Do the Dragon Dance (with Blisseyofdoom)

[smashlloyd20]

This is a joint team I made with Blisseyofdoom. It's based off a Dragonite sweep. Hope you like it!

TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:

First, Dragonite. The star of the show.

We immediately thought of 2 threats to Dragonite: Steels and Flygon. Magnezone was chosen as our designated Steel Killer.

Now, Flygon. This was tough, but we settled on Swampert because it can take an Outrage or two and OHKO with Ice Punch.

Now for some reason, we started thinking of a lead. We chose Heatran because it can rock and OHKO Machamp.

Next, a Spiker/Phazer. Skarmory was chosen as it is immune to troublesome Ground attacks, and can swith in on almost anything Flygon does. We used the Specially defensive variant so we could check opposing special sweepers at least a bit.

W
Lastly, we wanted a spinblocker and Infernape check. Scarf Rotom-W was the obvious choice.

Then the rates started coming. Swampert gave way to Gliscor so I could check Lucario and Gyarados, and Roserade instead of Skarm so I had a water check. Then Rotom was replaced with Flygon for a better check to pretty much everything.

So...that's the teambuilding process. Now let's get in...

Heatran @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs:252 SpAtk/84 Spd/172 HP
Mild Nature
-Stealth Rock
-Overheat
-Explosion
-HP Elec

I adore lead Heatran. It can get up rocks, sure, but there's more than that. It can pull a surprise KO on some bulky water,with HP Electric, and come in on something and go out with a bang with explosion. Overheat it used because it always OHKOs something really annoying: Machamp.

Gliscor @ Leftovers
Jolly Nature
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs:252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
-Taunt
-Toxic
-Earthquake
-Roost

Gliscor, replacing Swampert, gives me a great check to a few dangerous threats. Lucario cannot do anything to it (barring Ice Punch), and neither can Infernape (besides HP Ice) and neither can Gyarados (except Ice Fang). It's a very good stall breaker as it can taunt and toxic. It also can heal and provides yet another secondary steel check.

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm nature
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power Fire
- Rest

Roserade is now my team's spiker. It provides a great switch-in to Waters, which my team can really struggle with. It's generally fast enough to get Spikes up before the opponent can do anything. However, this is the specially defensive set, employed so I can check Starmie and take an Ice Beam. Rest may seem stupid, but with Natural Cure it's great. HP Fire gives me another steel check.

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd/252 Atk/4 Hp
Jolly nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-Turn
- Thunderpunch

Rotom has been replaced with a ScarfGon suggested by Aerrow. It can provide a check to opposing Flygons or KO check Starmie by U-Turning out on it. I now have no spinblocker, but as stated by Aerrow, my team now puts too much pressure on other teams to get it up.

Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
Timid Nature
252 SpAtk/252Spd/4 Hp
-Thunderbolt
-Substitute
-Magnet Rise
-Hidden Power Fire

Magnezone is the ultimate steel killer. So of course any Dragonite team needs him. It's like he's tailor-made for the purpose-he's got an ablility tot trap steels, and monstrous base SpAtk to shoot off HP Fires with. So...yeah. Nothing new here.

AND NOW....

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Adamant Nature
252 HP/200 Atk/52 Spd
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Extremespeed

Dragonite, the core of this team. Once it gets a couple Dragon Dances, it becomes an unstoppable force of destruction. EQ is for pesky Electric and steel types, while Extremespeed rips through anything faster than Dragonite. Outrage massacres anything except steels, which are killed by magnezone.


...I guess that's it. Comments please!

 

[Zachary]

Something about having Stealth Rock on a team twice doesn't sit well with me, especially if you're already dedicating one of those Pokémon as a counter. I'd get rid of it on Swampert, as it's essentially wasted space; Swampert is only on your team, you say, to take out Flygon, and if they play Flygon mid- to late-game then you have no reason to throw up Rocks any more. Plus you've already got Spikes on Skarmory, so you should be able to reliably set up more than enough entry hazards here.

I'd run Swampert with this moveset, instead:
Swampert @ Leftovers
Torrent / Relaxed
4 HP 252 Def / 252 Atk
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Roar / Protect

Ice Punch over Ice Beam because it lets you take full advantage of Swampert's Attack stat, rather than trying to split up EVs into both Attack and Special Attack. That'd put significantly more punch in your Swampert's attacks overall (excuse the pun).

