Man, I love the latest additions the new games brought to us, and there's one thing that absolutely caught my attention: Technician Breloom! I mean.. Remeber how hyped Scizor was, when it got a STAB Technician priority move? Think about it again, but with an even better offensive typing, access to a reliable Sleep Move and a ridiculously powerful secondary STAB coverage. Long story short: Breloom blows! So I decided to build a team around it.
This thing has all you need to win matches. An unmatched STAB priority move is meant to clean what the rest of the team leaves utterly shuttered at the battlefield. Tornadus-T will take around a third from it, which is a suprise for almost any opponent who thinks they can stay in for one more turn or plain being greedy and use U-Turn (whyever that may happen in that matchup..). Low Sweep is another Technician boosted STAB Fighting move which also lowers the speed from the opponent 100% of the time by one stage. This again means, that any Pokemon that hits 357 Speed in total will be outspeeded the following turn. Bullet Seed might look like a stupid choice at first glance but it's in fact one of Brelooms best moves for this set. With STAB and Technician boost, it hits ridiculous 56 Base Power per hit! That's enough to break most Substitutes with the very first shot, including Gengar's, which seems to be damn common these days. Dealing ~28% per shot, it's simple logic that there's a very high chance to KO it instantly. Even Pokemon like Latios takes ~41 - 49% from Low Sweep, while the following Bullet Seeds do 17-20% per hit. Add Stealth Rock damage and 3 BS hits will finish it off. On the last slot, Spore is what you want. It's still almost unique to Breloom and those who share this move with it simply can't compete with Breloom's raw power.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Taunt
Holy cow, I love this thing! While Substitute and Fire Blast are nothing special on most offensive Heatran nowadays, the more unexpected is that this one's just running Dragon Pulse for coverage while using Taunt on the last slot. I know that it might look weird to run both Substitute and Taunt within one set, but it offers quite a number of opportunities. First and foremost it ensures the opponent cannot use Heatran as setup fodder at all. Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Swords Dance, Dual Screens, Trick Room... Recovery and Status moves are stopped cold as well. As a nice bonus, I'm safe against Roar and Whirlwind, which also support this set further. Besides that, nothing won't ever come in easily against this thing. Fire and Dragon offer great coverage within just two attacking moves, which also counters any variation of Dragon + Steel defensive comboes.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 200 SDef / 56 Spd
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
- Recover
By all that good stuff about Heatran, Rain Teams, and actually most water types in general, are causing quite some problems. This is, where Jellicent comes into play. With its great special bulk and ability, it's able to handle most Water types on its own. Scald is it's main attacking option, often causing random burns around the opponents team, buffing its physical defense quite nicely. At this point I guess I should point out that the given Speed EVs ensure to outspeed 4 Spe EV Scizors, trying to catch the burn, before they can act. Ice Beam is to support Heatran handling those pesky Dragons. However, it's also there to cover up the Therians, which are so damn common for the moment. Giga Drain is just a move, no one really expects, leaving most Water type switch ins in a real bad position, especially those Water/Ground duals I see running around quite often for the moment. And in case that it needs a bit more health, I simply go for Recover to increase its survivability.
Haxorus @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
This thing should simply be called: THE MAN! With its MANLY 147 Base Attack stat, a MANLY STAB move in Outrage and a MANLY coveragy move in Superpower, Hax-R-Us pretty much got everything it needs. Mold Breaker ensures some nice KOs, including the likes of Multiscale Dragonite. Earthquake gives an alternate to Superpower for many pokes, not forcing it to instantly have to switch, while Dragon Claw was slapped on there not to stuck into Outrage too early while still having access to a STAB move. I maybe replace it with Aqua Tail however as it would give Haxorus a way to deal with Skarmory.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Ever stayed in front of hell and barely returned? Well, I guess you just faced a Salamence then. With Moxie and a Choice Scarf attached, this thing runs rampage on anything that cannot outspeed it (or until it hits itself due to confusion). Outrage is pretty much all you need actually, however, depending on the situation, it has access to a plethora of coverage moves. First of all: Fire Blast. While I already mentioned on Heatran, that Dragon and Fire have an almost perfect coverage, this thing pulls this to a whole new level. Massive 135 / 110 attack stats ensure that something is going to die. Draco Meteor is just there to get rid of anything that is weak on its specially defensive side, also bypassing Intimidate Pokemon, such as Landorus-T. Last but not least, Earthquake completes the coverage as it's easily able to beat Heatran with little to no effort. Just be careful and don't get too greedy early game. Moxie is a damn tempting ability which causes many people to simply go on attacking, even when it's obvious that the poke isn't going to survive the next round.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Last but not least, my cute lil' Forry. Stealth Rock is a must have on any team, so do I use them. Rapid Spin is there to get rid of the opponents hazards which might hinder my team to a certain extend. On the last two slots I decided to run an unorthodox combination of Volt Switch and Hidden Power Ice. While they act like BoltBeam coverage, Hidden Power greatly takes care of the ever common Therians and Dragons lurking around OU. Volt Switch is just perfect on a poke like Forretress. Due to its naturally low Speed Stat, it allows me to keep momentum on most switch ins, when the opponent tries to get rid of it (which hardly ever happens).
