a study in offense
Team Lineup:
Intro:
With Oceania out of WCOP, for all intents and purposes I am done with competitive mons. It has definitely been a fun ride while it's lasted, but it's time to leave this game behind. It seems fitting that I finish with a showcase of my favourite team after destroying the shameful Italian ghosting council with it in my final competitive game. This has been my flagship BW2 team for the better part of 5 years, which is a testament to its timeless-ness and functionality across various metagame shifts. If anything it has gotten better with time, thanks so the sun ban. It is by far my favourite team to use and it has spawned countless imitations, not least by smogon's resident chief imitator sogeking, who spread this faster than ebola. In all honesty it has been probably the most dominant BW2 team, and I have countless variations of this one lineup for almost any conceivable matchup. I guess I will post the version I used most recently, and talk about other alternatives.
Importable:
Garchomp (F) @ Yache Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 64 HP / 192 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
Volcarona (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Quiver Dance
Breloom (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Stun Spore
Dragonite (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Scizor (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
Team analysis:
Breloom is my lead almost every single game, and it does a fine job. Sleep is ridiculously strong in BW due to the resetting sleep mechanic, and Spore will usually put you in an advantageous position from the get go. Bullet Seed and Mach Punch are obligatory stabs on lead Breloom, and can put in a fair amount of damage due to its monstrous Atk stat. Stun Spore is an interesting 4th move and it can prove extremely useful, especially if I suspect the opponent has a dedicated sleep absorber like Sleep Talk specs Tornadus or Latios. It also is pretty useful when playing stall oriented guys, because getting paralysis on something like Tentacruel or Skarmory can make the difference between being walled or breaking through with one of my offensive powerhouses. In the past I have used Low Sweep in this slot as well, which provides a speed drop on the opponent as well as a secondary fighting attack. I've also run a Fighting Gem set with Focus Punch when facing people who use passive balance, as they usually lose 2 pokemon straight off the bat.
Garchomp is a top-tier threat in BW and with good reason. It sits at a nice speed stat and Swords Dance makes it very dangerous to slow teams. It is even more dangerous if Breloom managed to cripple something like Latios which can immediately threaten Garchomp. Stealth Rock support is always nice, given that many BW behemoths are SR weak, and makes playing against opposing Dragonite, Kyurem and Volcarona a lot easier. Garchomp also softens up common checks to Dragonite, which paves the way for a sweep late game. I have run a few different items on SD Garchomp, ranging from Rocky Helmet to Haban Berry, but Yache is the best option to help combat enemy waters such as Keldeo and Starmie in particular. One of my favourite variants of this team features Dragon Gem Garchomp with a moveset of Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / EQ / SR, which demolishes balanced teams who rely on Skarmory and Landorus-T to check Garchomp.
Volcarona is the star of this team, and given the right support it is one of the most deadly mons in BW. When I originally made this team circa-2012, sand balance teams were rampant on the ladder. After looking at many common team builds, I realised that Volcarona shredded many of these teams after one turn of set-up. Volcarona was very anti-metagame at this time, and it gave me many commanding wins. Since those times, Volcarona has become recognised as a top-tier threat and many teams now explicitly prepare for it, which means it is not as easy to sweep with it. The rise of Scarfed Landorus-T means that a Timid nature is now a necessity. I originally ran Giga Drain as my 4th move, which in conjunction with Passho Berry allowed me to destroy Jellicent and Keldeo thinking they could revenge kill me. I've recently opted to run Hidden Power [Ground] as it makes defeating the Heist-inspired Reuniclus+double grass+Heatran+Landorus+Tyranitar builds much easier. The metagame is certainly based more around spikes and magic guard users than it once was, so this helps Volcarona adapt. Even without Giga Drain, at +2 you still crush Jellicent and severely maim Keldeo, leaving them unable to check Scizor reliably and thereby opening up a win condition.
Starmie is an obligatory addition to a team that is built around Volcarona and Dragonite, and helps keep those pesky Stealth Rocks off my side of the field. Starmie proves to be a menace to opposing rain teams, who often hate eating Analytic and rain boosted LO Hydro Pumps. Thunder is a nice complementary move alongside Hydro Pump, which deals heavy damage to many water resists and also hits bouncing Gyarados. It also removes the premier spinblocker Jellicent out of the equation, although if paired with scarf Tyranitar it will be extremely hard to get the spin off. In the past I have sometimes dabbled with Colbur Berry, as Thunder is still an easy 2hko on Jellicent. The drop in overall power is quite significant, however, so this change in not advisable in isolation without increasing damage output elsewhere.
