Emerald Battle Frontier Guide PLEASE HELP DEVELOPING

Status
Not open for further replies.
I think I found a really powerful Battle Tower team. I've done a little bit of testing, and here's what I came up with.

Linoone @ Choice Band (M)
Ability: Pickup
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spe
IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31
Nature: Timid
-Trick
-Thunder Wave
-Charm
-Sand-attack
220 EVs in speed + a Timid nature allow Linoone to hit 320 speed, which outspeeds all but one type of Gengar and all Espeon. I put the remaining 252 EVs in HP for better overall bulk and the remaining 36 EVs in Def to somewhat mitigate any choiced physical assaults Linoone takes. The EV spread can probably be better optimized, but this Linoone is amazing at its job overall. Also I want to mention that unlike in the Gen 4 games, choice locking the AI on a Fight-type move, and then switching in a Ghost-type doesn't cause the AI to switch Pokemon the following turn. I tried this in the earlier rounds where I replaced Latias with a Misdreavus. It might be possible that the AI changes their behavior later, but I don't think they do. Linoone has the best movepool out of any Trick user because he is the only user of Trick that has access to Thunder Wave + an attack lowering move + an accuracy lowering move.

Latias @ Lum Berry (F)
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Def / 176 Spe
IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31
Nature: Timid
-Calm Mind
-Substitute
-Recover
-Dragon Claw
176 EVs in speed + a Timid nature allow Latias to hit 330 speed, which outspeeds all Raikou by 1 point. The remaining EVs were done to maximize Latias's physical bulk since it will likely be at +6 SpD anyway. It looks a little bit odd, but this technically offers better physical bulk than 252 HP / 80 Def. Dragon Claw is awesome since its STAB and only Shedinja (there is only 1 other than Greta's in the entire frontier) is immune to it. I tried Rest + Chesto first, but I find using Lum Berry + Recover to be better. Timid nature must be used since neutral nature Latias hits only 319 speed with 252 EVs in speed.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
IVs: 31/31/31/31/30/31
Nature: Careful
-Curse
-Amnesia
-Rest / Substitute
-Hidden Power Steel
The IVs used let Registeel have the best overall defenses and physical attack while also having Hidden Power Steel. This EV spread gives Registeel its optimal overall bulk. Hidden Power Steel is a good STAB move since only Shedinja is immune to it. Registeel is used since it is resistant to Bug, Ghost, Dark, Dragon, and Ice, which Latias is weak to. Latias resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground, all of which Registeel is weak to. Since Registeel has such well-balanced bulk and access to Curse and Amnesia, I figured that he was the best overall choice. Substitute honestly might be better than Rest to deal with critical hit bullshit, but more testing would be needed. The EV spread could also be adjusted.

Overall though, this team is pretty sick if you want a long streak.

Edit: Latias is awesome. It only struggles with two Pokemon that I've encountered in the frontier: Blissey and Metagross. Even at +6 attack, Registeel kinda fails to sweep. Many of the Blissey run counter, and Registeel only does ~60% with a Hidden Power Steel at +6. You'd have to run a crazy amount of EVs for Registeel to have a shot at the OHKO. Registeel also makes the team weak against Houndoom if the setup doesn't work properly. To combat this, I'm going to try replacing Registeel with the following set:

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Nature: Careful
-Earthquake
-Toxic
-Substitute
-Protect
This Swampert is able to deal every Blissey and every Metagross. Every Blissey runs Bold nature with 255 Def / 255 SpD, so Blissey is weak and sits at 146 speed. With no EVs in speed, Swampert sits at 156 speed. With 252 HP EVs and 152 SpD EVs, Swampert is never 2HKO'd by a +6 Ice Beam from Blissey, which is the second most damaging attack that she can use to Swampert. Blizzard, which is the most powerful move Blissey can use against Swampert, can be stalled out with a combination of Substitute + Protect. The idea is that Swampert can Toxic stall all the Blissey out since none of them run Rest. In addition the 252 HP EVs let Swampert sit at 404 HP, so the one Blissey that runs Seismic Toss cannot break Swampert's substitutes in one turn. The remaining EVs were put into defense. Swampert can tank any hit that Metagross throws at it. Even with 0 EVs in attack and no attack-boosting nature, Swampert is still able to always 2HKO 170 HP / 0 Def Metagross with a neutral nature (i.e. the most physically bulky Metagross in the frontier) with Earthquake.

Edit 2: Substitute on Registeel is waaaay better than Rest. Changing Rest to Substitute makes Registeel go from being pretty mediocre to being pretty fearsome. However with the fully defensive spread, Registeel struggles against Rest Metagross (which is 170 HP / 0 Def). I'm going to test a Registeel with the following EV spread:

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Atk / 52 Def / 48 SpD
IVs: 31/31/31/31/30/31
Nature: Impish
-Curse
-Amnesia
-Substitute
-Hidden Power Steel
With this EV spread, Registeel hits 225 attack which allows Registeel to always 3HKO Rest Metagross with Hidden Power Steel. Otherwise this Metagross can start spamming Double Team and royally screw you over. With 252 HP and 52 Def, Registeel at +6 only takes a maximum of 12% from this Metagross's Earthquake. Assuming no critical hits, it takes this Metagross 3 Earthquakes to break Registeel's substitute. Metagross is by far and away the most threatening Pokemon to this Registeel.

Comparison of EV spreads for Registeel. The first 3 EV spreads aim to give Registeel enough attack to always 3HKO Rest Metagross while providing the most overall bulk. I was just comparing spreads to see if I was losing points anywhere. An Impish nature is required for Registeel to both always 3HKO Rest Metagross and have its substitutes 3HKO'd.

Here's a video showing the AI doesn't switch even in the later rounds.

Also Grumpig might be worth trying over Linoone with a set of Trick, Torment, Protect, Light Screen / Reflect / Filler
 
Last edited:
Yeah, Registeel had a place on one of the longest Platinum streaks with basically that moveset (Sub > Rest and Iron Head > HP but otherwise ye). This is pretty good-looking.
 
TEAM AZURE (GENERATION III)

Hello everyone, today it was brought to my attention that this thread existed for general Gen III discussion. For those who might have seen my previous post, I'm bringing it up here in order to bring more specialized discussion in here. I had been grinding BPs at the Battle Tower for the sole reason of earning enough BPs for the exclusive Gen 3 tutors you can buy at Emerald such as Counter, Soft-boiled and Seismic Toss. Gen 3 is also one of my personal favorites since some of my favorite Pokemon, such as Lati@s, Metagross, Salamence, Swampert and Blaziken originate from this generation. I should also add that I am a huge fan of Pokemon Colosseum and XD: Gales of Darnkess, to the point where I even fully immersed myself on how to RNG the Gamecube games. As a reference I have fully collected ribbons from all generations on Pokemon originated from there, such as my RNG abused Shiny Colosseum Suicune among others as well.

I present to you a finished streak at 323 wins with Latios / Suicune / Steelix at the Battle Tower in Pokemon Emerald. For those that do not know me, the main reason why I am sharing this is precisely to destroy the myth of Generation III's Battle Tower being unbeatable because of the "insane amount of hax items" present at the Battle Frontier. Of course, the team is not invincible and it has its own flaws as well. However, I can say this is the most consistent Singles Battle Tower team I have ever used.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I first decided to plunge seriously into Gen 3 Battle Tower, I decided to use this team, which was based on the team Werster used for his Pokemon Emerald speedrun. It's one of the most perfectly balanced teams for Battle Tower and the fact that these three Pokemon can be easily obtainable in-game without needing to trade from other Gen 3 games, made it highly appealing to use. I decided to do Open Level at this point and since I had access to flawless versions of this Pokemon, I played around with the EVs to suit them to my own preferences. I got good results using Werster's team, however, it had a flaw on the long run which is being weak vs Water type Trainers (Swimmers, Fishermen, Sailors) who had a lot of Water/Ice types on their team, meaning that Latios could get easily overwhelmed since outside it, the team lacked proper answers to Water types.​

On my insatiable curiosity of trying more stuff, the next well known team I wanted to try out was Jumpman16's team of Choice Band Salamence, Suicune and Snorlax (It was his team, right?). This was a good opportunity for my Shiny RNG abused Colosseum Suicune to shine in here since this was perhaps the only "proven" Suicune team in Gen 3. Also I should mention that Suicune is one of my favorite Pokemon ever alongside Latios. This team was solid overall, however, it had a massive flaw of being weak to Banded Normal types such as Slaking and Ursaring who were pretty much claiming a kill if they ever showed up. Also, if Curse users managed to get a boost, Band Salamence stopped bieng a reliable answer to them. This is a damage calc on Snorlax 2 who carries Curse and Rock Slide: 252+ Atk Choice Band Salamence Brick Break vs. +1 170 HP / 170 Def Snorlax: 110-130 (42.9 - 50.7%) -- 3.1% chance to 2HKO. Don't get me wrong, I think this team was interesting, but I found it kind of underwhelming when trying to achieve +100 wins.​

I could say this version of the team was kind of inspired from my Gen 7 team with me using CB Flygon as a lead and Morning Sun SD Scizor. For those who do not know, Gales Scizor gets Morning Sun as a purify move, so I went ahead and RNG'd an Adamant Gales Scizor: 29-31-30-18-30-30 which yielded a 68 power Hidden Power Fighting. Now, for those who are not familiarized with Gamecube RNG, the spreads on certain shadow Pokemon are conditioned by Nature Locks which greatly limits the amount of possible spreads on a Shadow Pokemon. Also, against trainers with multiple shadow Pokemon, locking the 1st or 2nd shadow can also influence which spreads you can hit. The IVs are kinda disappointing, but this was the best HP Fighting Scizor I could get from Gales and use it as a pseudo-Gen 4 Scizor but without the priority Bullet Punch that makes it the monster it is well known for since Gen 4. The team did fairly well since I was consistently getting around 70-90 wins on each attempt. However, the team was highly vulnerable to almost all 8 sets of Lati@s that appeared at the Battle Tower and Alakazam shredded me into pieces. While Flygon was fortunately faster than Lati@s 8, which were the sets invested on Speed, even a Banded Hidden Power Bug only had a 12.5% chance to OHKO Latios, while Latias could easily laugh at the damage and KO back with Dragon Claw or Ice Beam. Scizor can handle them well, but it loses to critical hits and the occasional paralysis that can come from Latias carrying Thunder Wave or simply by spamming Thunderbolt. Scizor also needed a boost in order to kill HP invested Latios & Latios with a +2 Silver Wind.​

After being tired of getting parahaxed to death by Lati@s and Alakazam (because it happened a lot), I decided to go for a different direction. I decided to replace Flygon with Latios again mostly due to the fact that Latios can easily beat the other Lati@s in Frontier as long as they don't get a critical hit. Also, because of Scizor's initial lack of power and vulnerabilty to get CH'd and its x4 to Fire which made even meme sets such as Ursaring 3, I decided to go back into Banded Metagross. Originally, I didn't thought that the lack of Electric immunity would hurt this team much since Latios had the Lum Berry to protect itself from status ailments. Latios also performed nicely against Lanturn and Ampharos as Psychic 2HKO'd them most of the time. However, it all came down to shambles when I met this stupid thing:​
Jolteon4 | Timid | King's Rock | Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Bite, Shadow Ball | Volt Absorb | 0 / 0 / 0 /255/ 0 /255 |​
| Lv: 50 stats: 140/76/80/162/115/200 | Lv.100 stats: 271/149/156/319/226/394 |​
Just look at this set: King's Rock, the only Pokemon who uses 394 in Gen3, a move with a 30% chance of flinching the opponent. Complete bullsh*t set. From the 4 losses I had when using this team, 3 of them were caused by this big piece of sh*t. Bite flinched Latios to death making it unable to 2HKO it with Psychic, Thunderbolt/Thunder Wave would paralyze Metagross and 2HKO it, and after having its devilish deeds done, it didn't needed to sweat to finish off Suicune. Despite these results, they were two things clear: Latios & Suicune were pulling their own weight most of the time. I mean, we are talking about two of the most broken Pokemon in G3 and they were sweeping the opponent 75% of the time where Metagross was barely involved at all. The lack of Electric type immunity also hurted this team as Jolteon 4 can easily cheese through it with Emerald's broken RNG at its favor. I heavily considered going back to Flygon / Suicune and use Metagross as the 3rd team member, but the reason why I never used it was because CB Metagross spoiled me so much to the point where Flygon/Metagross would be competing for the item. Both miss some really important KOs without the Band, so I decided to look for another solution. The team performed decently well, gaining around 90-120 wins on average until Jolteon 4 decides to show up. I knew there was missing something, so I needed to be a bit creative and find a Pokemon that could glue both Latios & Suicune.​