I'd go with Roar if you're confident in your ability to consistently keep entry hazards up, as having a Phazer is particularly useful there--you not only cancel out status boosts, but you also get to ram opposing Pokémon into both Spikes and Stealth Rocks again and again. Protect is more for scouting and picking up a little Leftovers recovery in a pinch.

If you really want to go with an attack for that last slot, make sure it's a physical one. Stone Edge would fit well, but it's predictable on this set. Brick Break or Low Kick might fit the bill well.

 

[smashlloyd20]

Something about having Stealth Rock on a team twice doesn't sit well with me, especially if you're already dedicating one of those Pokémon as a counter. I'd get rid of it on Swampert, as it's essentially wasted space; Swampert is only on your team, you say, to take out Flygon, and if they play Flygon mid- to late-game then you have no reason to throw up Rocks any more. Plus you've already got Spikes on Skarmory, so you should be able to reliably set up more than enough entry hazards here.

I'd run Swampert with this moveset, instead:
Swampert @ Leftovers
Torrent / Relaxed
4 HP 252 Def / 252 Atk
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Roar / Protect

Ice Punch over Ice Beam because it lets you take full advantage of Swampert's Attack stat, rather than trying to split up EVs into both Attack and Special Attack. That'd put significantly more punch in your Swampert's attacks overall (excuse the pun).

I'd go with Roar if you're confident in your ability to consistently keep entry hazards up, as having a Phazer is particularly useful there--you not only cancel out status boosts, but you also get to ram opposing Pokémon into both Spikes and Stealth Rocks again and again. Protect is more for scouting and picking up a little Leftovers recovery in a pinch.

If you really want to go with an attack for that last slot, make sure it's a physical one. Stone Edge would fit well, but it's predictable on this set. Brick Break or Low Kick might fit the bill well.

That's a good idea.

 

[The Grand Babido]

Hey smashlloyd20. This is a pretty cool team although it does have a few weaknesses. Firsty, you have pretty much nothing that can switch into Infernape and Dragonite is your only option to revenge kill it. Another threat is Gyarados, who with Taunt, has the potential to sweep your team clean. At +2 Lucario OHKOes your whole team and Jolly versions outright sweep you. To fix these weaknesses, I would like to recommend a few changes.

My first change would be to replace Swampert with a Gliscor. Gliscor is a handy check to Lucario and also maintains the solid synergy that Swampert offered. Gliscor is still a fairly good switch-in to Tyranitar and still resists electric-type attacks. Gliscor has the ability to break stall teams who use Shed Shell Forretress / Skarmory or Roserade as their Spiker, as currently you have no way to beat those versions of stall...More importantly, Gliscor is incredibly good at spreading Toxic onto bulky-waters and weakening steel-types with Earthquake. With bulky-waters taking Toxic damage, Gliscor is able to weaken them in order to set up an unscathed Dragonite sweep.

Gliscor @ Leftovers
Jolly | Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Taunt / Toxic / Earthquake / Roost

My second change I would like you to try is Scarf Rotom-w over your current one. This lets you revenge Gyarados comfortably and can also come into any of Infernape's attacks not named Flare Blitz / Fire Blast / Overheat and can proceed to OHKO with Hydro Pump. This also gives you a bit more insurance vs problematic threats like Life Orb Starmie who 2HKO your current team.

Rotom-w @ Choice Scarf
Timid | Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt / Hydro Pump / Shadow Ball / Trick

I hope you take my changes into consideration. Good luck!

 

[smashlloyd20]

@ Heist; I will make the Rotom change. I like the Gliscor idea, but as I said in the OP, Swampert is my only way of shutting down Flygon, who can rip through my team otherwise. I'm open to change, but anything replacing Swampert must be able to check Flygon.

 

[george182]

ur Ko on lead machamp is not garunteed, vs a 240 hp, 16 sp.def machamp you do 96.1% - 113.4%, so it won't always KO.

Also Swampert is much better at setting up rocks than Heatan, and Heatran needs earthpower for other Heatrans, Tyranitars etc.