Dragonite is a great pokemon in BW, and Multiscale gifts it an almost guaranteed turn of set up, provided rocks are off the field. As I said previously, Dragonite often finds a lot of joy from the damage Garchomp (and also Scizor) inflict on the opponent's defensive core. It also has great synergy with Scizor and Volcarona, as the three set up on one another's checks and counters. Extremespeed provides me with revenge killing should it prove necessary, and Fire Punch deals heavy damage to Jirachi, Ferrothorn and Skarmory in particular. Alongside its teammates, Dragonite can overwhelm these defensive stalwarts and open up a sweep, if not sweep itself. Lum Berry stops status like the omnipresent scald burn ruining my day, and also allows for prolonged Outrage assaults.
Last but not least, offensive Life Orb Scizor rounds out the team. Scizor provides a strong priority move to check fast threats, as well as tremendous power after one turn of set up, crippling Skarmory in particular with Superpower. It's steel typing also provides nice utility against many types, particularly dragon and psychic. Scizor utterly destroys rain stall provided that you can paralyse Tentacruel with Stun Spore Breloom, as +4 Bug Bite vanquishes all. The speed EVs allow Scizor to outspeed max speed Specs Magnezone carrying Hidden Power [Fire], leaving them hapless in their attempt to trap me. As I mentioned, it has fantastic offensive synergy with Volcarona and Dragonite, which is fundamentally what makes this team as effective as it is. The synergy allows me to keep momentum and dictate the flow of the battle, which is pivotal to any offensive build. An interesting variant of this team that I have used in the past has Scarf Scizor, which can provide a surprise kill and also u-turn for momentum. I often use the Scarf set when utilising Gems on both Garchomp and Breloom, as Scizor can give them the free turn they need to wreck havoc.
Overall thoughts:
To quote Husk: 'This team is built around the basic offensive concept of using high powered sweepers to overwhelm the opposition. The success of this team, I believe, lies in the way this is executed'. Once team preview appears, it is vitally important to select the lead that will put you on the offensive from turn 1. From there it is essentially up to the user to bring out the full potential of the team, and the key to winning will always be maintaining offensive momentum, whether that be by making the right double switch or the right sack. Each pokemon brings unique strengths and weaknesses to the table, and when tinkering with the various sets it is important to keep in mind the overall effect any such changes may have on the team's effectiveness in totality. I have used this team hundreds of times including in WCOP, SPL and Classic, and I hope others can use (or have used) this team successfully.
Shout-outs:
I don't want to make a long list of people because I will inevitably miss a bunch of people but you guys know who you are. From #underused to #overused, everyone I've teamed with in SPL and WCOP, thanks for being cool dudes and making playing pokemon the enjoyable experience that it has been. In particular I want to give shout outs to panamaxis Golden Sun babidi1998 Colchonero BKC franky IronBullet Raichy SOMALIA and Nova .
Peace.
Breloom is my lead almost every single game, and it does a fine job. Sleep is ridiculously strong in BW due to the resetting sleep mechanic, and Spore will usually put you in an advantageous position from the get go. Bullet Seed and Mach Punch are obligatory stabs on lead Breloom, and can put in a fair amount of damage due to its monstrous Atk stat. Stun Spore is an interesting 4th move and it can prove extremely useful, especially if I suspect the opponent has a dedicated sleep absorber like Sleep Talk specs Tornadus or Latios. It also is pretty useful when playing stall oriented guys, because getting paralysis on something like Tentacruel or Skarmory can make the difference between being walled or breaking through with one of my offensive powerhouses. In the past I have used Low Sweep in this slot as well, which provides a speed drop on the opponent as well as a secondary fighting attack. I've also run a Fighting Gem set with Focus Punch when facing people who use passive balance, as they usually lose 2 pokemon straight off the bat.
Garchomp is a top-tier threat in BW and with good reason. It sits at a nice speed stat and Swords Dance makes it very dangerous to slow teams. It is even more dangerous if Breloom managed to cripple something like Latios which can immediately threaten Garchomp. Stealth Rock support is always nice, given that many BW behemoths are SR weak, and makes playing against opposing Dragonite, Kyurem and Volcarona a lot easier. Garchomp also softens up common checks to Dragonite, which paves the way for a sweep late game. I have run a few different items on SD Garchomp, ranging from Rocky Helmet to Haban Berry, but Yache is the best option to help combat enemy waters such as Keldeo and Starmie in particular. One of my favourite variants of this team features Dragon Gem Garchomp with a moveset of Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / EQ / SR, which demolishes balanced teams who rely on Skarmory and Landorus-T to check Garchomp.
