First RMT; surprisingly successful (from 9000 to 500 rank in one day)

[GokartMozart]

THE TEAM WITHOUT A NAME

So this is my first competitive team that I've designed, with which I've achieved positive results. You may've run into me on the smogon PO server, under the name Imbadatpokemon, because after 19 tried and tested teams (yes, 19) that all failed, I realized I'm not too great at this game. (Unfortunately so, I missed the Battling 101 by a day which I would've happily signed up for. June I guess.) This team, though, has helped me achieve a level of confidence that I didn't have before, so I'm sticking with it! Though I do know it's not without faults, which is why I'm here. Of course, all criticisms and compliments are welcome. In advanced, thank you for reading and rating; without anymore babbling, here's the team!:

And, if you'd like to read it, the story behind it:

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Ah, Breloom. He is one of the many pokemon I've run into that gave me so much frustration, I just said after a while "if you can't beat him, join him!" So here he is, working as a great lead.

Next was a pokemon whom I've loved ever since he was revealed: Terrakion. He and Breloom do make a great pair, a subpuncher and an all-out attacker with various moves to cover what the subpuncher can't.

Gliscor makes a great counter to both of those opening two, so I decided to pick a better version of Gliscor, and that is Landorus. He does act as a good counter to Gliscor given the right hidden power (ice, obv), And can switch in on most of what gives the other two troubles fairly safely. Also, he's fast and strong, which is good.

Something about this team that is bothersome is a weakness to grass and steel (you'll see that later), which is where Darmanitan fits perfectly. An extra subpuncher can't hurt, and a fast strong physical fire guy is a valuable asset with Scizor still being hyperactive, and Ferrothorn doing the bulk of his damage in the metagame. However, after testing...

It's true: Heatran fills out Darmanitan's niche better than he does. After heavy suggestion, the Steel typing plus outright immunity to fire DOES help against sun teams. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Starmie; what a...guy? Well, he's cool anyway! Rapid spinner and special attacker (which this team needed after those guys) is just what the doctor ordered.

To cap it all off, we have our favorite ice guy: Mamoswine! He acts as a late game SR set up, as well as Ice and Ground physical attacker. For more detailed stuff, see below.

And now, the team in a more dissected light!​

Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Leech Seed

It was tough getting used to having only a fighting type attack, since he couldn't hold down as well towards bulky waters; so I eventually went with just Seed Bomb instead of Focus Punch, and it worked - of course - very effectively. Now Heatran has hidden power grass as a double check to all of those guys that are physically bulky, and they make a great team. Just to reiterate, though, SubSeeding with the occasional seed-bombing and sporing when necessary...yeah, some people forfeited after this guy dealt with their FIRST pokemon on PO. No wonder this guy continues to remain a very effective lead.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat

My all-out mixed physical attacker. Choice scarf is there for him to outspeed just about everything without priority. It works with him having choice scarf instead of band, because his attack is already high enough to do substantial damage even on non-STAB attacks. X-Scissor is to anticipate the pesky Psychic types that like to switch in; Earthquake is for any fire and electric type, but also for Chandelure who likes to anticipate a Close Combat upon switch in; Stone Edge and Close Combat are for the STABs and the types they combat (no pun intended).

MOST BAMF PICTURE EVER!!!

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Rock Polish
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Rock Slide

My favorite of the genies, this guy actually can act as an effective sweeper if Terrakion gets a miss off of stone edge and is taken out unseemingly. If he gets a Rock Polish off, he can outspeed anything that would outspeed him otherwise, which isn't a problem as he's already pretty fast. Earthquake is the obvious stab, plus Rock Slide for pesky fliers and a check against his ice weakness. Hidden Power ice is (as previously stated) namely for Gliscor, but also a mirror match and Dragon types that Mamoswine can't handle.

Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
- Earthpower
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Yes, I've tested only a few battles with this guy and he WRECKS unprepared Sun teams, which is just what I've been lacking! Flamethrower fills the obvious STAB role, then Flash Cannon actually hits pretty hard if it's neutral damage; otherwise I'm not exactly sure what else to run in that spot. Earthpower is towards other fire types like Chandelure, other Heatrans without balloon, etc. I tried Hidden Power Grass mainly for Swampert and Quagsire - which works well - and also because Hidden Power Ice is already on Landorus.

