrill. Nothing in the current metagame can completely comfortably take a Draco Meteor, so I use Latios to soften up the opponent for Division Two to clean up. Also, this makes a great situational counter, as Latios hits many thing for SE damage.
threats:Ttar, Scizor
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Crunch
ScarfTar is just excellent. A Choice Scarf gives ttar just enough speed to attempt a sweep with its impressive attack. Superpower often nails incoming Scizor on the switch, Crunch is for STAB, an Edge Quake is for coverage.
Use On Division: To set up sand storm, and to weaken physical walls so Excadrill has a shot at a clean OHKO.
Use On Team:To counter several prominent threats, including Lati@s. Many of Tyranitars counters, which also hurt Excadrill, such as Scizor, can be 2HKO'd cleanly if I predict their switch in.
threats:Conkelldur, Scizor
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Swords Dance
Probably the most important member of this team, Excadrill excels at sweeping with low HP. Excadrill has just enough resistances and bulk to often get up two SD's and then sweep. X-Scissor often surprises Reuniclus who try to hit me with Focus Blast.
Use On Division: To form a pretty unbeatable physical sweeping team with ScarfTar.
Use On Team: To revenge kill and sweep late game.
threats: Priority and Skarmory
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Heal Bell
- Seismic Toss
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave
The ultimate special wall and cleric, this set is geared solely towards walling special hits, as it can always switch into Skarmory to take physical ones.
Use On Division: To sponge special attacks aimed at Skarmory
Use On Team: To paralyze opponents, mainly so that Excadrill can sweep even without Sand Storm up, and so Latios can sweep. It is a cleric so I'm not afraid of getting Excadrill burnt or Latios put to sleep. Most of all, it can switch into physical hits all day long.
Threats: Pursuit trappers, or any physical attacks if Skarmory is gone.
Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
The best physical wall and phazer in the game, I rely on its Stealth Rock for residual damage. This is also a great Breloom counter.
Use For Division: To sponge physical attacks aimed at Blissey.
Use for Team: To whirlwind away sub users or stat buffers, to set up SR, and most of all to handle any physical attack not named Flare Blitz
Counters: Fire types, any special attacker if Blissey is gone.
Please give me suggestions! Thanks for reading.