Volcarona is the star of this team, and given the right support it is one of the most deadly mons in BW. When I originally made this team circa-2012, sand balance teams were rampant on the ladder. After looking at many common team builds, I realised that Volcarona shredded many of these teams after one turn of set-up. Volcarona was very anti-metagame at this time, and it gave me many commanding wins. Since those times, Volcarona has become recognised as a top-tier threat and many teams now explicitly prepare for it, which means it is not as easy to sweep with it. The rise of Scarfed Landorus-T means that a Timid nature is now a necessity. I originally ran Giga Drain as my 4th move, which in conjunction with Passho Berry allowed me to destroy Jellicent and Keldeo thinking they could revenge kill me. I've recently opted to run Hidden Power [Ground] as it makes defeating the Heist-inspired Reuniclus+double grass+Heatran+Landorus+Tyranitar builds much easier. The metagame is certainly based more around spikes and magic guard users than it once was, so this helps Volcarona adapt. Even without Giga Drain, at +2 you still crush Jellicent and severely maim Keldeo, leaving them unable to check Scizor reliably and thereby opening up a win condition.
Starmie is an obligatory addition to a team that is built around Volcarona and Dragonite, and helps keep those pesky Stealth Rocks off my side of the field. Starmie proves to be a menace to opposing rain teams, who often hate eating Analytic and rain boosted LO Hydro Pumps. Thunder is a nice complementary move alongside Hydro Pump, which deals heavy damage to many water resists and also hits bouncing Gyarados. It also removes the premier spinblocker Jellicent out of the equation, although if paired with scarf Tyranitar it will be extremely hard to get the spin off. In the past I have sometimes dabbled with Colbur Berry, as Thunder is still an easy 2hko on Jellicent. The drop in overall power is quite significant, however, so this change in not advisable in isolation without increasing damage output elsewhere.
Dragonite is a great pokemon in BW, and Multiscale gifts it an almost guaranteed turn of set up, provided rocks are off the field. As I said previously, Dragonite often finds a lot of joy from the damage Garchomp (and also Scizor) inflict on the opponent's defensive core. It also has great synergy with Scizor and Volcarona, as the three set up on one another's checks and counters. Extremespeed provides me with revenge killing should it prove necessary, and Fire Punch deals heavy damage to Jirachi, Ferrothorn and Skarmory in particular. Alongside its teammates, Dragonite can overwhelm these defensive stalwarts and open up a sweep, if not sweep itself. Lum Berry stops status like the omnipresent scald burn ruining my day, and also allows for prolonged Outrage assaults.
Last but not least, offensive Life Orb Scizor rounds out the team. Scizor provides a strong priority move to check fast threats, as well as tremendous power after one turn of set up, crippling Skarmory in particular with Superpower. It's steel typing also provides nice utility against many types, particularly dragon and psychic. Scizor utterly destroys rain stall provided that you can paralyse Tentacruel with Stun Spore Breloom, as +4 Bug Bite vanquishes all. The speed EVs allow Scizor to outspeed max speed Specs Magnezone carrying Hidden Power [Fire], leaving them hapless in their attempt to trap me. As I mentioned, it has fantastic offensive synergy with Volcarona and Dragonite, which is fundamentally what makes this team as effective as it is. The synergy allows me to keep momentum and dictate the flow of the battle, which is pivotal to any offensive build. An interesting variant of this team that I have used in the past has Scarf Scizor, which can provide a surprise kill and also u-turn for momentum. I often use the Scarf set when utilising Gems on both Garchomp and Breloom, as Scizor can give them the free turn they need to wreck havoc.
Overall thoughts:
To quote Husk: 'This team is built around the basic offensive concept of using high powered sweepers to overwhelm the opposition. The success of this team, I believe, lies in the way this is executed'. Once team preview appears, it is vitally important to select the lead that will put you on the offensive from turn 1. From there it is essentially up to the user to bring out the full potential of the team, and the key to winning will always be maintaining offensive momentum, whether that be by making the right double switch or the right sack. Each pokemon brings unique strengths and weaknesses to the table, and when tinkering with the various sets it is important to keep in mind the overall effect any such changes may have on the team's effectiveness in totality. I have used this team hundreds of times including in WCOP, SPL and Classic, and I hope others can use (or have used) this team successfully.
Shout-outs:
I don't want to make a long list of people because I will inevitably miss a bunch of people but you guys know who you are. From #underused to #overused, everyone I've teamed with in SPL and WCOP, thanks for being cool dudes and making playing pokemon the enjoyable experience that it has been. In particular I want to give shout outs to panamaxis Golden Sun babidi1998 Colchonero BKC franky IronBullet Raichy SOMALIA and Nova .
Peace.
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