With Latios and Suicune being able to clean the mayority of the Pokemon sets present in Gen 3, I need a team member that could be the glue of this team. A Pokemon whose typing could protect both Latios & Suicune. You don't even need to check Serebii or Smogon to know that the amount of Steel types in G3 was quite limited. I guess I kinda resigned myself to conform with ~100 wins until I was casually talking on my IRC channel with Zari. On IRC, he shared his idea of using Curse Steelix / Zapdos / Vaporeon team based on the perfect team synergy of its members. While I was talking to him, something clicked inside my head. What if I test Steelix as my final team member? Steelix is the only Pokemon in Gen 3 that possesses this Ground / Steel typing, which not only makes it immune to Electric moves but also grant it 9 resistances and two immunities overall, while only having 4 weaknesses which were complemented perfectly by Latios / Suicune. Latios resist the Fighting type attacks that Steelix doesn't wants to take, while being immune to Earthquake. On the other hand, Steelix resist Ghost, Dark, Dragon and Bug type attacks giving it a great matchup vs Pokemon like Scizor 2/3/4, Dusclops 2 and Absol 1/2, which are Pokemon that Latios doesn't want to face.​
I own plenty of save files in Gen 3 that are part of my RNG project and in one of my Fire Red save files, I had access to a H-1 spread that had slots 3, 5 and 11. Guess what? Victory Road Onix was available in slot 3 and it has access to a full 70 power HP Steel. After RNGing the Onix and trade evolving it, Steelix was ready to roll. My experience with G3 Curse users is terrible mostly due to the fact that they are so vulnerable to critical hits. When I used Snorlax, I wanted to scream every time it got nuked by a critical hit attack. Snorlax always moves last and because of this, you don't really know when it could be the right time to Rest, because an unexpected crit can easily overwhelm you and force to Rest or die easily by a strong crit. For this reason, I decided to test a Choice Band set specially taking into account that because of Steelix's average 85 base Attack, he was going to appreciate the extra power. After making the calculations, I can't say I feel disappointed by this decision specially considering that it was able to OHKO 170 HP Metagross from full health. While its Explosion was much weaker than Metagross' it was still strong enough to OHKO +1 Curselax, who would otherwise go ham on this team. The very first run ended at 123 which was very good at the same level of my runs using Werster's team. I lost to Latias 1 after being too greedy and CM 1st turn only to be CH'd to death. After sending Steelix, Latias froze Steelix with Ice Beam (My biggest mistake in here, was not attempting to BoltBeam stall via switching). After Steelix went down, Suicune was the only guy left to keep me in the battle (I was using Leftovers back then). While I tried to set-up on the hopes of stalling Latias' Thunderbolt's PP, Suicune got CH'd during its sleep and well, it was game there. I had a very strong impression from my team on the 1st run.​
On the second run, this thing came here to make my life impossible:​
Ludicolo 4 | Bold | Leftovers | Leech Seed, Rain Dance, Double Team, Toxic | Rain Dish or Swift Swim | 170 / 0 / 170 / 0 / 170 / 0 |​
| Lv: 50 stats: 176/81/122/110/141/90 | Lv.100 stats: 343/158/239/216/278/176 |​
Another AIDS set but this one involved a Pokemon that normally, it wouldn't be threatening from start but it became much more dangerous that what I originally thought. When I played with the Werster team, the strategy was to CM once and then, attempt to 2HKO it as fast as possible with Psychic. However, on this battle, I was never able to get the 2nd Psychic I needed to finish it off since the RNG played in favor of the AI. After losing my Lum Berry and some Leech Seed damage, I swapped into Suicune in the hopes of PP stalling to get my chances to win, however, this plan backfired on me. Take into account that in G3, the Struggle mechanics are completely different in G3 than what they were in G4 and onward: the damage done by Struggle recoil is 25% of what you deal, not a 25% of your total HP. In other words, if you are, say Blissey, a pokemon with the outrageous base Attack of 10, the damage from Struggle recoil would be nothing more than 5 or 6 points of your total HP (don't take this as a fact, but the damage is so ridiculously low that Blissey basically nullifies it and even gains HP if using Leftovers). After PP stalling Ludicolo, it will never die from Struggle. My 2nd mistake was precisely thinking I could take it down with Latios after PP stalling. My Psychics never landed and Latios got defeated eventually by Ludicolo's continuous Struggles. My only chance was to pull out something as ridiculous as this:​
+6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 170 HP / 170 SpD Ludicolo: 79-93 (23 - 27.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery​
Yeah, attempting a 5HKO against an opponent with +6 evasion who also had a x4 resist to Surf. I simply forfeited the match knowing that, as I was running out of Surfs, I was never going to win this fight. This loss eventually made me think about many stuff. My objective was to reach +100 wins but with Ludicolo 4 being a fairly common set on certain Trainers, I knew I was going to struggle against it. It's never good to struggle against Double Team sets if you want to suceed in G3 Battle Tower. Looking back into the battles I have done so far, I realized that the amount of times I used Rock Slide were extremely barren. I only used it like against Pokemon like Zapdos or Scyther, but it has never seen use outside those situations. Also, when you take into account's Steelix' average base 85 Attack, it isn't a good move for Steelix to get locked into on the long run as it is something that many other Pokemon can take advantage of. Toxic was the solution I came up with to deal with Ludicolo 4 as well as any Double Team user without Rest. It worked to perfection and it has even surpassed my own expectations. Pokemon like Ludicolo 4, Umbreon 1/2 and Blissey 1 can now be defeated without me risking my Pokemon's PP or relying on hitting an attack. All I have to do is set up with Suicune once they are poisoned and the poison damage will do all the work.​

colo-shiny-latios.gif

Latios (Enkidu) (M) @ Lum Berry
IVs:
31-4-31-31-31-31
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 6 SpD / 220 Spe
Lv.50 stats: 159 HP / 87 Atk / 101 Def / 182 SpA / 131 SpD / 173 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Claw
- Thunderbolt

RNG'd on Sapphire with Pokemon Box by /u/serenechaos1 [Emulator, Method 4 spread]

colo-shiny-suicune.gif

Suicune (Suigetsu) @ Lum Berry
IVs:
31-24-31-31-31-31
EVs: 236 HP / 148 Def / 126 Spe
Lv.50 stats: 205 HP / 82 Atk / 169 Def / 110 SpA / 135 SpD / 121 Spe
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Bold
- Surf
- Rest
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

RNG'd by me on Pokemon Colosseum [Emulator, GC Method]


colo-shiny-steelix.gif

Steelix (GoldDigger) @ Choice Band
IVs:
31-31-31-11-30-31
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Lv.50 stats: 167 HP / 150 Atk / 220 Def / 58 SpA / 100 SpD / 51 Spe
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant
- Toxic
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Steel]

RNG'd by me on Pokemon Fire Red [Emulator, Method H-1 spread]

Latios is legitimately one of the most broken Pokemon in the whole game. It has access to the best boosting move in G3 which is Calm Mind, a move that boosts its Special power while raising its Special Defense. After a couple of Calm Mind boosts, it can easily shrug off Dark, Ice and Dragon type attacks (In Generation III, all of these attacks are special moves. There was no physical/special split and it was defined by type. Ex: Crunch was a special move and reduced SpD instead of Def). At +1 Latios obtains a ridiculous amount of OHKOs. At +2 you're killing anything that has somewhat decent bulk to survive +1 neutral attacks like Ursaring. At +4 you OHKO all variants of Swampert and any bulky Water type, regardless of how much they invest on their Special Defense. The most scary part is the amount of Pokemon Latios can easily set up Calm Minds against. Pokemon like Quagsire, all Typhlosion variants, Charizard, Swampert and Venusaur are easy set up fodder. Most of the time, you only need one single Calm Mind to bring havoc to your opponent's team, and if the situation calls for it, you can even set up more depending on the opposition. Psychic is Latios' main STAB and it ravages the Poison and Fighting types present on the Frontier while being a consistent and reliable STAB capable of reducing the foe's Special Defense if lucky. Dragon Claw is the best secondary STAB Latios has access to (special move). It is Latios main option vs Salamence, opposing Lati@s and Kingdra. Bulky sets are OHKO'd at +1 while offensive sets are destroyed easily at +0. Thanks to the small bulk investment, Latios can survive their attacks and OHKO or 2HKO in return. Thunderbolt is the chosen coverage move on Latios to kill the insane amount of Water types present in G3. After a couple of boosts, it becomes strong enough to take down bulky tanks such as Milotic, Walrein and Lapras. Thunderbolt overall complements its coverage leaving Latios moveset only being resisted by Steelix and Magneton (The latter does not appears anymore after 4 rounds).

The speed tiers in Frontier are really interesting as there are very few +252 Spe Pokemon on their sets. In fact, only two Pokemon are faster than a +Spe Latios in the whole game. The infamous +252 Spe Jolteon and Crobat 3/4 which are neutral 252 Spe. With 200 Spe and 182 Spe being the two fastest speed stats in the game, the next number on the list is 172, which is where Sceptile 2/3/4 and Dugtrio 1 - 4 sit. This pretty much shows you why +252 Spe on Latios is not needed. 220 Speed EVs are used to creep Dugtrio and Sceptile by 1 point, making Latios only being outspeeded by 2 Crobat sets and a single Jolteon set. This is pretty crucial as +220 Timid Latios also gets the jump on Pokemon like Gengar 1 and Starmie 3 allowing it to smack them before they hit Latios back. Max Special Attack is used to maximize Latios' sweeping capabilities while the rest is invested on Latios' HP in order to grant it a little bit of bulk. 28 HP EVs, and 4 EVs in Def / SpD balances Latios' defenses better than using 36 EVs in HP. A Lum Berry is used as it allows Latios to get rid of annoying status ailments coming from the likes of Lanturn and Venusaur.