(I lol'ed at this pic)

Starmie @ Expert Belt
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Deer sweet Starmie. Along with Breloom, this one is another that I eventually said to, "if you can't beat them, join them!" And so I did, and boy was I not disappointed; I'm amazed at how many guys Starmie outspeeds! A good speed on a Special Sweeper makes this guy pretty much the MVP of the team. Rapid Spin has since been removed for Ice Beam, giving him more special coverage, and realizing that with Heatran now instead of Darmanitan I don't really have to worry about the likes of Stealth Rock. Surf (now added for more power than Scald) and Psychic are good stabs (with his speed, Machamp and Conkeldurr are no longer problems, as psychic almost ALWAYS OHKOs them). Thunderbolt is for bulky waters that are not also ground, which have proven to give my team trouble time and again. Typically he fulfills the role of special sweeper with flying colors.

Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard

Last but certainly not least, one of my favorites: Mamoswine. I know it's odd putting SR on one of my last guys, but often times I find I don't really need it unless he can set up on a Sun team, in which case he does that quite well. Besides that, he's just a great fast, physical sweeper. Earthquake is an obvious strong STAB, and Ice Shard has worked really well as a priority move that, even though kinda weak, still hits hard with those EVs. As you can see, the one I'm more undetermined on is the second slot of Ice Beam versus Avalanche. The former is more certain, but weaker given his nature and EVs, while the latter is riskier, but certainly stronger due to his high ATK. Any determining factors as input would be helpful. After testing, the most trouble he can have sometimes is against strong dragons and strong fire-types that can wipe him out in one hit. Thus, the addition of Focus Sash ensures he'll live to land a solid Avalanche (OHKOs any Dragon, and does respectable damage as a neutral STAB) or set up Stealth Rock, or hit hard with Earthquake. Basically, he continues to remain strong and threatening, and even more so now.

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Threat List
​

- Slowbro

Really any bulky water gives me trouble, but I singled out Slowbro because he's the WORST! Even with Breloom, because of Slowbro's bulk, I have no real counter for this guy, and the water typing just tears up most of my team in general. Any recommendations to deal with them without changing the team too radically would be greatly appreciated!

- Scizor

Technician + Bullet Punch, I have learned the hard way, says goodbye to both Terrakion and Mamoswine, who are two main components of the team. Sometimes a Darmanitan switch in isn't enough, especially if he gets a critical hit on bullet punch the first time, in which case it's an easy 2HKO. It's no wonder this guy remains such a force to be reckoned with over the generations.

- Ninetales

Remember how I said my team is anti-weather except sun? Well it's true, and this harbinger of death is a nightmare to face. You wouldn't think because of how many rock and ground I have, but the real problem lies with the grass pokemon they pack on their team. Drizzle for a rain team, I could handle. Clorophyll on a sun team?? That's another story. Speaking of which,...

- Venusaur

This is the main culprit of killing my team from a Sun standard. Even with their resistances, after a growth on this guy, he can sweep almost ANYTHING with Solar Beam. Again, Darmanitan just isn't enough after a growth, as he can die to a very quick Sludge Bomb, or just be put to sleep by Sleep Powder.

- Skarmory

Of course, as a physical wall, this guy can take a lot of hits. You would THINK that thunderbolt on Starmie and Darmanitan in general would be enough, but sadly not, at least not after a few layers of spikes are set up. Then, he can Brave Bird away, typically getting the whole team (save for Terrakion, who can 2HKO sometimes off of Close Combat).

- Gliscor

I never understood why this guy was such a powerhouse; but after playing against him so many times, I get it! He's bulky, powerful, and has very few resistances. If he gets Starmie off of my team, typically he can sweep the rest; even Mamoswine if they pack Fire Fang. Also, he effectively is an anti-Breloom lead; even a STAB Seed Bomb won't knock too much off of this guy.

- Whimsicott

Anything with Prankster can really mess up my team, but Whimsicott is the prime criminal in this field. The best counter is to effectively substitute on Darmanitan, but it can't work if they use taunt. Anyone else have this problem?

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CLOSING STATEMENTS

Again, thank you for all who read this. This is my first RMT, so if there are some things I left off, please let me know. I'm pretty sure I hit all the points after reading the guidelines, but I could make a mistake or two. I'll be adding more aspects as they're realized. Thanks, and happy rating!

Also, just in case: All images belong to their respective owners on Deviantart.​

 

[GokartMozart]

Bump?

Also, it says on PO that this team is Dream World...and I'm wondering how? Any moves that I've missed? I know all of the abilities are normal. Thoughts?

 

[Kevin Clever]

One thing I noticed, why does Starmie have Illuminate and not Natural Cure? Illuminate does nothing in battle.

