Metagross @ Occa Berry ** Gawain
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Atk / 12 Def / 12 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock
Ol' reliable. The lack of Explosion opens up a whole new batch of leads that one move combination couldn't. And Meteor Mash followed by Bullet Punch is amazing utility. Heatran, Swampert and Jirachi are leads that Metagross CAN'T deal with. My Heatran takes pathetic damage from Jirachi's Iron Head. My Latias can switch into Heatran and Swampert with impunity. However, I will have to set up SR first, which either makes Metagross sustain some damage, or their SR gets up first, against Swampert and Heatran. Then switch to Latias. This way, once a Scizor/Tyranitar then switch into my Latias they'll have to suffer SR and a LO Surf. The next Surf should finish them off, pretty much dealing with Latias's two most popular counters, ready to take on the brunt of Metagross's counters and live to launch off Draco Meteors and the like. Metagross is my favourite lead, and he's never left any of my teams. Incredible synergy with Latias... somewhat. Metagross will jump in the way of any Dragon/Ice attack but is neutral to Ghost/Bug/Dark. Which leaves us with...
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band ** Shinkiro
Trait: Technician
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- U-turn
Who isn't using one, really? I've given him some Special bulk, just for the sake of it. Why not? It helps when taking on Latias. Everything's self explanitory-- we all know the beast that is Scizor. Amazing in any phase, and posesses sheer power... and speed is no problem since it has priority. As for U-Turn I believe it's good to have a slow U-turn since you'll take a hit, and get the next member in unscathed. And of course it's great in general for scouting. Superpower is just... there, although I've never found myself use it THAT often. Should I replace it with Quick Attack or something? Superpower's main targets are Tyranitar, Bronzong, Swampert, Blissey, and Snorlax. Bronzong's not getting KO'd by it any time soon. Tyranitar's hit by Bullet Punch, so U-turn as their counter comes in... both hit super-effective so he's screwed if he stays in no matter what. Superpower would be overkill. Swampert's not getting KO'd by Superpower any time soon either, and Blissey and Snorlax... Machamp has a field day with them. So I'm unsure if Superpower should still really be here, but it's good nontheless. Anyways, Scizor is my answer to Salamence, too. As long as it doesn't switch into me, in fact me switching into it is better. I have to avoid Fire Blast either way... But a CB Bullet Punch would suffice, coupled with SR. Synergy with Latias. Latias will take a Fire attack, and Scizor is resistant to Dragon, Ghost, Dark, Bug, and Ice. Incredible! This guy will switch into almost anything all day.
Zapdos @ Leftovers ** Siegfried
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 40 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
Amazing wall. A roadblock to many physical threats, particularly the more threatening ones in Scizor, Metagross, and the like. U-turn is an odd option, but Tyranitar, Blissey, Snorlax and Latias switch into this thing all day. U-turn as they switch in, and Scizor immediately threatens all of them. Bullet Punch Tyranitar, scare Latias away with Pursuit, and nail Blissey/Snorlax with Superpower. As for Zapdos itself, it doesn't mind not having Hidden Power Grass, as the targets for it are hit hard by my Latias. U-turn's utility is just amazing. Of course, Heat Wave and Thunderbolt provide decent coverage and the shocking bird laughs at Celebi. The SR weakness is a problem, but I seem to find ample times to Roost. Zapdos does it's job great as a wall. Synergy with Machamp and Metagross. Metagross and Machamp will take the dreaded Rock attacks particularly from Tyranitar... Scizor is neutral but you might as well count him in since he counters Tyranitar. Metagross/Scizor also take Ice attacks. Meanwhile Zapdos happily flies in on a Ground, Fighting, Steel, Bug or Grass attack.[/color]
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers ** Gurren
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Toxic
Unsure about him. Someone has to switch into Jirachi's Iron Head with impunity, and Heatran does just that. I liked the fact that Heatran forces switches, so he sets up a Substitute and bulky waters are hit by Toxic. Snorlax runs Thick Fat, and thus I can Toxic him. If he has Immunity, Fire Blast rips him apart. Win win. And all the while I've got a Substitute to protect me if I Toxic an Immunity Snorlax (I have to Toxic first. If I Fire Blast it wouldn't really say if it has Thick Fat, whereas it would say if it got Immunity.) or something. I won't miss the Scarf too much, however that means I lack a revenge killer. Scizor's Bullet Punch just isn't enough. And in fact this team isn't the fastest, Latias being the only fastest one, so... Yeah. Still, this set works, and it works well. Heatran serves me very nicely. While it doesn't seem that he switches into many things, Toxic's utility is great. Heatran's typing, decent speed and powerful Fire immunity/attacks just... clicks with the rest of the team. Has synergy with Latias who takes Heatran's Water, Fighting and Ground weaknesses... meanwhile Heatran laughs at any Ice, Bug, Dragon, Dark and Ghost attack most of the time.
Machamp (M) @ Leftovers ** Galahad
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 176 Def / 8 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Stone Edge
Another physical wall. Before he had Special Defense EVs but I thought why bother? I honestly couldn't think of too many special attacks that are dangerous enough to invest in, plus I have Latias and Scizor (who has Special Defense EVs) and even Heatran. So I thought, why not Machamp? 100% Confusion is great. He's also my sole answer to Gyarados, but avoiding the flinch is a daunting and sometimes failed task. Enough speed to outspeed other 'Champs and Blissey. Synergy with Latias, unsurprisingly. Machamp takes on any Dark attack for it, particuarly choice-locked Pursuits and Crunches. Latias... um... takes Psychic attacks for him? I don't know.
Latias (F) @ Life Orb ** Tenshi
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Recover
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
The star. She is amazing. Draco Meteor tears through things, Surf and Thunderbolt take care of the things Draco Meteor can't rip apart. All the while she's got recovery. She's got good Special Defense, so I have to rely on her resists to stuff like Thunderbolt or unboosted Flamethrower/Fire Blast or something... That's why I ran Special Defense on Scizor. Everyone else has great physical bulk. Only Latias has great Special bulk, and since she has Life Orb she's not gonna last that long. I used this set because I've read that a Surf 2HKOs Tyranitar and Scizor after SR, which is just awesome. I never ran into that situation however. Despite this I want power right off the bat, and freedom between moves. LO Latias is perfect. Also, she provides some needed special offense, if Heatran and Zapdos can't do it. Has synergy with like... EVERYONE. Metagross, Scizor and Heatran fear Fire/Ground, Fire, and Ground/Fighting respectively... But Latias is resistant or immune to those three. Meanwhile, Latias herself fears Dark, Bug, Ice, Ghost and Dragon. Metagross, Heatran, Scizor, and Machamp all happily take the brunt of those attacks. Tenshi means Angel I think, and she's quite the angelic dragon... ready to kick tail.
My problems:
-Machamp is my only answer to Gyarados.
-It's hard to change anyone around without breaking the synergy... I can't seem to break away from using Scizor/Latias/Metagross/Zapdos. It also helps since everyone is practically immune to Toxic Spikes (Machamp has Rest)
-Lack of speed. Latias is the only Pokemon to go past 300 Speed. Metagross and Scizor have priority attacks to make up for this, but... eh.
-Does poorly against Stall, and really bulky late-game things (Suicune for example)
NOTE: Disregard the existence of Rotom Appliance when rating. I cannot get one, nor will I fight one. Don't ask...