Offensive Calcs Latios (Lv.50)
  • 252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Lanturn: 97-115 (48.5 - 57.5%) -- 94.5% chance to 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115).
  • 252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Misdreavus: 89-105 (53.2 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105).
  • +1 252 SpA Latios Dragon Claw vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Latios: 190-224 (101.6 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (190, 192, 194, 197, 199, 201, 203, 206, 208, 210, 212, 215, 217, 219, 221, 224).
  • +1 252 SpA Latios Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gardevoir: 92-109 (64.3 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109).
  • +1 252 SpA Latios Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 187-220 (113.3 - 133.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (187, 189, 191, 193, 195, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206, 209, 211, 213, 215, 217, 220)
  • +2 252 SpA Latios Thunderbolt vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Dewgong: 227-268 (115.2 - 136%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (227, 230, 233, 235, 238, 241, 243, 246, 249, 251, 254, 257, 259, 262, 265, 268).
  • +3 252 SpA Latios Thunderbolt vs. 170 HP / 170 SpD Milotic: 197-232 (103.1 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (197, 199, 201, 204, 206, 208, 211, 213, 215, 218, 220, 222, 225, 227, 229, 232).
  • +4 252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 170 HP / 170 SpD Swampert: 212-250 (108.1 - 127.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    Possible damage amounts: (212, 215, 217, 220, 222, 225, 227, 230, 232, 235, 237, 240, 242, 245, 247, 250)


Defensive Calcs Latios (Lv.50)
  • 255+ SpA Gardevoir Ice Punch vs. +1 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 57-68 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (57, 58, 59, 59, 60, 61, 61, 62, 63, 63, 64, 65, 65, 66, 67, 68).
  • 255+ SpA Latios Dragon Claw vs. +1 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 93-110 (58.4 - 69.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110).
  • 255+ SpA Lapras Ice Beam vs. 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 124-146 (77.9 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146).
  • 255 Atk Huge Power Medicham Shadow Ball vs. 28 HP / 4 Def Latios: 136-160 (85.5 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (136, 137, 139, 140, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 160).
  • 255+ SpA Arcanine Crunch vs. +1 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 52-62 (32.7 - 38.9%) -- 99.5% chance to 3HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (52, 53, 53, 54, 55, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 59, 60, 60, 61, 62).
  • 0 SpA Golduck Ice Beam vs. 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios on a critical hit: 129-152 (81.1 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 152).
  • 255+ SpA Houndoom Crunch vs. 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 124-146 (77.9 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146).
  • 255+ SpA Regice Ice Beam vs. +3 28 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 57-68 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (57, 58, 59, 59, 60, 61, 61, 62, 63, 63, 64, 65, 65, 66, 67, 68)


Suicune is another broken Pokemon in Generation 3 and it is an absolutely fantastic Pokemon to use. The only complain I have about it, is how hard Game Freak made it to obtain a competitive Suicune on Gen 3 since the FR/LG roamer versions are glitched to 0 IVs. Learning Colo/XD RNG was hard, but it paid off as I could finally use a flawless Suicune and beat the crap out of the whole Frontier. Surf is your main STAB and the only one Suicune needs, because Suicune is so bulky that it can easily set up all the way to +6 against Water types that don't pack a super-effective move against it, such as Walrein, Wailord, Milotic, Feraligatr and Slowking. Substitute is the crux of this set as it allows Suicune to be immune against status ailments such as paralysis and confusion. Trust me, it makes Porygon 3 and all Dusclops sets look like a bunch of stooges. After a couple of Calm Mind boosts, Suicune can pretty much weaken some super-effective hits, rendering them unable to break its Sub and continue to set-up. Rest allows it to recover its health back to full health while curing Suicune from burn, paralysis or poison in case it gets hit by those. As someone who has used both Chesto Berry and Leftovers, Chesto wins the match up in G3 for its ability to cure Suicune in one turn. At Lv.50, Tyranitar is in-existent, which means that you don't have to worry about permanent sandstorm at all, which is something that depletes Suicune's HP slowly without Leftovers. While the chip recovery from Leftovers eventually allows Suicune to set up more Substitutes on the long run, the immediate recovery that can be provided with ChestoRest has been much more useful in many cases, specially against the incredibly dangerous Houndoom 3, where Suicune gets another chance to fully recover HP and set up more Calm Minds to stall its Solarbeam should things end up like this.

At first I used a 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe at Lv.100 in Open Level (accidentally I also used 204 HP EVs at Lv.50 when I first started on the streak), however, after facing Slaking, I noticed that all Slaking sets (1-4) ran 0 Spe EVs. The good thing about Slaking 3 (Choice Band Slaking) is that it does not run STAB moves, however, Slaking 4 has Yawn and Thunderbolt. In order to make this a reliable set-up fodder, I run 136 Speed EVs on Suicune which allows us to outspeed any neutral base 100 without Speed EVs. This allows Suicune to outspeed all Slaking sets and make them set-up fodder, Zapdos 5/6 and all Jynx sets. 236 HP gives Suicune 51 HP Substitutes which means that Seismic Toss will never break your Sub in one hit. The rest is invested in Defense to make Suicune as physically bulky as possible. Despite only investing 148 Def EVs, don't underestimate Suicune's bulk. It is still as great as ever and don't forget that the power creep on this generation is quite low considering that boosting items such as Life Orb didn't existed back then. The only boosting item is Choice Band and the two main users: Armaldo & Aerodactly are easily handled by Steelix. Personally, I never found myself asking for more bulk taking into account that the amount of stuff Suicune walls is a bigger list than what Gen 4/5/6/7 brings later.


Offensive Calcs Suicune (Lv.50)
  • +6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 0 HP / 255+ SpD Slowbro: 81-96 (47.6 - 56.4%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96).
  • +6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Blastoise: 94-111 (50.5 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111)
  • +1 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arcanine: 178-210 (107.8 - 127.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (178, 180, 182, 184, 186, 189, 191, 193, 195, 197, 199, 201, 203, 205, 207, 210).
  • +6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 0 HP / 170 SpD Venusaur: 84-99 (54.1 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99).
  • +2 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 102-121 (54.5 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121).
  • +6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 255 HP / 0 SpD Regice: 107-127 (57.2 - 67.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery.
    Possible damage amounts: (107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, 124, 125, 127).
  • +1 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 255 HP / 255 SpD Regirock: 119-140 (63.6 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (119, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140).
  • +6 0 SpA Suicune Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Lanturn: 122-144 (61 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (122, 123, 125, 126, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144).


Defensive Calcs Suicune (Lv.50)
  • 255+ SpA Houndoom Crunch vs. +1 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 41-49 (20 - 23.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (41, 42, 42, 43, 43, 44, 44, 45, 45, 46, 46, 47, 47, 48, 48, 49)
  • 255+ SpA Regice Thunderbolt vs. +2 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 45-54 (21.9 - 26.3%) -- 9.7% chance to 4HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50, 51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54)
  • 0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 236 HP / 148+ Def Suicune: 44-52 (21.4 - 25.3%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (44, 44, 45, 45, 46, 46, 47, 47, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50, 51, 52)
  • 255+ SpA Flygon Solar Beam vs. +2 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 51-60 (24.8 - 29.2%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54, 54, 55, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 59, 60)
  • 255+ SpA Slowbro Psychic vs. +1 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 43-51 (20.9 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (43, 43, 44, 44, 45, 45, 46, 46, 47, 47, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 51).
  • 255+ Atk Ursaring Double-Edge vs. 236 HP / 148+ Def Suicune: 81-96 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
  • 255 SpA Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. +6 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 37-44 (18 - 21.4%) -- possible 5HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (37, 37, 38, 38, 39, 39, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 42, 42, 43, 43, 44)
  • 255+ SpA Houndoom Solar Beam vs. +3 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 49-58 (23.9 - 28.2%) -- 93.5% chance to 4HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (49, 49, 50, 51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 53, 54, 55, 55, 56, 56, 57, 58)
  • 0+ Atk Choice Band Slaking Earthquake vs. 236 HP / 148+ Def Suicune: 67-79 (32.6 - 38.5%) -- 98.5% chance to 3HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (67, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
  • 255+ SpA Alakazam Thunder Punch vs. +2 236 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 45-54 (21.9 - 26.3%) -- 9.7% chance to 4HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50, 51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54)


Finally, the last team member and the star of the team: Steelix. Steelix is pretty much inferior to its Steel type cousins on many ways: Steelix doesn't has Metagross' sky high Attack stat, nor doesn't have Registeel defenses. BST wise, the only thing Steelix has above its competition was its sky high Defense stat which makes Steelix ridiculously bulky from the physical side to the point where it can eat a +2 +252 Atk Earthquake from Salamence at full HP. I was sold out on Steelix's unique Ground / Steel typing which was not shared by anyone else on G3. Many people underestimate how god this type combination is as it grants Steelix 2 immunities to Poison & Electric, 9 whooping resistances and only 4 weaknesses. Sturdy is also a god-send ability I'll gladly take over Rock Head any day. Steelix being immune to OHKO moves means it laughes at Lapras 7/8 who only run OHKO moves.

Earthquake is Steelix's main STAB move of choice and it completely ravages anything that is hit super-effectively by the move thanks to the extra boost provided by its Choice Band. Hidden Power Steel is another reliable STAB for Steelix capable of hitting Armaldo, Articuno and Cradily much harder than what Earthquake does, while hitting Pokemon immune to Earthquake for good damage. Explosion is a capable nuke allowing Steelix to blow itself up taking down bulky Pokemon such as Snorlax, Blissey and Umbreon when needed. Toxic is my odd-ball choice in here, and yeah, at first glance you would think it doesn't makes sense using a status move on a Choice locked Pokemon, but Toxic is definitely worth the last slot here. Steelix most of the time will be clicking Earthquake or HP Steel when going into the offensive, but Toxic allows Steelix to reliably check any Double Team user that lacks a way to recover from status ailments or Rest such as Blissey 1, Umbreon 1/2, Dusclops 2 and Ludicolo 4. You only need to hit one Toxic and from there, Suicune can set up against these Pokemon safely behind a Substitute as Poison damage chips down their health. It pretty much takes away a lot of pressure from Suicune as being my main answer for Double Team spammers and I haven't been disappointed on Toxic's performance as I know that I only need to hit once regardless of the evasion boosts to win.

132 HP EVs and 120 SpD EVs takes the most out of Steelix's lower Special Defense stat, maximizing its capability of taking strong neutral and resisted special attacks. It also allows Steelix to survive weak Water types that lack heavy investment in their Special Attack stat. Max Attack is used to further bolster Steelix's power and Explosion's nuking capabilities. Even one single point missed on this stat, already makes Steelix lose some crucial KOs which is why it is imperative to fully invest on its meager Attack stat. Because of its imperfect Special Defense IV, Steelix ends up with 4 leftover EVs which are placed in Speed simply to win the Speed tie vs opposing Steelix & Belly Drum Snorlax. This means that Steelix will always be faster than them and will 2HKO them with Earthquake before they pull something out. To further illustrate Steelix's offensive and defensive prowess you can see some calculations below:

Offensive Calcs Steelix (Lv.50)
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 170 HP / 0 Def Metagross: 173-204 (98.2 - 115.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (173, 175, 177, 179, 181, 183, 185, 187, 189, 191, 193, 195, 197, 199, 201, 204).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Hidden Power Steel vs. 170 HP / 0 Def Aerodactyl: 210-248 (119.3 - 140.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (210, 213, 215, 218, 220, 223, 225, 228, 230, 233, 235, 238, 240, 243, 245, 248).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 170 HP / 170+ Def Registeel: 124-146 (70.4 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery. Possible damage amounts: (124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Explosion vs. +1 170 HP / 170 Def Snorlax: 267-315 (104.2 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (267, 270, 274, 277, 280, 283, 286, 289, 292, 296, 299, 302, 305, 308, 311, 315).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 255 Def Muk: 200-236 (111.1 - 131.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    Possible damage amounts: (200, 202, 205, 207, 210, 212, 214, 217, 219, 221, 224, 226, 228, 231, 233, 236).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 255 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 107-126 (60.4 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 126).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Forretress: 79-94 (52.6 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Hidden Power Steel vs. 255 HP / 0 Def Latios: 90-106 (48.1 - 56.6%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 255 HP / 0 Def Nidoqueen: 239-282 (121.3 - 143.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (239, 242, 245, 248, 250, 253, 256, 259, 262, 265, 267, 270, 273, 276, 279, 282).
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelix Earthquake vs. 255 HP / 0 Def Regirock: 119-140 (63.6 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (119, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140)


Defensive Calcs Steelix (Lv.50)
  • +2 255+ Atk Salamence Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 142-168 (85 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (142, 144, 146, 147, 149, 151, 152, 154, 156, 157, 159, 161, 162, 164, 166, 168).
  • 255+ Atk Flygon Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 88-104 (52.6 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104).
  • 255+ Atk Machamp Cross Chop vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 107-126 (64 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 126).
  • 255+ SpA Alakazam Fire Punch vs. 132 HP / 120 SpD Steelix: 117-138 (70 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 138).
  • 0 SpA Walrein Surf vs. 132 HP / 120 SpD Steelix: 127-150 (76 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150).
  • 255 SpA Ampharos Fire Punch vs. 132 HP / 120 SpD Steelix: 96-114 (57.4 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114).
  • 170+ Atk Choice Band Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 85-100 (50.8 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100).
  • 170+ Atk Metagross Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 68-80 (40.7 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (68, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80).
  • +6 0+ Atk Snorlax Return vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 74-88 (44.3 - 52.6%) -- 23% chance to 2HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88).
  • 255+ Atk Forretress Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 56-66 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (56, 56, 57, 58, 58, 59, 60, 60, 61, 62, 62, 63, 64, 64, 65, 66).
  • 255+ Atk Choice Band Ursaring Mega Kick vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 46-55 (27.5 - 32.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO.
    Possible damage amounts: (46, 47, 47, 48, 48, 49, 50, 50, 51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 53, 54, 55).
  • 0+ Atk Choice Band Slaking Earthquake vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 103-122 (61.6 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    Possible damage amounts: (103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122)

This is usually my initial thought process depending on what the AI has at their disposition.