You could even put choice specs on Heatran, because then you get the garunteed OHKO on Hippowdon and Machamp, and specs Heatran is a monster with spikes support. Also lets you take advantage of his natural bulk more.

 

[Inevitable]

@ Heist; I will make the Rotom change. I like the Gliscor idea, but as I said in the OP, Swampert is my only way of shutting down Flygon, who can rip through my team otherwise. I'm open to change, but anything replacing Swampert must be able to check Flygon.

Why not use skarmory to check flygon?

You should realize that CB flygon wont outspeed +1 dragonite, so only a scarfed flygon seems to be a threat to your dragonite.

A Scarfed flygon fails to hurt skarmory (even a specially defensive one)

252 Jolly Outrage Vs 252/0 Careful Skarmory - 18.3% - 21.6%

Meaning that skarm can take hits any day, even more so with leftovers restoring 6.25% each turn. needless to say skarmory is immune to earthquake and doesnt take too much from stone edge either (20.4% - 24%)

Now if you were to face a banded flygon 29.9% - 35.3%, which is still a 4hko with leftovers.

So I really suggest to try the gliscor set :)


edit:

I also noticed 3 steels and 3 immunity's to ground, so flygon is having a hard time to decide what move to pick, early game it will be stuck to U-Turn to scout mostly.

 

[Faladran]

Hello. This looks to be a fairly solid team, so I probably won't be suggesting too many major changes. One important factor to note is that you currently don't have a solid switch-in to Water attacks. Dragonite is the only team member that resists Water, and you certainly don't want your late-game sweeper (who happens to be weak to Stealth Rock) switching in to take attacks. For this reason, offensive Water-types such as Suicune and LO Starmie are notable threats to this team; if played correctly, they can cause a lot of damage due to their good coverage, as well as bulk and speed, respectively. To alleviate this issue, I would recommend replacing Skarmory with Spiker Roserade. This shouldn't be too big of a change, as you will still retain the ability to lay down entry hazards. Here is the set:

[box]

Roserade @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power Fire
- Rest
[/box]
This is a great set that manages to find mulitiple opportunities to switch in and begin laying down Spikes. A Calm nature with the given EVs ensures that Roserade possesses a very large amount of Special bulk, enough to take super-effective hits from the likes of LO Starmie. Grass Knot provides you with a solid STAB attack that hits many of OU's Water-types for heavy damage, while HP Fire deters Steel-types such as Scizor from switching in. Rest gives you a form of recovery, allowing you to restore yourself to full health along with the use of Natural Cure for removing status. Roserade is an excellent choice for sponging opposing Water-type attacks, and it should clear up some of the weaknesses that I mentioned earlier.

Good luck!

 

[smashlloyd20]

I realize now that I was being overly paranoid about Flygon, as most of my team can wall either EQ or Outrage. To that end, I will add Roserade and Gliscor. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Smith]

Hey I got your message, cool team. The synergy now looks pretty airtight, so I think all I can focus on here is optimizing some sets and polishing the team up a bit! The threats to this team, as have been noted, are water types with powerful coverage moves. Physical water is worse as your main resist- Roserade- can't tank powerful physical attacks. However, Gyarados is mostly covered, so you might wonder how this is significant, until you remember Kingdra, who right now is a huge penis to this team- Rotom using trick on something relatively harmless is your only real option. Superachi, also, 6-0's the team after Rotom has used trick at some point or if he is simply dead, and after he gets a boost. Other calm minds sets are still problematic, but at least Heatran is a shaky counter and sometimes Magnezone can pull a win out of that situation. LO Starmie is a minour threat; even though Roserade is an acceptable counter, it'll probably get a chance to spin. Agility Metagross with Ice Punch are quite nasty and, while Rotom-w can switch in, he can't do anything and just dies. As you can see, Rotom is performing sub-optimally against these Pokemon. I think some simple changes would help with this. Here is my personal set:

@ Choice Scarf
252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpDef
Timid
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
-Trick
-Will-o-wisp

First, the HP EVs perform an important task- they give you the bulk to withstand repeated onslaughts from Starmie's LO Hydro Pumps, Gyarados' Waterfalls and Metagross Ice Punches, to name examples. This allows you to more reliably check these Pokemon. The lack of Shadow Ball may surprise you, but Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump gives you all the coverage you really need- try to think of a threat you can revenge with Shadow Ball but not with the aforementioned moves. Will-o-wisp can now be used to neuter a wide variety of physical sweepers, including the infamous AgilityGross and SOME Kingdra (ChestoRest can withstand it- watch out to see if the Kingdra has Leftovers or LO recovery/recoil), as well as other Pokemon in a pinch, such as DD Tar, DD Dragonite or SD Lucario.

