Before I begin, I would like to thank FlamingVictini for taking notice of my attempts to bring attention to this amazing move. I'll start this RMT with a similar introduction as I previously did. As I was scrolling through Jirachi's moveset to determine how I wanted to build it when Nintendo gives one out this year, I came across its signature move Doom Desire. 140 base power, 100 acc, and hits two turns after you use it. Why wouldn't you use this move? Quite frankly, I saw no reason not to. I created a team utilizing this move and future sight as many times as possible to make the team terrible with the sole goal of drawing attention to it. Thanks to FlamingVictini I have been able to develop this new team.
The first problem was to figure out exactly how to use Doom Desire. Victini suggested that I run specs on Jirachi, and use it to force the opponent to think before they switch in. I decided to go with this approach. To see an example of this in action, watch the beginning of this replay. This, however, meant that I would be forced to make switching an integral part of my strategy, and that I would have to consider every member as support for the other members. This meant my team needed bulk, as they would often be switching into new moves. I would need a solid core for this team. Personally, I've always found Jirachi-Togekiss to be a very solid core, but it was missing coverage for ghosts, water types, fire types, and electric types. This would, of course, need to be fixed before I could do anything. This is what led, after much testing and reworking, to the team you see below.
Illumirachi (Jirachi) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Doom Desire
- Flash Cannon
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
He's the leader of the pack. You know him well. He's finally- no? Ok. This tiny legendary is the heart of this team. So why this EV spread? This is why: 252 SpA Choice Specs Jirachi Doom Desire vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Clefable: 618-728 (157.2 - 185.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO. If the opponent can't switch in their precious Clefable, always present in OU, then that's one more inhibitor you've put on their team. HP Fire allows Jirachi to 2HKO Ferrothorn sets and gives it a chance to OHKO common Scizor builds. Flash Cannon lets it get off some damage right away if it needs to, and Moonblast gives it some hope against Pokemon such as Mandibuzz and Conk. It had to be shiny, that wasn't my choice.
NightmareFuel (Togekiss) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Ancient Power
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
Ahh ParaFlinch. The bane of many a player's existence. Hence the name NightmareFuel. This is a fairly standard set, with Ancient Power to deal with MegaZard Y and the Smogonbird, T-wave for paralysis, Roos for reliable recovery, and Air Slash for that beautiful 60% flinch chance. The EV spread allows Togekiss to take a hit, and it doesn't need speed because it's going to paralyze everything anyway. So why is Togekiss such a perfect match for Jirachi? Isn't it obvious? It's immune to ground, keeping me from needing a balloon, and it resists dark, which is always a helpful resist to have. Jirachi, in turn, covers Togekiss's weaknesses to Poison and Steel.
Bring the Heat (Heatran) (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Lava Plume
- Dragon Pulse
I said before that I had no counter for fire types, and because of this I brought along Heatran. Without Heatran, my team is stopped in its tracks by Chandelure. This is a fairly standard set, with an Air Balloon to avoid Heatran's biggest weakness, Earth Power to deal with other Heatran, Lava Plume and Flash Cannon for STAB purposes, and Dragon Pulse for coverage. There isn't much to say about this set, so let's move on.
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Earth Power
- Clear Smog
Heatran is, of course, hampered greatly by water type attacks. Gastrodon is here to switch into any Scald or Hydro Pump you might hope to get off against Heatran. In addition, Gastrodon's typing gives me a much needed immunity to electric, switching into Thunder Wave and the like. Recover allows Gastrodon to stay in longer, Scald lets it cripple physical attackers, Earth Power is a decent STAB, and Clear Smog keeps setup sweepers in their place.
Land Sharpedo (Garchomp) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Toxic
Standard TankChomp. Rough Skin and a Rocky Helmet cripple anyone dumb enough to try and land a physical attack, Stealth Rocks cripple any switch ins and help Doom Desire take the opponent out, Toxic allows steady damage, and D Claw and EQ are just standard. The best part about running Garchomp is that it drags out Fairy types, which then get taken out by a super effective specs Doom Desire. All in all Garchomp is just a great addition to this team, though I also considered Assault Vest Goodra.
Awww Chessss (Bisharp) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Brick Break
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
Lastly, we have Bisharp. After all of this building, I still had a weakness to ghost, dark was hardly covered, and I had no way to keep Pokemon that rely on their items down. A Lum Berry protects Bisharp from status problems and let it get up a free swords dance against walls that rely on moves such as Wisp. Brick Break deals with other Bisharp and steel pokemon, Sucker Punch lets Bisharp sweep, and an Adamant nature lets Bisharp hit as hard as possible.
So that's that. I look forward to your feedback on this team!