Latios, Steelix and Suicune have a fantastic defensive synergy as the three team members can rely on each other's resistances to cover for their weaknesses: Latios can switch into the Ground and Fight attacks that Steelix doesn't wants to take. Thanks to Steelix's immunity to Electric type attacks, Suicune and Steelix can swap stall in order to deplete the PP from Pokemon who rely on Boltbeam coverage like Lapras 4 and Regice 2/3/6. Suicune can also take into the mayority of the Fire types that threaten Steelix. Steelix resists the Dragon, Dark, Bug and Ghost type attacks that threaten Latios heavily. Latios resist Grass and it can easily set up on them. Overheat users such as Arcanine and Charizard can be baited into Overheating Suicune, waste their White Herb and weaken their Special attack by siwtching back and forth between Steelix/Suicune to the point where their Special Attack is weak enough for Suicune to recover any lost health and set up safely. Steelix's insane Defense stat allows it to act as an emergency check for any Dragon Dance or Curse user that might get out of control and kill them off with Explosion.
  • If the AI leads with something that can´t threaten Latios, even with a critical hit, set up a Calm Mind. Pokemon like Feraligatr, Charizard, Venusaur, Golduck and Machamp can't really do much against Latios and most get destroyed at +1.
  • If the AI leads with something that Latios can defeat but is at risk if it sets up, go for the kill. Against Gengar leads, I always go for the KO because it's not worth for me to waste my Lum Berry or get Ice Punch damage on me.
  • If Latios needs a Calm Mind boost in order to KO what it is in front of it, go for it.
  • Sometimes Latios will need the defensive buff from Calm Mind in order to respond back with a OHKO. Latios 1 leads are incredibly dangerous since they have a 25% chance of OHKOing Latios with a +252 Spa Dragon Claw. Because of their max HP investment, I need a Calm Mind to guarantee the KO on them, while nullifying their small chance of KO-ing me in return.
  • If Latios cannot set up against what it is in front of it, but can 2HKO it at the cost of receiving damage, go for it. This is my to go strategy vs Houndoom leads since I cannot risk Suicune switching into Sunny Day from Houndom 3 and get hit hard by Solarbeam.
  • Steelix is your first hand switch-in to Electric types, except vs Lanturn who is always 2HKO'd by Latios' Psychic.
  • Because there is no Scald in Gen 3, it's generally not worth getting Suicune to switch into Ice attacks, except when you are switch stalling Boltbeam coverage with Steelix / Suicune. If stalling Boltbeam is crucial to secure your victory, do it.
  • If you see Double Team, scout the set and check if the opponent has Rest or a way to heal status. If none of these are true, first, poison the target with Steelix's Toxic. Once done, swap into Suicune and proceed to set up with Substitute/Calm Mind depending on the rest of its moveset. Remember: Struggle won't kill something with low Attack + Leftovers, which is why Toxic is so key when dealing with Double Teamers such as Ludicolo 4.
  • Against Water-types, Suicune should always be your first switch-in, except vs Pokemon like Starmie and Lanturn, which are Pokemon that Latios comfortably defeats. Pokemon like Milotic, Slowbro and Slowking lose to Suicune 1-v-1. Suicune can either 2HKO or 3HKO them at +6 while these Pokemon are unable to break its Substitute and become PP stalled in the process.
  • Reversal Medicham, one of the most dangerous sweepers in G3 Tower, can be dealt easily by Suicune. Against Medicham leads, I always CM knowing that Latios can survive Shadow Ball. If it Fake Outs, this is Reversal Medicham: swap into Suicune, set up a Calm Mind to guarantee Medicham's Psychic will be unable to break your Sub, then set up with Substitute. It's always important to attack Medicham but only when you're behind a Substitute which will Protect you from Medicham's full powered Reversal next turn, in case it decides to go for Endure. Don't worry about Heracross 4 (which knows Reversal). I've never seen him going for Endure vs Latios as it always aims for the Megahorn OHKO.
  • Steelix should only explode only against Curse users that Earthquake can't pressure enough to avoid more set ups. Snorlax is the only Explosion target that I don't really hesitate on using the move into (Unless it's Belly Drum Snorlax which is defeated by Earthquake).
  • The AI has a certain tendency of abusing Counter / Mirror Coat. Make sure you scout for these and act accordingly. Regirock 2 has Counter which is something that will KO Steelix in return, if you scout for this move, send Suicune instead. Don't forget to Sub first, because it knows Explosion! On a similar vein, this also makes Latios great vs Swampert as it will always be abusing one of these moves. I had always gotten into x4 by setting up on it and OHKOing Swampert.

This is what pretty much threatens the team mostly:
  • Gardevoir: Gardevoir 3/4 are the most dangerous sets due to their coverage. It's one of those situations where I don't really want to CM but I have to. They have Ice Punch, Fire Punch and Thunderbolt / Magical Leaf coming from +252 SpA hitting all of my team members super-effectively. To make matters worse, Gardevoir 4 has Brightpowder. +1 CM avoids the Ice Punch 2HKO while Dragon Claw 2HKOs it in return at +1. However, if she gets a crit or a miss, I am in big trouble.
  • Rhydon: Goes without saying. All 4 sets have Quick Claw and despite Steelix's immunity to Horn Drill, it can still 2HKO Steelix with Earthquake while Steelix only has a 12.5% chance to OHKO. What I usually do is swap into Steelix on the potential Megahorn / Horn Drill, then switch into Suicune to take the expected Earthquake and KO with Surf immediately. After taking the damage, Rhydon is usually more tempted to Earthquake again instead of going for Horn Drill. This has been my strategy to deal with the threat of a Quick Claw Horn Drill, however, I have seen it a few times going for Horn Drill when Sucune is on the field. (Once, it Horn Drilled at the same turn I switch out Steelix into Suicune, which fortunately ended up as a miss). I guess it is once of those AI shenanigans cases where you never know what the AI can do.
  • Snorlax: Snorlax leads are generally bad news because I am 80% of the time force to explode on it if it reveals Curse thanks to its bulk, access to Immunity and Rest which invalidates using Toxic as an option. Losing Steelix at a potential turn 1 always suck because its resistances are always valuable to have around on the match.
  • Lapras: The difficulty of dealing with Lapras is scouting the set. Lapras has 8 whooping sets and they all have their counter strategy in order to deal with them. Steelix laughs at sets 7/8. Latios owns set 1. Lapras 3 is a potential Explosion target because of Confuse Ray, which kills it immediately. Lapras 4/5 can be PP stalled by swap stalling between Steelix / Suicune. As a lead, I always stay and Thunderbolt in order to potentially scout the set knowing I will take lots of damage in the process or potentially get bunked by 7/8.
  • Houndoom: I really hate looking at this thing at a lead position. Thanks to the small bulk investment, Latios always survives Crunch outside a critical hit, in case it decides to use it and not go for Counter or Sunny Day. Getting critted, puts me on a difficult position as I am forces to set up Calm Minds where Crunch doesn't breaks the Sub or weaken Solarbeam's damage in the hopes of not getting a CH again. Crunch makes it difficult because of its 20% chance of reducing the Special Defense.
  • Latios:
    Against Latios leads I am always forced to Calm Mind because Modest +252 SpA has a 25% chance to OHKO Latios with Dragon Claw while my +0 Dragon Claw fails to OHKO it thanks to their common 255 HP investment. I prefer to take the risk of getting a 6.25% chance of me being CH'd rather than give the AI a 25% chance to KO me. If he crits, I have to hope that Steelix gets the good roll with HP Steel as otherwise, I am screwed.
  • Latias:
    Because +1 does not OHKOs her, I am forced to go for the Dragon Claw 2HKO unlike what I do with Latios. The good thing is that outside a critical hit or a Brightpowder miss, she can't beat Latios. Set 5 is one of the most annoying one because of Thunder Wave, Calm Mind and Recover. In case Latios misses, I set up with Suicune at the same time (Sub first to avoid T-wave later, then CM. At some point she will spam T-wave), go into the CM war and PP stall her. Once she's out of Dragon Claw PPs, it's Steelix's time to poison her.
  • Heracross: Heracross generally is bad news. Set 1 has Focus Band which could activate at the worst scenario possible. Set 2 has max HP which makes Latios' Psychic only a 18.8% chance to OHKO. Set 3 has Bright Powder which can make Latios miss at the worst scenario.

You can check my playlist in here where I picked some of my Gen 3 replays to display my prowess. I didn't add a voice commentary on the videos (sorry guys, I know some videos deserve me to describe my thought process as to why I chose certain moves) since I don't own a microphone and all I have is my labtop's built in microphone. I did a video commentary on my 200th win video since it was a special benchmark worth for me to do so. Sorry for the bad audio quality! I wasn't satisfied with the end product, although I might be able to do more voiced commentary videos at some point, or even a live stream despite the bad audio quality of my voice.

Loss:
Battle #324 vs Expert Emma:
3 /
5 / Unknown (tl;dr at the end of this comment)

The loss came at Battle #324 vs Expert Emma. Emma is one of the AIs who can carry any of the 4/8 sets available on her Pokemon. I knew this was going to be a long battle since her rooster involved bulky Pokemon as Blissey, Umbreon, Miltank, Milotic, Ludicolo, etc at her disposal. The battle started with her leading Blissey and me leading Latios as always. My counterplay against Blissey has always been going into Steelix since it walls Blissey 2, and it deals very well with Blissey 3/4. Blissey 1 is kinda annoying because of its access to Sing & Substitute, but it is something manageable. After switching into Steelix, Blissey reveals Calm Mind, which means that it could be either Blissey or Blissey 4. To have a review about those sets, let's take a look at them:

  • Blissey 3 | Bold | Focus Band | Fire Blast, Blizzard, Calm Mind, Softboiled | Natural Care or Serene Grace | 0 / 0 / 255 / 0 / 255 / 0 |
    | Lv: 50 stats: 330/27/68/95/187/75
  • Blissey 4 | Bold | Focus Band | Counter, Ice Beam, Calm Mind, Softboiled | Natural Care or Serene Grace | 0 / 0 / 255 / 0 / 255 / 0 |
    | Lv: 50 stats: 330/27/68/95/187/75
If you noticed it, Blissey 3 has access to Fire Blast. It only needs 2 Calm Minds to guarantee the OHKO with Fire Blast regardless. I faced Blissey 3 and 4 countless of times before and my strategy is always go Toxic, and then swap into Suicune. Regardless of the set, they always try to attempt a 2nd CM, or in Blissey's 4 case, attempt a random Counter which gives me a free turn to poison her and then I swap into Suicune.