===
Well.. That's for now. Maybe I'll add a threatlist tomorrow as it's like half past 12pm here already and I'm tired as heck.. So yea, bomb me with comments and all that stuff, I'm curious what you think about it ^.^
-Building process-
Yea, as already mentioned, Breloom is meant to
shine at its best within the team, so it obviously got the first spot in the team.
My plan was to find a pokemon that can hit hard from the special
side so I can attack from both sides of the spectrum. Swoobat fitted
suprisingly well for this job, since they cover each others weaknesses rather
well. Additionally, Swoobats recently released Hidden Ability Simple was just
too awesome for a CM set so I just had to pick it.
Even though they seem to work rather well together, my team
already has 2 Pokemon that are weak to Ice, while I'm still lacking a
moderate check/counter for Fire Types. So i decided to play Heatran with a
specially bulky set so I can handle those moves while also having a reliable
check for Tornadus-T.
A Grass and a Fire Type already? How about completing this with a
water type to get a nice Fire-Water-Grass core in this team. Even though I
have no set up sweepers in my team (yet), I wanted to play Quagsire as it
can run a physically defensive set, while Unaware completely shuts down
opposing SetUppers AND Ditto, which I thought to be insanely common these days.
Looks good so far, I think.. However, running at least a Dragon
Type per team always works. Anyways, I wanted to test something different.
I chose Druddigon, as it has some very interesting and almost unique options
over its brethren in Glare and Sucker Punch. Also, a Sheer Force boosted Fire
Punch sounds damn sexy.
I really had no clue what to use on the last slot. And when this
happens I tend to use Zapdos. It has good bulk, a nice movepool, including
both U-Turn and Volt Switch. However, as many people bring their Ground
Pokes on it like every single fckin' time, I picked the former one to gain momentum.
I played with this line up for quite a while and it won a good
number of battles for me (in fact, on PS it stayed unbeaten - on wifi I lost
just too many in return..). So I decided to revamp the team up from the
basics. First of all, Quagsire absolutely disappointed me. Even though it
stopped set up sweepers cold, Toxic users and the lack of Ditto at all
made me drop it out. Instead, I decided to run Jellicent now, to improve my FWG-core.
Next were Swoobat and Druddigon. Although Swoobat did a great
job at sweeping, its defenses were plain to low to work effectively in OU. So
I decided to replace them with one of the most fearsome offensive duo
currently running around: CB Haxorus and CS Salamence.
Since Heatran was meant to run more offensively, I lost my actual
Stealth Rocker, so I decided to drop Zapdos, removing just another Ice weak
Pokemon from my team and replace it with something that literally
rounds up the team quite nicely: Forretress!
shine at its best within the team, so it obviously got the first spot in the team.
My plan was to find a pokemon that can hit hard from the special
side so I can attack from both sides of the spectrum. Swoobat fitted
suprisingly well for this job, since they cover each others weaknesses rather
well. Additionally, Swoobats recently released Hidden Ability Simple was just
too awesome for a CM set so I just had to pick it.
Even though they seem to work rather well together, my team
already has 2 Pokemon that are weak to Ice, while I'm still lacking a
moderate check/counter for Fire Types. So i decided to play Heatran with a
specially bulky set so I can handle those moves while also having a reliable
check for Tornadus-T.
A Grass and a Fire Type already? How about completing this with a
water type to get a nice Fire-Water-Grass core in this team. Even though I
have no set up sweepers in my team (yet), I wanted to play Quagsire as it
can run a physically defensive set, while Unaware completely shuts down
opposing SetUppers AND Ditto, which I thought to be insanely common these days.
Looks good so far, I think.. However, running at least a Dragon
Type per team always works. Anyways, I wanted to test something different.
I chose Druddigon, as it has some very interesting and almost unique options
over its brethren in Glare and Sucker Punch. Also, a Sheer Force boosted Fire
Punch sounds damn sexy.
I really had no clue what to use on the last slot. And when this
happens I tend to use Zapdos. It has good bulk, a nice movepool, including
both U-Turn and Volt Switch. However, as many people bring their Ground
Pokes on it like every single fckin' time, I picked the former one to gain momentum.
I played with this line up for quite a while and it won a good
number of battles for me (in fact, on PS it stayed unbeaten - on wifi I lost
just too many in return..). So I decided to revamp the team up from the
basics. First of all, Quagsire absolutely disappointed me. Even though it
stopped set up sweepers cold, Toxic users and the lack of Ditto at all
made me drop it out. Instead, I decided to run Jellicent now, to improve my FWG-core.
Next were Swoobat and Druddigon. Although Swoobat did a great
job at sweeping, its defenses were plain to low to work effectively in OU. So
I decided to replace them with one of the most fearsome offensive duo
currently running around: CB Haxorus and CS Salamence.
Since Heatran was meant to run more offensively, I lost my actual
Stealth Rocker, so I decided to drop Zapdos, removing just another Ice weak
Pokemon from my team and replace it with something that literally
rounds up the team quite nicely: Forretress!