 

[Lemonade]

A usually better choice for Mamoswine is Icicle Spear, which averages more damage than Icicle Drop (forgot English name) and probably Avalanche too. Ice Beam uses Special Attack, which Mamoswine doesn't really have.

 

[Byrn Dragonstone]

First a couple of nitpicks.

Change the abilities on Starmie to Natural Cure, and Mamoswine to Snow Cloak/Thick Fat.

If you choose Thick Fat on Mamo then you will need to change Stealth Rock out for something.

Now for the actual rate.

Your team is Ice weak. In a Metagame full of dragons that everyone is trying to kill off that is not a good thing. I suggest switching out either Darmanitan or Mamoswine for a steel. Choice Band Scizor or Scarf Metagross would work well.

Also change Breloom over to a Jolly Nature and switch Seed Bomb for Leech Seed. Toxic heal SubSeed Breloom is one of the most annoying things to face in the game. Here is the set I suggest:

Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Spore
- Leech Seed

I works well to generally annoy the enemy and rack up residual damage. Or you could go with the Basic set from 4th Gen found on site.

If you decide to keep Darmanitan then I suggest going all out attack with him. His Choice band set is hard to face against as it provides decent coverage, and hits like a truck. His Choice Scarf set allows for more speed but loses out on sheer power.

 

[backflip]

I agree with changing Darmanitan, but really want you to test Heatran in his place, as I can see it helping in many ways with your listed threats:

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EV's: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
- Flame Charge / Stealth Rocks / Taunt / Filler Attack

Flame Charge is placed first just to maintain Darmanitans original niche as a speed boosting sweeper, but its really whatever your meta/team needs. Stealth Rocks if Mamoswine ever wants 4 attacks. Balloon is necessary as it gives you a lot of opportunities to safely switch into Gliscor and mixed Venusaur running Earthquake (most builds I've seen without EQ run some combo of Energy Ball/Giga Drain/HP Fire/Sludge Bomb which do not threaten Tran at all, but granted you need to have already sent something in to eat Sleep Powder) and immediately threaten with the respective OHKO. He also does well against Scizor (doesn't like Superpower though and will almost always lose his Balloon when switching in), Ninetales since most sets you'll see no longer run HP Fighting, and Skarmory.

As mentioned by V0x, Try Icicle Spear or Icicle Crash on Mamoswine over Ice Beam/Avalanche as those are standard and do good work. Thick Fat is not really encouraged because he loses his Egg Group attacks (i.e. the two he/she suggested). I don't have much to suggest against Slowbro or Whimsicott except that I loathe Whimsicott. The only truly effective measure I've ever employed against it is Toxic Spikes paired with another Grass type to stop Leech Seed.

 

[spweasel]

Mamoswine to Snow Cloak/Thick Fat.

Since I assume that he intended on this being for OU, I'd suggest against using an unreleased (to the best of my knowledge) DW ability, meaning Snow Cloak is the better choice of the two. Then again, since neither non-DW ability is going to make any difference unless you bump into one of the incredibly few OU Hail teams or infatuation abusers, neither is really that much better than the other.

If you choose Thick Fat on Mamo then you will need to change Stealth Rock out for something.

Stealth Rock's an egg move.

Your team is Ice weak. In a Metagame full of dragons that everyone is trying to kill off that is not a good thing. I suggest switching out either Darmanitan or Mamoswine for a steel. Choice Band Scizor or Scarf Metagross would work well.

Only Breloom and Landorus are weak to Ice, while Starmie and Darmanitan resist it. He's hardly "Ice weak".

Also change Breloom over to a Jolly Nature and switch Seed Bomb for Leech Seed. Toxic heal SubSeed Breloom is one of the most annoying things to face in the game. Here is the set I suggest:

Why in the world would you bother with the Leech Seed set without running defensive stats? With only Focus Punch working off your Attack stat, there's very little point in running max Attack EVs, while you need about as strong Substitutes as you can get.

Moreover, why would you run Jolly without maxing his Speed EVs? 251 Speed doesn't outspeed anything in particular, does it?


As for the actual team rating, you're looking decent, though you are definitely looking fairly Water-weak. Just so you know, you're in the DW tier because Salac Berry isn't legal in standard OU yet since it isn't available in-game yet.

I'd suggest the following changes:

1) It's important that you fix your HP EV to land on a good HP value. 12, 44, 76, 108, 140, etc. are generally used for Breloom (since they give you an even multiple of 8 maximum HP).

