Empcor
Empoleon Sweep
Empcor is an 'extended set-up' team. I built it around a core of Umbreon, Gliscor, Empoleon, and consider them the permanent members of the team. It aims to finish with some combination of the three into a sweep with Empoleon, although it can function as a normal balanced team as well. This team stemmed from my Ubers team which used a set-up of Umbreon -> Mew. In OU, Gliscor functions exactly like Mew and although Umbreon is taking weaker hits, it has to deal with a more unpredictable and physically-oriented metagame.
"Don't blame me!"
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
(Adamant)
Snow Cloak
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Stealth Rock
Leads set the pace for a match. Mamo boosts my momentum in the early game so that a heavy offense team doesn't overwhelm me. He handles Gross (with support from Tenta or Rotom) and Aerodactyl leads. He's also reliable at setting up rocks, which might break the sash that would've prevented me from sweeping. Overall I've been satisfied with Mamo as a lead, although he has run into a few problems. Jirachi always prompts a switch; the 40% chance of doing something is never worth it, and at the same time I don't like having to begin a game already going on the defensive. He also has trouble with bulkier leads like Swampert, that have actually proved difficult to deal with for the rest of my team as well.
"Don't tase me bro!"
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
(Calm)
Liquid Ooze
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Haze
Tentacruel is synergistic, and it is anti-synergistic. He serves a couple of purposes. Although most of the team is immune to Toxic Spikes, Umbreon is very vulnerable to them. Tentacruel removes Toxic Spikes, and can Rapid Spin if necessary. Against Metagross leads it plays an important role of absorbing a Bullet Punch and finishing it with Surf. Its typing is great; it can absorb the Bug and Fighting moves targeted at Umbreon, the Fire and Steel moves targeted at Mamoswine, the Water and Ice moves targeted at Gliscor. The rest of the team takes Electric hits with ease, Umbreon is immune to Psychic, and Rotom and Gliscor are immune to ground.
With the good comes the bad. Toxic Spikes rarely benifit me; I'll rarely be able to stall, and I'd rather use defensive pokes as a chance to set up on. Inflicting status on the other team will also make Umbreon a less effective set up because he won't be able to sleep anything that isn't immune to ground or toxic. Tentacruel also lacks offensive power, and tends to draw out all of the set-up pokes on the other team. Haze eases the pain somewhat, but the fact that Tentacruel can't deal with any of them itself is a real downside.
"Take one look and die."
Umbreon @ Leftovers
252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
(Bold)
Synchronize
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Wish
- Yawn
Umbreon is usually the first piece of the set-up, and the most stable. He's EV'd to be stable enough to take both physical and special hits, only having to avoid super-effective U-turns or Close Combats. If rocks are up, switching is discouraged, and Yawn becomes a safer option because the residual damage will stop them from continuing to switch in a U-turner. With enough knowledge of the other team, Yawn can also be used to force their initial switch-in out and trap the secondary switch-in. Mean Look + Yawn + Baton Pass gives a very steady set-up that whenever done successfully is game. Synchronize means that Yawn isn't always possible, but it's useful enough to warrant inclusion.
Prima Ballerina on a Spring Afternoon
Gliscor @ Yache Berry
252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Gliscor can come in on one of its immunities, or when something is asleep or trapped. Its goal is to Rock Polish, Swords Dance, and pass it all off to Empoleon. Since it will usually attract Water- and Ice-type moves, it can boost and taunt until it's close enough to dying, and pass the boosts to Empoleon who won't feel those attacks at all. Occasionally people predict a pass to Lucario or Metagross and use Earthquake, so the pass itself can take some prediction against a wake victim.
Space Lord
Empoleon @ Leftovers (Ground-resist berry?)
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
(Adamant)
Torrent
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Drill Peck / Earthquake
Empoleon has great resists, defenses, and a good priority move. The move set might look redundant -- Swords Dance is for resilience, Waterfall is there to kill bulkier pokes. After some testing it seems that Drill Peck gives better neutral coverage than EQ. Empoleon is a more obscure option for sweeping but not inferior to Lucario or Gross. It has a general sturdiness and still manages to sweep through entire teams. The Gliscor/Empoleon combo is neutral to only Grass and Fire.
100 Degrees
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
64 HP / 232 SpA / 212 Spe
(Timid / Modest?)
Levitate
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadowball
- Hidden Power Fighting
Rotom-f occupies the cursed last spot. I haven't managed to find something that I'm completely happy with here. Rotom-f gives good coverage to both Tenta and Umbreon (especially taking care of Scizor), and can spinblock if necessary. I'm considering changing to a TrickScarf set, although Rotom can surprise counter switch-ins like Tyranitar and Heatran. The attacking and defensive coverage it supplies to the team is fine. My problem with Rotom is that he can't really receive any boosts, and if I were to replace him with another physical attacker my BP game would become less predictable. I'm willing to try any suggestions here.
Empoleon Sweep
Empcor is an 'extended set-up' team. I built it around a core of Umbreon, Gliscor, Empoleon, and consider them the permanent members of the team. It aims to finish with some combination of the three into a sweep with Empoleon, although it can function as a normal balanced team as well. This team stemmed from my Ubers team which used a set-up of Umbreon -> Mew. In OU, Gliscor functions exactly like Mew and although Umbreon is taking weaker hits, it has to deal with a more unpredictable and physically-oriented metagame.
