First RMT thread. I've tested this team out over the past few months, and while far from perfect, its been pretty reliable. I've done some tweaking between battles (boosting an EV here and there to survive a certain move, switching out a Pokemon for one better suited for the role), but unfortunately I don't quite remember what I did for what threat, so the EV's might seem a bit whack, and I can't remember why they are. All I remember is that I changed it to survive something, but I can't remember what any of those "somethings" are. Go figure. So I apologize for seemingly random spreads, and if anyone has any idea what I was thinking or how to improve said spreads, I would love to hear it. So without further ado, my first RMT:
Ambipom (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Double Hit
- Beat Up
A fast, fragile lead. I wanted to try out a non-weather or hazard-based dedicated lead, and I found that Ambipom fit this rather well. With Technician and STAB Fake Out, it could easily knock out over half of most Pokemon that didn't resist Normal on the first turn, and render it useless for that turn. Hitmontop could do this, too, but I found that Normal STAB and the faster speed meant that Ambipom could knock out more Pokemon before it went down. Double Hit is its main STAB move after Fake Out, and it essentially deals slightly less than 2 Fake Outs; so if Fake Out did ~35-36% damage, I could comfortably assume that Double Hit would take it out. Of course, any opponent familiar with Ambipom would know that it relies heavily on Fake Out, and thus would send out a Ghost-type if he or she carried one. Thanks to team preview though, this is relatively easy to predict and counter. Beat Up is Technician boosted, and since Ambipom is a lead, it virtually always will hit 6 times, severely denting any Ghost-type looking to block Fake Out or Double Hit. Finally, Power-Up Punch is a situational coverage move; Low Kick was a decent alternative, but I suprisingly was able to pull off a decent number of sweeps thanks to the Attack boosts from Power-Up Punch. Since Ambipom is mostly a lead, it goes up against some low-threat, defensive Pokemon that it can spam PuP on, like Forretress. Ambipom shouldn't really be staying in on Rock or Steel types, but PuP provides a way for it to muscle through them if it has to. Life Orb over Normal Gem because it enables Ambipom to pull off wallbreaking on multiple Pokemon, rather than just one.
Starmie @ Expert Belt
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Rapid Spinner and main Flying-type counter. Starmie provides Rapid Spin support for Talonflame, and it helps clear other hazards away after Ambipom goes down--since Ambipom spams Power-Up Punch on some hazard setters, the opponent often tries to lay down as many hazards as possible before going down; Starmie takes care of that. Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt are all standard coverage for Starmie, nothing special there. This spot originally belonged to a Forretress, but I found that I had no good way to take down Flying-types, and Forretress only exacerbated my team's weakness to Fire. I'm debating switching Starmie for Rotom-W, since the latter is bulkier. However, I'd lose Rapid Spin if I did that, so I'm on the fence about it.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 168 Def / 176 HP / 164 Atk
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Gliscor is my defensive wall. Toxic Orb Poison Heal is standard but reliable. It can handle Toxic stalling pretty well, unless the opponent is Steel- or Poison-type (in which case there's Magnezone to handle them). I've run into problems before with Earthquake, as Gliscor has no way other than Toxic to hit Flying-types. However, Earthquake is also the best way to handle Fire-, Rock-, and Electric-types, which my team tends to have problems with; Roost is also too important to toss, as it allows Gliscor to stall out the opponent when it needs to.
Talonflame (F)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- U-turn
Revenge killer. Talonflame is intended to come in, pick off the opponent's weakened Pokemon, and then fly back out--hence U-turn. Since it comes in and out so much, though, Rapid Spin is imperative to its survival; if Starmie gets knocked out too early and SR stays up, then Talonflame is as good as gone once it's switched out. Roost helps it heal off the damage it takes from SR, and though Acrobatics is weaker than Brave Bird, the lack of recoil helps sustain Talonflame's survivability long enough to get in one or two last hits that it wouldn't be able to with Brave Bird. The 252 Speed IV's help it get off fast U-turns (and Flare Blitzes, though that isn't as important), as well as outspeed uninvested foe Talonflames.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 120 Def / 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 SDef
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
The dark horse of the team, I was skeptical about Magnezone when I first tested it out. Higher Defense didn't seem to warrant the Speed drop compared to Jolteon, who was originally the 5th member of my team. However, I was definitely pleased when I started seeing the effects of Magnet Pull. Magnet Pull made quick work out of most Steel-types, namely Skarmory, Forretress (those without Volt Switch at least), and Ferrothorn. While not the fastest way to deal with them, as it lacks a Fire-type attack, Magnezone is a reliable counter to most Steels, whittling them down with Thunderbolt. Volt Switch gives it an escape when predicting a switch-in, and Flash Cannon STAB is this team's answer to Fairy- and Ice-types (and sometimes Rock if I can predict a switch-in, but Edgequake often makes it too risky). I've considered replacing Thunderbolt with Charge Beam on this set, as the Steels Magnezone switches on are virtually set-up fodder unless they carry some sort of Fire- or Steel-type move, but the lack of initial power worries me if Magnezone needs to KO some Flying- or Water-type.
--->
Banette (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Knock Off
The Mega. Along with Ambipom, Banette was one of the main reasons for constructing this team. Banette has always been one of my favorite Pokemon, and with the introduction of Mega-Banette, it is not longer completely useless in battle anymore. Initially Banette has Frisk, which is useful for scouting the opponent's moveset, especially on potential Megas. I've found this especially useful for Pokemon like Tyranitar, as the difference between Assault Vest and Tyranitarite is the difference between Knock Off/Will-O-Wisp and switching the heck out of there. Prankster Will-O-Wisp neuters physical attackers, while Knock Off reliably hampers walls and item-based attackers, removing Leftovers, Assault Vests, and Life Orbs. Shadow Sneak is its main STAB attack, circumventing its poor speed with priority. Finally, Destiny Bond, while predictable, ensures a mutual KO unless the opponent carries status, in which case Banette probably shouldn't be facing it in the first place.