-In Depth-
Breloom @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
Breloom @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
This thing has all you need to win matches. An unmatched STAB priority move is meant to clean what the rest of the team leaves utterly shuttered at the battlefield. Tornadus-T will take around a third from it, which is a suprise for almost any opponent who thinks they can stay in for one more turn or plain being greedy and use U-Turn (whyever that may happen in that matchup..). Low Sweep is another Technician boosted STAB Fighting move which also lowers the speed from the opponent 100% of the time by one stage. This again means, that any Pokemon that hits 357 Speed in total will be outspeeded the following turn. Bullet Seed might look like a stupid choice at first glance but it's in fact one of Brelooms best moves for this set. With STAB and Technician boost, it hits ridiculous 56 Base Power per hit! That's enough to break most Substitutes with the very first shot, including Gengar's, which seems to be damn common these days. Dealing ~28% per shot, it's simple logic that there's a very high chance to KO it instantly. Even Pokemon like Latios takes ~41 - 49% from Low Sweep, while the following Bullet Seeds do 17-20% per hit. Add Stealth Rock damage and 3 BS hits will finish it off. On the last slot, Spore is what you want. It's still almost unique to Breloom and those who share this move with it simply can't compete with Breloom's raw power.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Taunt
Holy cow, I love this thing! While Substitute and Fire Blast are nothing special on most offensive Heatran nowadays, the more unexpected is that this one's just running Dragon Pulse for coverage while using Taunt on the last slot. I know that it might look weird to run both Substitute and Taunt within one set, but it offers quite a number of opportunities. First and foremost it ensures the opponent cannot use Heatran as setup fodder at all. Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Swords Dance, Dual Screens, Trick Room... Recovery and Status moves are stopped cold as well. As a nice bonus, I'm safe against Roar and Whirlwind, which also support this set further. Besides that, nothing won't ever come in easily against this thing. Fire and Dragon offer great coverage within just two attacking moves, which also counters any variation of Dragon + Steel defensive comboes.
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 200 SDef / 56 Spd
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
- Recover
By all that good stuff about Heatran, Rain Teams, and actually most water types in general, are causing quite some problems. This is, where Jellicent comes into play. With its great special bulk and ability, it's able to handle most Water types on its own. Scald is it's main attacking option, often causing random burns around the opponents team, buffing its physical defense quite nicely. At this point I guess I should point out that the given Speed EVs ensure to outspeed 4 Spe EV Scizors, trying to catch the burn, before they can act. Ice Beam is to support Heatran handling those pesky Dragons. However, it's also there to cover up the Therians, which are so damn common for the moment. Giga Drain is just a move, no one really expects, leaving most Water type switch ins in a real bad position, especially those Water/Ground duals I see running around quite often for the moment. And in case that it needs a bit more health, I simply go for Recover to increase its survivability.
Haxorus @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
This thing should simply be called: THE MAN! With its MANLY 147 Base Attack stat, a MANLY STAB move in Outrage and a MANLY coveragy move in Superpower, Hax-R-Us pretty much got everything it needs. Mold Breaker ensures some nice KOs, including the likes of Multiscale Dragonite. Earthquake gives an alternate to Superpower for many pokes, not forcing it to instantly have to switch, while Dragon Claw was slapped on there not to stuck into Outrage too early while still having access to a STAB move. I maybe replace it with Aqua Tail however as it would give Haxorus a way to deal with Skarmory.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Ever stayed in front of hell and barely returned? Well, I guess you just faced a Salamence then. With Moxie and a Choice Scarf attached, this thing runs rampage on anything that cannot outspeed it (or until it hits itself due to confusion). Outrage is pretty much all you need actually, however, depending on the situation, it has access to a plethora of coverage moves. First of all: Fire Blast. While I already mentioned on Heatran, that Dragon and Fire have an almost perfect coverage, this thing pulls this to a whole new level. Massive 135 / 110 attack stats ensure that something is going to die. Draco Meteor is just there to get rid of anything that is weak on its specially defensive side, also bypassing Intimidate Pokemon, such as Landorus-T. Last but not least, Earthquake completes the coverage as it's easily able to beat Heatran with little to no effort. Just be careful and don't get too greedy early game. Moxie is a damn tempting ability which causes many people to simply go on attacking, even when it's obvious that the poke isn't going to survive the next round.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Last but not least, my cute lil' Forry. Stealth Rock is a must have on any team, so do I use them. Rapid Spin is there to get rid of the opponents hazards which might hinder my team to a certain extend. On the last two slots I decided to run an unorthodox combination of Volt Switch and Hidden Power Ice. While they act like BoltBeam coverage, Hidden Power greatly takes care of the ever common Therians and Dragons lurking around OU. Volt Switch is just perfect on a poke like Forretress. Due to its naturally low Speed Stat, it allows me to keep momentum on most switch ins, when the opponent tries to get rid of it (which hardly ever happens).
===
Well.. That's for now. Maybe I'll add a threatlist tomorrow as it's like half past 12pm here already and I'm tired as heck.. So yea, bomb me with comments and all that stuff, I'm curious what you think about it ^.^