"Don't blame me!"
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
(Adamant)
Snow Cloak
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Stealth Rock
Leads set the pace for a match. Mamo boosts my momentum in the early game so that a heavy offense team doesn't overwhelm me. He handles Gross (with support from Tenta or Rotom) and Aerodactyl leads. He's also reliable at setting up rocks, which might break the sash that would've prevented me from sweeping. Overall I've been satisfied with Mamo as a lead, although he has run into a few problems. Jirachi always prompts a switch; the 40% chance of doing something is never worth it, and at the same time I don't like having to begin a game already going on the defensive. He also has trouble with bulkier leads like Swampert, that have actually proved difficult to deal with for the rest of my team as well.
"Don't tase me bro!"
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
(Calm)
Liquid Ooze
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Haze
Tentacruel is synergistic, and it is anti-synergistic. He serves a couple of purposes. Although most of the team is immune to Toxic Spikes, Umbreon is very vulnerable to them. Tentacruel removes Toxic Spikes, and can Rapid Spin if necessary. Against Metagross leads it plays an important role of absorbing a Bullet Punch and finishing it with Surf. Its typing is great; it can absorb the Bug and Fighting moves targeted at Umbreon, the Fire and Steel moves targeted at Mamoswine, the Water and Ice moves targeted at Gliscor. The rest of the team takes Electric hits with ease, Umbreon is immune to Psychic, and Rotom and Gliscor are immune to ground.
With the good comes the bad. Toxic Spikes rarely benifit me; I'll rarely be able to stall, and I'd rather use defensive pokes as a chance to set up on. Inflicting status on the other team will also make Umbreon a less effective set up because he won't be able to sleep anything that isn't immune to ground or toxic. Tentacruel also lacks offensive power, and tends to draw out all of the set-up pokes on the other team. Haze eases the pain somewhat, but the fact that Tentacruel can't deal with any of them itself is a real downside.
"Take one look and die."
Umbreon @ Leftovers
252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
(Bold)
Synchronize
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Wish
- Yawn
Umbreon is usually the first piece of the set-up, and the most stable. He's EV'd to be stable enough to take both physical and special hits, only having to avoid super-effective U-turns or Close Combats. If rocks are up, switching is discouraged, and Yawn becomes a safer option because the residual damage will stop them from continuing to switch in a U-turner. With enough knowledge of the other team, Yawn can also be used to force their initial switch-in out and trap the secondary switch-in. Mean Look + Yawn + Baton Pass gives a very steady set-up that whenever done successfully is game. Synchronize means that Yawn isn't always possible, but it's useful enough to warrant inclusion.
Prima Ballerina on a Spring Afternoon
Gliscor @ Yache Berry
252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Gliscor can come in on one of its immunities, or when something is asleep or trapped. Its goal is to Rock Polish, Swords Dance, and pass it all off to Empoleon. Since it will usually attract Water- and Ice-type moves, it can boost and taunt until it's close enough to dying, and pass the boosts to Empoleon who won't feel those attacks at all. Occasionally people predict a pass to Lucario or Metagross and use Earthquake, so the pass itself can take some prediction against a wake victim.
Space Lord
Empoleon @ Leftovers (Ground-resist berry?)
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
(Adamant)
Torrent
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Drill Peck / Earthquake
Empoleon has great resists, defenses, and a good priority move. The move set might look redundant -- Swords Dance is for resilience, Waterfall is there to kill bulkier pokes. After some testing it seems that Drill Peck gives better neutral coverage than EQ. Empoleon is a more obscure option for sweeping but not inferior to Lucario or Gross. It has a general sturdiness and still manages to sweep through entire teams. The Gliscor/Empoleon combo is neutral to only Grass and Fire.
100 Degrees
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
64 HP / 232 SpA / 212 Spe
(Timid / Modest?)
Levitate
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadowball
- Hidden Power Fighting
Rotom-f occupies the cursed last spot. I haven't managed to find something that I'm completely happy with here. Rotom-f gives good coverage to both Tenta and Umbreon (especially taking care of Scizor), and can spinblock if necessary. I'm considering changing to a TrickScarf set, although Rotom can surprise counter switch-ins like Tyranitar and Heatran. The attacking and defensive coverage it supplies to the team is fine. My problem with Rotom is that he can't really receive any boosts, and if I were to replace him with another physical attacker my BP game would become less predictable. I'm willing to try any suggestions here.
My team-building process began with Umbreon and Gliscor, as a potential model of my Ubers team. Empoleon was added easily, because Gliscor/Empoleon is a favorite defensive combo of mine. I thought of these three as my 'core', and wanted to minimize the set-up by supporting it with a balanced last three pokemon. I started with Mamoswine as a lead, and decided Tentacruel was a decent fit for coverage and a spinner. After testing I was satisfied with those two. The last spot has changed multiple times, and it still doesn't fit. Mamo/Tenta/Rotom may not be the best three-poke support combination but it has been managing. Thanks in advance for any suggestions for this problem.