Ambipom (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Double Hit
- Beat Up
A fast, fragile lead. I wanted to try out a non-weather or hazard-based dedicated lead, and I found that Ambipom fit this rather well. With Technician and STAB Fake Out, it could easily knock out over half of most Pokemon that didn't resist Normal on the first turn, and render it useless for that turn. Hitmontop could do this, too, but I found that Normal STAB and the faster speed meant that Ambipom could knock out more Pokemon before it went down. Double Hit is its main STAB move after Fake Out, and it essentially deals slightly less than 2 Fake Outs; so if Fake Out did ~35-36% damage, I could comfortably assume that Double Hit would take it out. Of course, any opponent familiar with Ambipom would know that it relies heavily on Fake Out, and thus would send out a Ghost-type if he or she carried one. Thanks to team preview though, this is relatively easy to predict and counter. Beat Up is Technician boosted, and since Ambipom is a lead, it virtually always will hit 6 times, severely denting any Ghost-type looking to block Fake Out or Double Hit. Finally, Power-Up Punch is a situational coverage move; Low Kick was a decent alternative, but I suprisingly was able to pull off a decent number of sweeps thanks to the Attack boosts from Power-Up Punch. Since Ambipom is mostly a lead, it goes up against some low-threat, defensive Pokemon that it can spam PuP on, like Forretress. Ambipom shouldn't really be staying in on Rock or Steel types, but PuP provides a way for it to muscle through them if it has to. Life Orb over Normal Gem because it enables Ambipom to pull off wallbreaking on multiple Pokemon, rather than just one.
Starmie @ Expert Belt
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Rapid Spinner and main Flying-type counter. Starmie provides Rapid Spin support for Talonflame, and it helps clear other hazards away after Ambipom goes down--since Ambipom spams Power-Up Punch on some hazard setters, the opponent often tries to lay down as many hazards as possible before going down; Starmie takes care of that. Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt are all standard coverage for Starmie, nothing special there. This spot originally belonged to a Forretress, but I found that I had no good way to take down Flying-types, and Forretress only exacerbated my team's weakness to Fire. I'm debating switching Starmie for Rotom-W, since the latter is bulkier. However, I'd lose Rapid Spin if I did that, so I'm on the fence about it.
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 168 Def / 176 HP / 164 Atk
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Gliscor is my defensive wall. Toxic Orb Poison Heal is standard but reliable. It can handle Toxic stalling pretty well, unless the opponent is Steel- or Poison-type (in which case there's Magnezone to handle them). I've run into problems before with Earthquake, as Gliscor has no way other than Toxic to hit Flying-types. However, Earthquake is also the best way to handle Fire-, Rock-, and Electric-types, which my team tends to have problems with; Roost is also too important to toss, as it allows Gliscor to stall out the opponent when it needs to.
Talonflame (F)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- U-turn
Revenge killer. Talonflame is intended to come in, pick off the opponent's weakened Pokemon, and then fly back out--hence U-turn. Since it comes in and out so much, though, Rapid Spin is imperative to its survival; if Starmie gets knocked out too early and SR stays up, then Talonflame is as good as gone once it's switched out. Roost helps it heal off the damage it takes from SR, and though Acrobatics is weaker than Brave Bird, the lack of recoil helps sustain Talonflame's survivability long enough to get in one or two last hits that it wouldn't be able to with Brave Bird. The 252 Speed IV's help it get off fast U-turns (and Flare Blitzes, though that isn't as important), as well as outspeed uninvested foe Talonflames.
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 120 Def / 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 SDef
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
The dark horse of the team, I was skeptical about Magnezone when I first tested it out. Higher Defense didn't seem to warrant the Speed drop compared to Jolteon, who was originally the 5th member of my team. However, I was definitely pleased when I started seeing the effects of Magnet Pull. Magnet Pull made quick work out of most Steel-types, namely Skarmory, Forretress (those without Volt Switch at least), and Ferrothorn. While not the fastest way to deal with them, as it lacks a Fire-type attack, Magnezone is a reliable counter to most Steels, whittling them down with Thunderbolt. Volt Switch gives it an escape when predicting a switch-in, and Flash Cannon STAB is this team's answer to Fairy- and Ice-types (and sometimes Rock if I can predict a switch-in, but Edgequake often makes it too risky). I've considered replacing Thunderbolt with Charge Beam on this set, as the Steels Magnezone switches on are virtually set-up fodder unless they carry some sort of Fire- or Steel-type move, but the lack of initial power worries me if Magnezone needs to KO some Flying- or Water-type.
Banette (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Knock Off
The Mega. Along with Ambipom, Banette was one of the main reasons for constructing this team. Banette has always been one of my favorite Pokemon, and with the introduction of Mega-Banette, it is not longer completely useless in battle anymore. Initially Banette has Frisk, which is useful for scouting the opponent's moveset, especially on potential Megas. I've found this especially useful for Pokemon like Tyranitar, as the difference between Assault Vest and Tyranitarite is the difference between Knock Off/Will-O-Wisp and switching the heck out of there. Prankster Will-O-Wisp neuters physical attackers, while Knock Off reliably hampers walls and item-based attackers, removing Leftovers, Assault Vests, and Life Orbs. Shadow Sneak is its main STAB attack, circumventing its poor speed with priority. Finally, Destiny Bond, while predictable, ensures a mutual KO unless the opponent carries status, in which case Banette probably shouldn't be facing it in the first place.
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