However, on this turn, because Toxic has imperfect inaccuracy, I missed it on the free turn I had as she grabbed her 2nd Calm Mind. My biggest mistake in here was not analyzing the situation here and let Steelix stay on this turn. I was so used on getting Toxic to poison Blissey on turn 1 that I grew spoiled on my strategy and I didn't checked the calcs back then. I guess this is what happens when you have set plans for some sets and it might play against you on a single moment were things don't go as you expected. By letting Steelix stay in, Fire Blast landed the OHKO on Steelix and I knew that I screwed up in here big time. My 2nd alternative was now to switch into Suicune and PP stall Blissey. At +2 Fire Blast and Blizzard can't break the Sub, so I know that the best thing to do was to set up the Sub and then CM all the way to +6 and waste purposefully her PPs on the turns she decided to attack. With Pressure, Blissey can only attack 2 times using Fire Blast and 3 times with Blizzard. After she ran out of Blizzard and Fire Blast attacks, I decided to waste Calm Mind PPs because I needed her Softboiled PP gone as well in order to make her Struggle and attack her with Surfs. At this point, both of us were at +6 so I knew this was going to take a while and a lot of PPs. I wasted purposefully CM and some Rest/Sub PPs until she finally started to use Struggle. Once she started to Struggle, thanks to the fact that this Blissey set didn't had Leftovers, I knew I was not going to be locked into one of those Gen 3 infinite battles and I could beat her down. After finishing off Blissey, Suicune had around 13 Surf PPs left, 12 CMs, 10 Rest and 8 Substitutes I think. When her Struggles broke the Substitute (She did two times while I was spamming Surf), I used Rest purposefully to save up some PPs for what was going up next.

Normally, this would had been able to reverse the situation and would mean I was recovering the momentum I lost after letting Steelix die so foolishly, however, I knew that the next Pokemon to come, would be a huge issue: Lapras. At +6, you would normally think you don't have anything to fear from Lapras, however, Lapras has the possibility of being Water Aborsb and the set 3 Lapras who knows Dragon Dance and Double Edge which beats Suicune 1-v-1 if it is Water Aborsb since DD boosts its Special Attack. Also, there's the fact that Lapras has 8 whooping sets in Generation III with all having different counterplay depending on the moves they reveal. At this point, I knew that I had to stay and go for Surf for two reasons: A) It will tell me if Lapras has Water Absorb which would then, force me to PP stall it if it isn't Lapras 3. B) It will give me information of which set is using depending on the moves it reveals.

After using Surf, Lapras didn't took damage which means that it wasn't Shell Armor and it had indeed Water Absorb. Lapras went for Double Edge and it broke the Substitute on a Critical Hit. Now, I was facing the worst situation possible: It didn't mattered whether Suicune was at +6 since it was a sitting duck vs Water Absorb Lapras. The CH was the worst part because now it was impossible for me to scout whether it was Lapras 3 or Lapras 5.

  • Lapras 3 | Docile | Brightpowder | Double-Edge, Psychic, Confuse Ray, Dragon Dance | Water Absorb | 170/ 0 /170/ 0 /170/ 0 |
    | Lv: 50 stats: 226/105/121/105/136/80
  • Lapras 5 | Docile | Shell Bell | Psychic, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Double Edge | Water Absorb | 0 /255/ 0 /255/ 0 / 0 |
    | Lv: 50 stats: 205/137/100/137/115/80

Now, Shell Bell was a completely giveaway, however, I never payed attention myself to the item it was holding all this time while also being completely worn out at this point, didn't allowed me to think properly. Suicune had a lot of PP depleted after that battle vs Blissey and while the crit Double Edge threw me off and somehow putting this idea on my head that I could face Lapras 3 which wasn't true. I only focused on the crit Double Edge and that's it. It's very easy to miss on details like these when you don't pay attention. Switching Latios out was the other big misplay I did here because I thought on the possibility of Lapras 3 which never existed. Lapras goes for a Double Edge and from here, I knew I was going to lose very likely. Lapras gets another critical hit which makes Latios take a big chunk of health when it was at 100%.

255 Atk Lapras Double-Edge vs. 28 HP / 4 Def Latios: 62-73 (38.9 - 45.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO.
Possible damage amounts: (62, 62, 63, 64, 64, 65, 66, 67, 67, 68, 69, 70, 70, 71, 72, 73).

255 Atk Lapras Double-Edge vs. 28 HP / 4 Def Latios on a critical hit: 124-146 (77.9 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
Possible damage amounts: (124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146).


The worst part is that even a +252 Double Edge is a 2HKO while a +0 Thunderbolt makes a clean 2HKO as shown below:

252 SpA Latios Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Lapras: 115-136 (56 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (115, 116, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 136)

Latios only ends up around 41 HP left after the critical hit Double Edge and from here, it all comes down whether I can get a critical hit Thunderbolt or not. Again, at this point, the correct thing to do maybe was to try to stall it out with what Suicune had left of PP. With 7 Double Edge, 7 Iron Tails, 7 Thunderbolts and 5 Psychic PPs factoring Pressure, this was the right play to do so. This means Lapras would had been stalled with the 28-30 PPs I had left between Rest, Calm Mind and Substitute without me going into Surf to heal it and ruin the self-damage when it started to Struggle. Also, the two turns I spend sleeping with Rest after having used my Chesto Berry meant that I could even save some spare PPs. If Lapras didn't had that Double Edge crit, I would had been OK as well, but when you go over 300 wins without being taken down by Emerald's broken RNG, you know that the game will have its sweet payback.

After the crit Double Edge, I knew I was screwed and I needed the RNG to back me up here. A para or a crit. None of the two happened and Lapras finished me off with a 2nd Double Edge with around 30% HP left. Suicune was sent out and since this thing has Thunderbolt, I needed up to set up again all the way up with the hopes of not having another critical hit. While I was working on it, when it was time for me to Rest, Lapras gets yet ANOTHER critical hit which puts Suicune on Red. I was not going to wake up on that turn and Lapras finishes me off with another Thunderbolt.

Emma leads Blissey 3, I switch out into Steelix in order to attempt to Toxic it. Toxic misses and I screw up by staying again and Blissey gets the OHKO with +2 Fire Blast. Suicune comes next and succesfully PP stalls it. Struggle + Surf brings her down eventually and Lapras 5 comes next. Didn't payed attention to hold item, and I sent Latios thinking on the possibility of Lapras 3 (which wasn't real). Lapras CHs with Double Edge and Latios is now in range for a Double Edge OHKO. Thunderbolt fails to crit or get the parahax and Lapras gets the kill. On a desperate attempt, I try to set up in order to weaken Thunderbolt and stall it. Sadly, the AI gets a crit and Lapras beats Suicune.


Special Thanks & Credits:

I would like to thank first and foremost all the people at the Battle Tree Discord: I've learned a lot by hanging around with you guys and it was fun to share my experiences on Gen 3 with everyone. I'm glad that some people have even become interested on challenging the Gen 3 Frontier thanks to my write ups in the #frontier channel. Special mention to HeadsILoseTailsYouWin who made me aware of the inexistence of Tyranitar/Dragonite at Lv.50 while explaining briefly why the Lv.50 calcs are much better than Lv.100 calcs. Another shout-out to atsync who made me aware of the existence of a downloadable Gen 3 spreadsheet at the forums and turskain for adding support for Gen 3 on his damage calculator. You guys rock and helped me achieve this!

I would like to thank my good friend @Chrystalials#6440 for rendering the awesome 3D models of my Shiny Pokemon from Pokemon Colosseum. Credits to Serebii.net for the ball and icon sprites.



Original thread: link
 
I achieved a streak of 137 in Emerald's Battle Tower Singles using this team. It was ended by a Medicham with Endure, Reversal and a Salac Berry, because I used Meteor Mash when I should've used Agility.
I bred these on Emerald using RNG Reporter and EonTimer. They are all level 100 and have six IV's of 31, except Swampert, who's Special Attack has 30. Its IV's give Hidden Power Electric. I have a clone with Earthquake, Ice Beam, Rock Slide and Hidden Power Electric, but the streak ended at 66 when I used that one.
I used these instead of any pseudo-legendaries because I don't have Colosseum or XD, nor do I have the the Eon Ticket. I don't want to risk using the Pomeg glitch to get it because I have my SID and can breed flawless shinies on this cartridge, so I won't reset its save file or risk corrupting data, which leaves me with Lati's that have awful stats. Although I do have both a shiny Mild Latias and a shiny Mild Latios that each have a PID of 55920000 and grant access to Mirage Island on any Emerald file that was started with an already-dead internal battery, their stats are still too low to be of further use. They were caught in Ruby and Sapphire, both with Premier Balls.

Slaking (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Aerial Ace

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion

Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 56 Def / 128 SpA / 56 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 SpA
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Protect

I used this site; http://pokestudio.altervista.org/defevs.php and raised Swampert's defenses to the next tier up after maxing its HP, then used the nature and the rest of the EVs to balance its offenses.
Strategy's pretty simple. Usually OHKO with Slaking, switch to Metagross and explode, then bring Slaking back out for the win.
After Slaking OHKO's on the first turn, switch to Metagross if possible, but switch to Swampert if Forretress, Scizor, Skarmory or any electric, ground or fire types came out, then get the KO and sacrifice Swampert to their last pokemon so you can bring out Metagross. However, if Swampert is ever out against anything that can raise any stats, switch immediately to KO as quickly as possible.
If their lead is Jolteon, or if Slaking can't OHKO on the first turn because their lead is Forretress, Scizor or Skarmory, then switch to Swampert.
If Slaking can't OHKO on the first turn because their lead is Snorlax, Dewgong, Lapras or any Protect user, or if their lead is Gengar or anything else that out-speeds Slaking and might use status moves, then switch to Metagross.
This team's biggest threat is probably Registeel with Double Team. Regardless of the other three attacks, whether it has Curse, Rest, Toxic, Counter, Focus Punch or anything else, DT Registeel always takes luck to beat, no matter who it comes out against, even if it comes out while your whole team is perfectly healthy. Always just spam Earthquake and hope for the best.

When battling Anabel the second (or third) time, I switched to Swampert on the first turn, used Earthquake until Raikou used Rest, used its Lum Berry, used Rest again and was left at <50% HP, then switched to Metagross. I used Agility and Earthquake to finish sleeping Raikou, then Explosion when Snorlax was sent out. I sent out Slaking and used Double Edge on Latios for the win.


Update: I think Swampert needs little more in each attack stat. I have a level 5 clone that I'll give the following EV distribution: 200 HP / 100 Atk / 204 SpA / 4 Spe which lowers its defenses by one tier according to the above-mentioned site, and gives it 281 in each attack stat. I'll put the last 4 EV's into the speed stat because it won't make much of a difference where I put it, but mostly because I'm just being OCD about it having symmetrical stats, and I won't breed another just for that one extra point in each attack stat. Still, not for any specific KO's, because my usual reason for bringing Swampert out is that I'm unable to switch from Slaking to Metagross for whatever reason, and just need somebody to take a few hits or a status move before getting the KO and/or being sacrificed to bring out one of the others. However, sometimes I'll end up with Swampert as my last pokemon somehow, and it seems to take hits so well that some defenses should probably be sacrificed to more easily get the KO when it has to. I'll update again after training and testing.