Minour changes. On Heatran, consider running HP Electric over HP Grass. Every bulky water is hit harder or equal with HP Electric than grass, except Swampert, who is nowadays a rare lead- if he does appear, that is just a free opportunity for Roserade. Speaking of, you might consider just dumping all of the physical defense into special defense- she certainly isn't switching into any physical attacks, and her defense is so bad I hardly think it's worth it. Your description of Gliscor- Infernape can launch very powerful Fire Blasts and Gyarados can still hit super effective with Waterfall.

That's it, cool team. Hope this helps.

 

[smashlloyd20]

@ Smith-all good ideas. I started using the HP Grass on Heatran back when Swamperts were more common. I realize the Gliscor can't touch Gyarados, but Infernape still struggles.

 

[Aerrow]

Rating upon request. I'd love to give a full fledged rate right now, smashlloyd, but there's not much left to suggest after the awesome rates given bu Heist, Faladran and Smith. At this point your team is looking great as I think it has found its "peak of excellence", or in other words, it found a proper balance between it's strategy, synergy and overall performance. However, I see a couple of slight threats which could mess up your team's strategy; LO/Specs Starmie along with specially based mixed Infernape along with the rare bulk up Machamp seem to be problems as they could potentially mess up your team's success in battle. You might say that you have Rotom to easily revenge kill all of these threats, but you mus note that the aforementioned Pokemon are often paired up with pursuit users like Scizor so your tactic of using Rotom to help will probably be foiled as even though Magnazone can later eliminate Scizor, it will be far to late to save Rotom.

[box]

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn[/box]
Luckily, a change to your team can be easily implemented to help with all of these problems: I recommend replacing Rotom with a choice scarf Flygon (I take it you're familiar with the set). This will not only help with the aforementioned threats but also will maintain Rotom's job of being able to check bulky waters (through thunder punch). The only draw back is that you lose your spin blocker, but to be honest, I doubt one is needed because I don't think the opponent will even have a chance to rapid spin as they'll be too busy dealing with all the pressure your team will be putting against the opposing ranks. Those were just my two cents; I hope this helped and good luck!

 

[Elite Four Devin]

I totally DISAGREE with an Overheat tran lead... it doesnt seem like BOD would make something like that. LOL

i would replace lead tran set to this

Heatran @ Shuca Barry
252 spe/252 ATK/4 HP
quiet
~Stealth Rock
~Earth Power
~Eruption
~Hidden Power [ grass ]

 

[sharkz]

I totally DISAGREE with an Overheat tran lead... it doesnt seem like BOD would make something like that. LOL

i would replace lead tran set to this

Heatran @ Shuca Barry
252 spe/252 ATK/4 HP
quiet
~Stealth Rock
~Earth Power
~Eruption
~Hidden Power [ grass ]

This Heatran lead is somewhat outdated for the current meta, losing to things like lead machamp and stuff.

I however think that HP grass is a better choice than HP electric on Heatran. Why? HP Electric's main draw is to hit Gyarados. However, with your current EV spread, you fail to outspeed DD Gyara, meaning that HP Electric is kind of wasted unless you catch Gyara on the switch. I would think that HP grass is a better choice to beat up Swampert Leads.

Kind of short on time so I dont have a full rate, but GL anyway.

 

[deinosaur]

Wow I totally forgot you were making an RMT for this. The team looks good but I definitely think you should go with the specs hetaran and maybe move rose to lead because when you see a roserade, you immediately switch to something to take sleep powder but you use the switch for a free layer of spikes.

 

[aVocado]

^ Except that Spikes + Sleep Powder is an illegal egg move combination on Roserade.

 

[deinosaur]

I did not say you sleep powder, I said that they would expect a sleep powder (which you don't have) and switch out, allowing you to get a free turn of spikes.