2) While on the subject of Breloom, Jolly is an option (to outspeed a few more Spore targets), but I believe people are leaning towards Adamant with 236 HP, 252 Atk, and 20 Speed (for better Substitutes). Also, while it is certainly a matter of preference, I'd keep Seed Bomb instead of switching to a dedicated Leech Seed build. Bulky Waters will be hard enough on your team as is, but removing your best solution to Quagsire, Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and Swampert isn't a great idea.

3) If you are worried about Sun teams, trading Darmanitan for Heatran isn't a terrible idea. I would imagine that Heatran's immunity to Fire and double resistance to Grass makes it a good counter to Sun teams (though I admittedly have not tried it). Even better, Breloom and Heatran play together very nicely, resisting everything between the two of them except for Fighting.

4) What does Leftovers on Mamoswine do for you? Life Orb or even Choice Band will do more for you, since you don't have a lot of survivability even with Lefties. I definitely agree that either Icicle Spear or Crash is your best bet in the Ice Beam/Avalanche spot.

5) I'm really not feeling Psychic on Starmie. How often do you really use it? I'm thinking that Ice Beam would be more useful overall. Also, I'd drop Scald for either Surf or Hydro Pump - you'll really want the stronger STAB, especially since Scald doesn't burn often enough to be that big a help when you have no defensive investment and a Life Orb.

 

[kaonohiokala]

Starmie wants power, not burn chance, so Hydro Pump or Surf should be in place over Scald. Rapid Spin isn't a real necessity for this team, so Ice Beam would be preferred over it. You could also opt for Expert Belt over Life Orb.

Replace Darmanitan with Infernape to alleviate the Stealth Rock weakness. Also, give Mamo Icicle Spear over Ice Beam, and give it Snow Cloak (in OU, hail is more common than attract).

 

[GokartMozart]

Thanks for the critiques guys! I've already put a few to work - as you can see - and they've been working quite effectively.

I don't know why Starmie came out of the text team form on PO, but there he is, Natural Cure, and it is obviously infinitely more useful. Mamoswine is the same: now has Snow Cloak, as Oblivious hasn't been helpful as of late.

I've been trying the SubSeeding idea for Breloom, and even tried having Seed Bomb instead of Focus Punch due to Terrakion already being the fighting monster. It has worked really well! A very annoying lead, he sometimes makes opponents forfeit turn 3 if he's still annoying them.

As well, Heatran has been incredible! I used him before and never thought of him as anything special, but on this team, he and Starmie are probably tied now for MVP. Heatran just wrecks so many more teams than Darmanitan could.

As well, on Starmie, I understand the concern of Psychic, but in testing I wouldn't dare run him without it. Mainly, he's OHKO'ed EVERY major fighting type in the metagame with it: Infernape, Conkeldurr, Machamp, Terrakion, even Lucario! The main exceptions are Gallade and Scrafty, whom Terrakion can check just fine. I got rid of Rapid Spin since I don't need it anymore and replaced it with the much more effective Ice Beam.

Speaking of ice, Mamoswine now has Focus Sash to survive strong fire and Dragon attacks to land a hard Earthquake or Avalanche. He works much better now that way.

 

[Byrn Dragonstone]

Since I assume that he intended on this being for OU, I'd suggest against using an unreleased (to the best of my knowledge) DW ability, meaning Snow Cloak is the better choice of the two. Then again, since neither non-DW ability is going to make any difference unless you bump into one of the incredibly few OU Hail teams or infatuation abusers, neither is really that much better than the other.

Stealth Rock's an egg move.

It is released (Through an event), though I believe it is male only so I don't think it can learn SR.

Only Breloom and Landorus are weak to Ice, while Starmie and Darmanitan resist it. He's hardly "Ice weak".

It was rather late when I posted that and I had forgotten Mamo's ice typing granted Neutrality. Mistake on my part.

Why in the world would you bother with the Leech Seed set without running defensive stats? With only Focus Punch working off your Attack stat, there's very little point in running max Attack EVs, while you need about as strong Substitutes as you can get.

Moreover, why would you run Jolly without maxing his Speed EVs? 251 Speed doesn't outspeed anything in particular, does it?

Jolly with the EV spread I gave out speeds Jolly Tyranitar. Max Attack is for hitting hard, obviously, since with Subs up/Spore you shouldn't be taking much damage at all.

 

[666lumberjack]

Thick at Mamoswine is released, but only as Mamoswine, which makes it useless. No Physical Ice STAB, No Stealth Rock and no Superpower makes for an unhappy mammoth.