Update: 281 in each attack stat did achieve more 1-2HKO's, but I definitely noticed the decrease in its defenses too. I made it to battle 104 and ended up with Swampert as my last pokemon (for the first time in that streak) and up against a Gardevoir. It used Psychic and lowered my SpD, so Swampert's Protect couldn't let it recover enough HP to prevent the 2HKO. Had it not lowered Swampert's SpD, I would've gotten the 2HKO and won (as long as no crits happened either).
I'm going to train another clone and try to find a happy middle ground. I'll update one more time after I try the following spread;
Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 12 Def / 168 SpA / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 SpA
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Protect
 
Last edited:
Moments ago, I achieved a streak of 137 in Emerald's Battle Tower Singles using this team. It was ended by a Medicham with Endure, Reversal and a Salac Berry, because I used Meteor Mash when I should've used Agility.
I bred these on Emerald using RNG Reporter and EonTimer. They are all level 100 and have six IV's of 31, except Swampert, who's Special Attack has 30. Its IV's give Hidden Power Electric. I have a clone with Earthquake, Ice Beam, Rock Slide and Hidden Power Electric, but the streak ended at 66 when I used that one.
I used these instead of any pseudo-legendaries because I don't have the Eon Ticket, and I don't want to risk using the Pomeg glitch to get it because I have my SID and can breed flawless shinies on this cartridge, so I won't reset its save file or risk corrupting data, which leaves me with Lati's that have awful stats. Although I do have both a shiny Mild Latias and a shiny Mild Latios that each have a PID of 55920000 and grant access to Mirage Island on any Emerald file that was started with an already-dead internal battery, their stats are still too low to be of further use. They were caught in Ruby and Sapphire, both with Premier Balls.

Slaking (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Aerial Ace

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion

Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 56 Def / 128 SpA / 56 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 SpA
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Strategy's pretty simple. OHKO with Slaking if possible, switch to Metagross if not or if against Gengar who out-speeds Slaking and often uses status moves, or to Swampert if against any Fire, Ground, Steel/Bug types or Skarmory. Usually explode, then switch back to Slaking for the win.
When battling Anabel the second (or third) time, I switched to Swampert on the first turn, used Earthquake until Raikou used Rest, used its Lum Berry, used Rest again and was left at <50% HP, then switched to Metagross. I used Agility and Earthquake to finish sleeping Raikou, then Explosion when Snorlax was sent out. I sent out Slaking and used Double Edge on Latios for the win.
I'm really curious about your Swampert's stat distribution. Is there any notable KOs you achieve with a Quiet nature and the Sp.Atk EVs? Is this Lv.50 or Lv.100?
 
I'm really curious about your Swampert's stat distribution. Is there any notable KOs you achieve with a Quiet nature and the Sp.Atk EVs? Is this Lv.50 or Lv.100?
Level 100. I used this site http://pokestudio.altervista.org/defevs.php and raised the defenses to the next tier up after maxing its HP, then used the nature and the rest of the EVs to balance its offenses. Not for any specific KOs, because I mainly use it to switch out of Slaking when I can't switch to Metagross for whatever reason. I could've raised both defenses one more tier for that purpose, but I find it hard to switch back into Slaking anyway, at least without Metagross exploding first, so it needs at least some offensive presence to really be useful. It has 404 HP, 230 in each defense stat and 260 in each attack stat.
 
Hey,
For those who don't know, werster's record has been beaten by 2 hours, in 17:04:49 by Exarion
There are few things in his notepad worth taking a look into for more infos on BF :)
 
So, recently I had been brainstorming at the Battle Tree Discord about this new team to hit the Emerald Tower again:

Latias @ Lum Berry
Modest Nature
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 156 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
- Psychic
- Ice Beam / Dragon Claw
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Adamant Nature
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 148 Atk / 4 Def / 8 SpD / 168 Spe
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Flying
- Dragon Dance

Metagross @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Meteor Mash


For those who are curious, thanks to Latias' immense bulk and the fact that due to her lower Special Attack, she will never achieve the insane amount of OHKOs Latios can achieve at +1 or even at +2, she can afford to run a bulkier spread without Dragon STAB since she laughs in front of all Kingdra sets in Frontier:

Blessed calc: 0+ SpA Kingdra Ice Beam vs. 124 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 62-74 (36.2 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Blessed x2: 255+ SpA Kingdra Icy Wind vs. 124 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 45-54 (26.3 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
God bless this: 255+ SpA Alakazam Ice Punch vs. +1 124 HP / 4 SpD Latias: 52-62 (30.4 - 36.2%) -- 50.8% chance to 3HKO


The 156 SpA EVs gives a 93.6% chance to OHKO Muk 1 while guaranteeing a OHKO on anything Psychic weak that should die at +1 on targets such as Machamp, Venusaur, Weezing, etc.


The Gyarados EV spread is a bit complex so I will explain: 180 HP EVs hit a magical leftover number +1 (In case you misplay, it let's you endure an extra turn of Toxic / Leech Seed while maximizing HP recovery). 168 Speed EVs guarantess that Gyarados will be able to outspeed neutral 252 Spe Crobat and Jolteon at +1. 4 Def EVs and 8 SpD are given to increase overall bulk and the rest dumped in Atk (At +6 Gyarados is guaranteed to 2HKO all 255 HP Skarm sets with HP Flying). This thing is a monster I must tell you: Unlike Salamence, Gyarados can actually set up on opposing Water types and beat them up (Lanturn doesn't exists). Unless they are heavily investing in Sp.Atk, they won't break the Sub easily thanks to Gyara's bulk investment.

Also decided to attempt a bulkier Metagross spread from what I've used in the past. This time, I am investing enough speed to outspeed min Speed Milotic which is a decent target.


Take into account that this is theorymon on paper atm. No test have been done on real fights since I still have to RNG the Latias for this lol.
 

Texas Cloverleaf

This user has a custom title
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Seems high-rolly but mostly okay, you'll run into the usual issues with Electric spam if Latias gets haxed and you have no way of beating the Toxic Double Team Suicune or Double Team Ludicolo lead but seems fine.
 
Seems high-rolly but mostly okay, you'll run into the usual issues with Electric spam if Latias gets haxed and you have no way of beating the Toxic Double Team Suicune or Double Team Ludicolo lead but seems fine.
Ludicolo 4 is accounted for with Gyarados. As long as I avoid the Toxic switch-in, just Sub and DD. It has non-attacking moves, and it mostly prioritizes using Double Team first turn from my personal experience, so that's a good thing.

These are the damage calculations of the evil Jolteon 4 that kicked my ass in the past:

255 SpA Jolteon Bite vs. 124 HP / 4 SpD Latias: 51-60 (29.8 - 35%) -- 15.1% chance to 3HKO
Possible damage amounts: (51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54, 54, 55, 55, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 59, 60)

After a CM, Shadow Ball (a physical move in G3) outdamages Bite lol. But then again, Jolteon can hax the crap out of my team on a bad day. Also, Metagross is more bulky to precisely take better on Electric types (my old spread was 2HKO'd by Jolteon 4).

255 SpA Jolteon Thunderbolt vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD Metagross: 79-94 (44.8 - 53.4%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)

It's worth mentioning that adding 12 SpD EVs makes it to 25% but this would mean cutting down on Atk investment. I guess the only relevant change is vs max HP Ursaring where it comes from a 56% chance to OHKO to 50% when reducing to 236 Atk EVs. I would definitely appreciate any input on this Texas Cloverleaf :D
 
Due to losing interest in competitive battling over the last few generations, I have been focusing more on in-game challenges, especially the Emerald Battle Frontier. I have been reading through this thread and several others trying to come up with strategies and teams for each of the facilities. I felt I should share my ideas, either to help out others or receive feedback about my sets. Note all these teams are just theorymon atm, and I'm not trying to pass them off as my original ideas. I will be testing them out over the next few months, and suggestions are more than welcome.


Teams
Battle Tower:

Singles:
/
/

Singles #2:
/
/

Doubles:
/
/
/


Battle Dome:
/
/


Battle Pike:
/
/


Battle Pyramid:
/
/


Battle Arena:
/
/


Battle Palace:
/
/



Battle Tower

Singles

The first facility up is the Battle Tower. After reading through Kommo-o's Battle Tower team, I thought I would test it out, as it seems really consistent on paper. I will be testing it out, and I'll report any findings or changes I make to fine tune it.
Kommo-o's team can be found here.


Latios @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dragon Claw
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind


Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 148 Def / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Rest


Steelix @ Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Steel]
- Explosion
- Toxic
See Kommo-o's thread here.
None.

Another team I will be testing out is Actaeon's TrickBand team, and I'll report any findings or changes I make to fine tune it.
Actaeon's team can be found here.


Alakazam @ Choice Band
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 220 HP / 152 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Kinesis
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic


Zapdos @ Ganlon Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 120 Def / 148 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Substitute
- Double Team
- Baton Pass


Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 240 HP / 224 Atk / 36 Def / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
See Actaeon's post here.
None.

Doubles
Just for fun, I wanted to make a team for a Doubles run in the Tower. You can't get the Gold Symbol in Doubles, but I've always enjoyed Gen 3 Doubles. Old Explosion mechanics are so strong in doubles, and that's what the team is based on.


Dusclops @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Shadow Punch
- Icy Wind
- Helping Hand


Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion
- Protect


Snorlax @ Quick Claw
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Body Slam / Shadow Ball
- Self-Destruct
- Protect



Salamence @ Bright Powder
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
The team is based around Helping Hand Dusclops + Explosion, and wiping out both opponents for the cost of only one.

Dusclops plays a support role in the team. Being the bulkiest Ghost type with access to Helping Hand (thanks Gales of Darkness), Dusclops plays the perfect partner to Exploders. Seismic Toss and Shadow Punch are for when Dusclops is Taunted and needs to attack. Seismic Toss is for consistent damage despite Dusclop's poor offense, while Shadow Punch is for covering opposing Ghost-types and helping against Double Team spammers if they get out of hand. Icy Wind is for speed control against faster Pokemon, and the other three Pokemon have Protect so that Dusclops can slow down any threats to them. Helping Hand is the main reason Dusclops is used over other Ghost types (read: Gengar). It is effectively a free Choice Band for the Exploders, while having the freedom to change moves. It also helps make up for Dusclops lack of offense.
As for EVs and item, I have gone with Leftovers and a more special defensive set for survivability, and since the team has Intimidate to help with physical attackers. This set can take most special attacks easily, but I haven't done many specific calculations.

Metagrosss is an obvious choice for an Exploders. It possess Clear Body to stop Intimidate, a base 135 Atk stat, and a wide array of resistances. Explosion is a must as the team is built around it. With a Ghost type partner, Explosion can trade one Pokemon for two and lead to easy victories in the Battle Tower. Earthquake is for Steel- and Rock-types that resist Explosion, as well as being a useful spread move to finish off both opponents. Unlike Gengar, Dusclops is not immune to Earthquake, but it is bulky enough to not have to worry about them too much. Meteor Mash is to cover Pokemon that resist both Earthquake and Explosion, which is mainly Gengar. Its accuracy is shaky at best, and is to only be used when Earthquake can't get the job done. Protect is a standard in Doubles, as it allows a Pokemon to stay safe while its partner deals with a threat. This is especially important with Dusclops, as it has speed control with Icy Wind or can reduce a threat's HP with Seismic Toss.
As for EVs and item, max Atk and Spe along with Adamant allows for the most damage with Explosion, as well as making sure Metagross outspeeds base 100s that have no investment. Lum Berry is to stop a Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp from the likes of Jolteon or Gengar ruining my day. Choice Band wouldn't allow me to Protect for an Icy Wind, and Dusclops already has Leftovers.

Snorlax has been added to the team due to a weakness to Water-types in general. While it lacks Clear Body and only has access to the weaker Self-Destruct, Snorlax gets STAB on it and has impressive special bulk. Earthquake is standard alongside Self-Destruct, while Body Slam is for taking out a single threat. Body Slam can also potentially paralyze the opponent, but leaves Snorlax walled by Gengar. Shadow Ball is an option over Body Slam, and I will be trying out both in the future.
As for EVs and item, Snorlax is running max Atk and Spe with an Adamant nature to make its Self-Destruct is as strong as possible. Max Spe allows Snorlax to outspeed base 60s without any investment. Quick Claw is for the chance to move before the opponent, and since Leftovers and Lum Berry are already taken.

Salamence acts as the team's anchor, coming in to help finish off the weakened opponent if by some chance they survived Explosion. Fire Blast is to cover Steel-types, and Hydro Pump is for the Rock-types. Dragon Claw is for a reliable STAB with 100% accuracy. Protect is an obvious choice for Dusclops' Icy Wind.
As for EVs and item, max Sp. Atk and Spe for maximising offense, and along with a Timid nature allows Salamence to outspeed as much as possible. BrightPowder is for the potential misses it could cause, but it could be easily changed to something else.
Level 100 -> Level 50 (Thanks atsync)

Dusclops:
  • Pain Split -> Seismic Toss (Pain Split is an egg move and Helping Hand is an XD exclusive move, so are incompatible on the same moveset)
Regirock:
  • Changed to Snorlax (Just reviewing the team, it appears to have trouble with bulky Water-types. Also Rock Slide does even less damage than you'd think in Gen 3 doubles)


Battle Dome

The Battle Dome is the most similar to the Battle Tower, with only two of your three Pokemon being brought to each battle. Information is also given about your opponent, which helps you choose what to bring. When building a team with the aim of the Gold Symbol at the Battle Dome, it is often discussed that Tucker's team can't touch Shedinja. So I wanted to build a team that had Shedinja, and two Pokemon that could handle a majority of threats between them. Gengar has a wide variety of coverage, along with access to Explosion and Destiny Bond, which could lead to Gengar winning battles without a teammate. Slaking is a solid revenge killer in the Battle Frontier, especially backed by a Choice Band. Slaking is made stronger by the fact that there are only two opponents, meaning it can get passed them with raw power.


Gengar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
- Destiny Bond


Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam


Shedinja @ Bright Powder
Ability: Wonder Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD
- Shadow Ball
- Silver Wind
- Swords Dance
- Protect
The team is based around Gengar + Slaking, with Shedinja being used when the opponent can't touch it (read: vs. Gold Symbol Tucker).

Gengar is usually used in the lead position, due to its speed, good coverage, and access to Destiny Bond. The aim is to take out their first Pokemon with Gengar's coverage, and then take down their last with Destiny Bond. Thunderbolt, Ice Punch and Fire Punch cover a wide range of Pokemon, with only Lanturn resisting them all. Imo Giga Drain is not strong enough to deserve a moveslot.
As for EVs and item, Gengar hits 173 speed at level 50 to outspeed everything except a few Crobat and Jolteon sets. The rest goes into max Sp. Atk and into HP and both defenses. Lum Berry is to help with Thunder Wave, sleep, and confusion that could ruin a run.

Choice Band Slaking is a powerhouse that not many Pokemon can stand up to. Slaking is even more effective in the Battle Dome, since the opponent only brings two Pokemon to battle. If Gengar does its job, Slaking should only need to finish one Pokemon. Return, Earthquake, and Shadow Ball are standard fair, giving Slaking a strong STAB with no drawbacks, along with coverage for the types that resist Return. Hyper Beam is for the power, as it 2HKOs Skarmory. Thanks to Slaking's high HP, it can also avoid the KO with Counter.
252+ Atk Choice Band Slaking Hyper Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Skarmory: 91-108 (52.9 - 62.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108)

Shedinja is on the team for the simple fact that Tucker's Gold Medal team can't touch it. Gengar + Slaking are strong enough that Shedinja rarely needs to be brought to battles. As for its set, Shadow Ball and Silver Wind give Shedinja its strongest STABs, while Sword Dance allows it to set up against opponents that can't touch it. Protect is to help scout what set the opponent is.
As for EVs and item, they are standard Shedinja EVs while BrightPowder is because Gengar already has the team's Lum Berry.
None.

Battle Pike

The Battle Pike is riddled with status conditions, so my team is built to be able to handle it. To be honest, the Battle Pike is the facility I know the least about, so my team will definitely need to be tested.


Latios @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Recover


Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 172 Def / 92 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Rest


Blissey @ Bright Powder
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
The team is based around a more defensive inclined team, leading off with Latios, and Skarmory + Blissey to cover physical and special attackers, respectively.

Latios is a fantastic Pokemon in the Battle Frontier, let alone the Battle Pike. Dragon Claw is its main STAB, hitting everything except Steel-types neutrally. Psychic is for the Sevipers in the Pike, but I could easily change this to something else so that Latios isn't walled by one type. Substitute is to block status, and to protect Latios from Explosion from wild Electrodes, as well as make wild Wobbuffets a joke. Recover is to keep Latios healthy, and allow for more subs.
As for EVs and item, Latios hits 173 speed at level 50 to outspeed everything except a few Crobat and Jolteon sets. The rest goes into max Sp. Atk and into HP and both defenses. Lum Berry is to help with stopping status before getting a sub up.

Skarmory is the set I am most unsure about. Counter + Taunt is Skarmory's best offensive option against the wide array of physical attackers that it will be facing in the Battle Pike. Taunt also allows Skarmory to wall Lucy's Shuckle on her Silver team and her Steelix and Gyarados on her Gold team. Toxic is to help Skarmory take down more passive Pokemon, and along with Rest, not many physical attackers can get passed Skarmory.
As for EVs and item, Skarmory hits 102 speed at level 50 to outspeed Lucy's Gyarados to stop it from resting. The rest goes into HP and Def to increase Skarmory's overall physical bulk. Skarmory has Leftovers due to it being vunerable while it is resting. I might change it to Chesto Berry if Leftovers has lacking results.

Blissey is in its element in the Battle Pike with all the status conditions in the Battle Pike. Seismic Toss and Toxic form the basis of Blissey's damage. It does leave it walled by Gengar, which could be a potential problem for the team. Aromatherapy is for status condition on the other Pokemon on the team, as well as Skarmory's Rest. Softboiled is to keep Blissey and her teammates healthy outside of battle.
As for EVs and item, max Def and a Bold nature to improve Blissey's overall bulk, as well as max HP to increase the amount of HP for Softboiled. BrightPowder is for the potential misses, but could easily be changed for something else.
None.

Battle Pyramid

The Battle Pyramid is an interesting facility, where it is not solely about battling but also item and pp management. Abilities that have outside battle effects can also play a role in a successful Battle Pyramid run, such as Pickup or Run Away. It should be noted that Run Away doesn't guarantee escape, and this is why I wanted a fast Teleport user as a lead to avoid wild encounters. With Alakazam, it has access to the fastest legal (read: not Deoxys-S) Teleport, as well as good coverage with the elemental punches. Since you don't enter the facility with held items, a solid attacker that doesn't need a held item to succeed, but also benefited from one too, was needed. Salamence is a solid Pokemon in the Battle Frontier, and with a Choice Band, it can tear through teams. As the Battle Pyramid doesn't heal your Pokemon after battles, Blissey was an obvious choice for the option of Softboiled outside battle to heal the rest of the team.


Alakazam
Ability: Synchronize
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Punch
- Teleport


Salamence
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break


Blissey
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Def / 76 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
The team is based around having Teleport Alakazam as a lead, Salamence as the main attacker, and Blissey as a cleric to heal status and Softboiled outside of battle.

Alakazam is primarily the team's lead due to Teleport. Since running away from wild battle in the Battle Pyramid is not guaranteed, Teleport offers a solution without having to battle the wild Pokemon. Alakazam has access to the elemental punches, which gives it good offensive coverage. I'm not sure if I should drop one of them for Psychic as a reliable STAB.
As for EVs, Alakazam is Timid with max Spe to outspeed as much as possible to Teleport away from wild encounters, and max Sp. Atk to make the most of its coverage. Any picked up Lum Berries or any other status cure berries are given to Alakazam, to protect against status and combines well with Synchronize.

Salamence is the team's main form of offense. HP [Flying] is for a reliable STAB, with Earthquake covering the Rock-, Steel-, and Electric-types that resist it. Rock Slide is for the Flying-types, and is especially useful for Brandon's Gold team. Brick Break is for additional coverage, but its use is limited. I might need to test its usefulness vs. Fire Blast or something else.
As for EVs, standard Choice Band Salamence, but with a Jolly nature to ensure Salamence is outspeeding as much as possible. If a Choice Band is picked up, it is to be given to Salamence to increase its damage output.

Blissey is a team player in the Battle Pyramid. Seismic Toss and Toxic form the basis of Blissey's damage, which leaves it walled by Gengar. Aromatherapy is for status condition on the other Pokemon on the team. Softboiled is to keep Blissey and her teammates healthy outside of battle.
As for EVs and item, max Def and a Bold nature to improve Blissey's overall bulk. Blissey's HP is enough for a leftovers number +1, and the rest in SpD. If any Leftovers are picked up, they are to be given to Blissey.
None.

Battle Arena

The Battle Arena seems like a smaller version of the Battle Tower, with only three turns to KO the opponent and no switching. With this team though, I went with sets that win based on the scoring system. With the combination of Fake Out + Protect + Dig / Dive / Fly, you lose the Mind category, but win Skill and Body category. I initially had Shiftry with this set, along with Explosion, but it had no way of touching Gengar. Sneasel is a faster Pokemon that has access to the same combo, without Explosion. Fly on a fast Pokemon is effective in the Battle Arena, as it wins the Skill category and potentially the Body category. This is why I wanted to try out Crobat on the team, and Salamence is a solid choice.


Sneasel @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Protect
- Dig
- Shadow Ball


Crobat @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 124 Atk / 248 SpD / 132 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Fly
- Endure
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Quick Attack


Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fly
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
Sneasel uses the combination of Fake Out + Protect + Dig to win by judging. The combo wins the Skill and Body category and loses the Mind category if the opponent doesn't damage Sneasel. Shadow Ball is for the Ghost-types that the combo doesn't work on. Along with the EVs, this set outspeeds and beats 252+ Fire Punch Gengar. Against Jolteon 4, Fake Out + Dig should be enough to win the Body and Skill category. Inner Focus also helps against its King's Rock.
252+ SpA Gengar Fire Punch vs. 4 HP / 68 SpD Sneasel: 110-130 (83.9 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130)
180 Atk Sneasel Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 105-124 (77.7 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124)

The set for Crobat may seem weird. The basis is to use Fly to win by judging, as the opponent only get 1 turn to hit Crobat and will lose the Skill category. HP [Ground] and Quick Attack, along with the Liechi Berry, are all specifically to take out the only set that outspeeds Crobat, Jolteon 4. Crobat is EV'd to survive Thunderbolt, which activates the Liechi Berry.In retaliation, +1 HP [Ground] followed by +1 Quick Attack is enough to KO Jolteon 4. Endure is just to have as an option, for when Crobat needs the Atk boost from the Liechi Berry to KO an opponent. Inner Focus helps against rouge Fake Outs, as well as Jolteon 4's King's Rock.
As for EVs, Crobot hits 183 speed at level 50 which outspeeds everything except Jolteon 4, and the SpD investment is the most effecient way to survive Jolteon's Thunderbolt. The rest goes into Atk to improve Crobat's damage output. Liechi Berry is necessary for Crobat to be able to take down Jolteon with HP [Ground] and Quick Attack.
Jolteon @ King's Rock
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Bite
- Shadow Ball
252 SpA Jolteon Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 248 SpD Crobat: 134-158 (83.2 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (134, 135, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143, 145, 146, 148, 150, 151, 153, 154, 156, 158)
+1 124 Atk Crobat Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Jolteon: 125-148 (89.2 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (125, 127, 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 136, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143, 145, 146, 148)
+1 124 Atk Crobat Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Jolteon: 36-43 (25.7 - 30.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
Possible damage amounts: (36, 36, 37, 37, 38, 38, 39, 39, 39, 40, 40, 41, 41, 42, 42, 43)

Salamence uses Fly to win by judging, similar to Crobat. Dragon Claw is for a reliable STAB if the opponent can be KO'd, and Flamethrower + Earthquake offers coverage against opponents that resist Fly.
As for EVs and item, max SpA for making Dragon Claw strong, and max Spe with Timid allows Salamence to Fly before as many opponents as possible. Leftovers is to recover HP during Fly, to help with the Body category.
None.

Battle Palace

The Battle Palace is probably my least favourite facility, due to it being the most luck-based one. Your Pokemon's moves are selected based on their nature, so all you can do is have solid teambuilding. Hasty is one of the better natures for the Palace, as it has high chance to select an attack, as well as being a Spe increasing nature. Protect is included in each Pokemon's set as it doesn't leave them powerless if a defense move is chosen.


Salamence @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Protect


Metagross @ Twisted Spoon
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Psychic
- Protect


Starmie @ Bright Powder
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
The team is based around strong offensive Pokemon running Hasty + Protect sets, hoping to roll through the Palace.

MixMence with two STABs along with Flamethrower. Aerial Ace is the choice for Flying STAB as the AI doesn't choose Hidden Power. Sharp Beak is used as the item to boosts its weak base power. Dragon Claw and Flamethrower offer good coverage, along with being accurate to improve consistency. Protect is in case Salamence uses a defense move. There are no support moves on the set as Hasty has a low chance of calling a support move, and the type coverage is more important than having an option for the slim chance.
As for EVs and item, max SpA and Spe so that Salamence does as much damage as possible and is as fast as possible. Sharp Beak is to give Aerial Ace a needed power boost.

Metagross forms a fantastic core with Salamence, with them covering each others weaknesses. Earthquake + Rock Slide offers good coverage, and hits everything neutrally except Breloom. Psychic is used over Meteor Mash due to its accuracy, and gives Metagross an option against flying Poison-types. Just like with Salamence, Protect is to give Metagross a defense option, and the coverage is more important than a support move.
As for EVs and item, max Atk and Spe allows Metagross to do as much damage as possible while maintaining some solid speed. Twisted Spoon is to boost the power of Psychic, as Metagross has no SpA investment.

Nothing special about Starmie's set. Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt gives Starmie a reliable STAB and excellent coverage. All moves have 100% accuracy, which helps with overall consistency of the team. Just like the other two Pokemon on the team, Starmie runs Protect and no support move.
As for EVs and item, max SpA and Spe allow Starmie to hit 183 speed at level 50, which outspeeds everything except Jolteon 4, as well as dealing as much damage as possible. BrightPowder is for the potential misses, but could easily be changed for something else.
None.

  • (18/3/19) - Added Battle Tower Singles Team #2, made changes to Battle Tower Doubles Team
 
Last edited:

atsync

Where the "intelligence" of TRAINERS is put to the test!
is a Pokemon Researcheris a Contributor to Smogon
Cool teams - good luck and have fun!

A couple of thoughts:
  • Dragonite and Tyranitar don't seem to appear as opponents at all if you play level 50 instead of open level. Not sure what you're planning but if you are concerned about Tyranitar Crunching your doubles Dusclops to death you could always play that team at level 50 so that you don't have to deal with it!
  • Shedinja is a risky Pokemon to use in general. I definitely like its ability to wall Tucker but I would be inclined to use a different Pokemon for other rounds. Obviously don't forget that you are not obliged to use the exact same team for every single round!
  • I'm skeptical about Skarmory on your Pike team (even with the SkarmBliss combo) and I think your team might struggle in Double battles if you get a particularly poor match-up. I personally like to have a strong spread move on one of my Pokemon just in case I get into a Doubles battle. An Earthquake user seems like it might be a decent choice for you team because it works well with Latios' Levitate, although it would make it more difficult for Blissey to switch in.
  • Teleport Alakazam in Pyramid is definitely viable, but be aware that trapping abilities prevent it from working so you might want to use a different lead or move set for round 6 where the wild Pokemon specialize in trapping. Wobbuffet in particular would be an annoying match-up for that Alakazam. Also, be mindful of Teleport's PP. Not really sure if I like the lack of STAB on Alakazam either. I would replace one of the punches with Psychic.
  • Your Arena team seems pretty cool and I'm definitely intrigued by Sneasel (its status as the equal fastest Fake Out user is a legitimate niche) and whether being "locked" into Dig as its first move against the second Pokemon would make it a liability or not. I personally prefer to just KO things outright rather than rely on judge KOes but I could see it being fun to try (just watch for Fly's miss chance!!!). My main concern with the team just eyeballing it is that everything is weak to Rock, and Quick Claw Rhydon in particular seems like it would just body that team if it appeared as a lead and got an unlucky Quick Claw Rock Slide/Megahorn/Horn Drill KO on Sneasel on the turn it uses Dig. I feel like having a different second Pokemon over Crobat that can take on Rocks more effectively might be a good idea (keeping in mind that very little can be done to stop Quick Claw Horn Drill + QuakeSlide coverage in a facility where switching isn't allowed). Swampert is one possible suggestion since its Water STAB can make short work of Rock-types like Rhydon and it happens to cover many of Sneasel's weaknesses. That would be slightly weak to a second Pokemon Grass-type (Sneasel won't be able to beat some of those after beating the lead and of course Swampert gets destroyed afterwards) but Salamence does well against most Grass-types aside from maybe Dragon Claw Sceptile. An alternate Water-type that is less weak to Grass, like Tentacruel or Ludicolo, might also be viable, although both of those are more vulnerable to Rhydon than Swampert is.
 
Thank for the feedback!

What you said was definitely what I was after, someone else's input about what my teams are lacking.
  • I will change the team to level 50, as Open Level doesn't have any benefits that I can think of.
  • Yeah Shedinja can be a liability, I should probably make a more rounded team with 3 proper members and just sub in Shedinja for the Gold Medal round.
  • My Pike team definitely needs work, I guess I just need to play more in the Pike to get an idea of what a successful team needs to cover.
  • Now that I look over my teams and this thread again and how the Pyramid works, I probably will end up making specific teams for each round rather than try and use just the one team. I'll definitely need to look more into the non-standard facilities in the Frontier.
  • The interesting thing about the Arena is that after the three turns, your Pokemon is pulled out of the invulnerable state of Dig and Fly for the judging. So Sneasel and the fliers are not locked into their moves when they win by judging. I guess I was only seeing my sets in a vacuum and not as a team overall. I will definitely look into Swampert, and look to make a more synergistic team.

Thanks again for your input, and I will refine my teams and share any new ideas I come up with!
 

Taylor

i am alien
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hey,
For those who don't know, werster's record has been beaten by 2 hours, in 17:04:49 by Exarion
There are few things in his notepad worth taking a look into for more infos on BF :)
I knew someone would come along and beat this run by a small margin but never thought it would be so soon and by a whole two hours.

edit: having to watch the run to see where time was saved
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone!
I'm at 420 wins in emerald battle tower at the moment, this is my team:

PUGILE (Medicham) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brick Break
- Swift
- Fake Out
- Shadow Ball

KEITH MOON (Latios) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Shock Wave
- Surf

APNEA (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Defense Curl
- Seismic Toss

While this team works extremely well against hax and can easily PP stall double team annoyers, it can be overpowered by multiple heavy hitters (I know that an hera+meta+aero team will end my streak soon).
I reached 147 wins some years ago with this one, then I discovered the spreadsheet of battle tower and i tried again during this holidays.
When my run will finish, I'm gonna write a better post about this team mechanics and threats


EDIT: 500 WINS ACHIEVED (504), but I've changed my team after a ridiculously lucky win around 440~. My new team was inspired by Team Rocket Elite's platinum one and I feel like it's simply unbeatable:

SIMBA (Slaking) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam

PARLAMI (Gardevoir) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

SOLILOQUIO (Gengar) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Mean Look

If anyone has trouble getting the gold symbol or 100 wins, I suggest this team, it's a safe bet
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Guys I spend this month like 70hours on BF in Emerald, max streak in open lvl was 32 and 28 in lvl 50.

I already have the other six gold medals and still cant get gold BF, is amazing how the AI cheats on me :(

Any guide for RNG the battle factory or other method for get gold medal?

I already watch some speedruns and they have so many luck like dragonite with DD
 
Break your streak at the battle tower so the opponent's pokemon at BF has 3 IVs and don't switch your team. There is a list of sets of the pokes used for each trainer here.

Try to take something to deal with bulky water types and takes pokes with good coverage.
 
Hi, here is one team I like to use in the battle tower:

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 60
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 26 HP / 28 Atk / 16 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 60
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 25 HP / 18 Def / 28 SpA
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Agility
- Rock Slide

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
Level: 60
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Def / 44 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 25 HP / 13 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover

Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 60
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 28 HP / 21 SpA / 24 SpD
- Return
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam

Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
Level: 94
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 27 HP / 30 Def / 4 SpA
- Return
- Earthquake
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam
The DVs/EVs are not accurate since I am too lazy to check them at level 100. Sometimes I used Slaking>Salamence, that is why I added it. I don't know whether I prefer Adamant or Jolly. Explosion>Rock Slide would be the better choice on Metagross but I am hesitating to teach it because I can only do it once. I am not sure if that Milotic spread is best and putting the special attack EVs into Hp might be better.

I want to try out a Trick team and am currently bredding mons for it. Here is my plan:

Linoone @ Choice Band
Ability: Pickup
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Charm
- Thunder Wave
- Sand Attack

Gyarados @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Atk / 32 Def / 60 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Rest

Dusclops @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Punch
- Calm Mind
- Rest

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
I am going for Gyarados first because it is easier to breed than Salamence but I don't know which works better. This Linoone set was posted here before. The Gyarados spread I copied from this the description of this video. I want to try Dusclops in the third slot because I wanted to add a mon that can setup against stuff Gyarados can't.

I only use pokemon that can be obtained unlimited times as I use my old cartridge save file (even though I played with Bold Latias (random IVs) before, I see no need to post it here). I also don't have access to some TMs e.g. Sludge Bomb because I already taught them. I cloned the ones I had like Toxic.

Since I doubt I will get max IVs for Gyarados, which stats do you think to matter the most? Shall I just reduce the attack and keep the defensive stats as they are supposed to be? Should I go for Salamence later, which spread do you recommend? Suggestions are appreciated!
 
Just a thought, but maybe we could all collaborate and make a sort of tier list for all the sets in the Battle Factory?
So like S-tiers are sets that you should always pick if available, all the way down to F-tier which are sets you should avoid.

It always seems to be the last Gold Symbol people get, and I know some people struggle with knowing what sets are good and what sets are bad. It would be a great resource to help people when going for the Gold Symbol.
 
Just a thought, but maybe we could all collaborate and make a sort of tier list for all the sets in the Battle Factory?
So like S-tiers are sets that you should always pick if available, all the way down to F-tier which are sets you should avoid.
There is this old thread in which Peterko listed most of the movesets you can encounter within the Factory. I think I've made a list back then that combined this with another to look up the movesets I was facing. For the first four round this proved to be incredibly helpful: the rental Pokémon and movesets are fixed. In other words, you can only obtain a Choice Band Aerodactyl in the second round or starting from round 5 when all listed sets are possible. Most Pokémon have four sets, but some have eight different ones. This helps a lot with teambuilding, as some Pokémon, say Dragonite and Entei, only appear from round four and onwards and you don't have to be prepared for them immediately. If you need the medal, this overview can help you to get to 28 wins more easily. If you want to make a tier list, this is really valuable as well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top