also first post
This here's my Hyper Offense team. I worked hard on it, and played with it plenty of times, but I know that sometimes, there are just times where I'm completely decimated by a Pokemon, but I don't really know how to beat off specific threats without radically changing my team, which is why I made this thread.
So without further ado, the 'mons themselves.
Graveller (Azelf) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
Role: Lead
A blast from Gen IV's past, I still find Azelf particularly great at its job. I chosen max speed so I can outspeed common Rocks leads such as Garchomp and Landorus, and max Attack to deal the most possible damage while exploding. Focus Sash is chosen to almost always give it a turn to set up Rocks.
For the most part, it's going to set up rocks and then explode to take out whatever its facing, or at least heavily damaging it while maintaining momentum. When faced with a Scizor, Skarmory or Ferrothorn, Flamethrower does a good job at beating them out, especially if they have to switch in on rocks. Taunt is used to shut down other Rock leads such as the before-mentioned Garchomp and Landorus, as well as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, and Heatran, among others.
Struggles against: Thundurus, Sableye (both Mega or otherwise) and the occasional Whimsicott completely shut it down, which is an awful thing as a lead. Tyranitar can deal enough damage with any Dark move, and let the resulting Sand damage finish it off. Fake-Out Weavile and Lopunny-Mega are guaranteed to finish it off before it can do anything, no matter how bad the opponent is. Lastly, Starmie is a shaky threat, as depending on the Speed Tie's favor, I could either end up with the Starmie dead and rocks up, or I could lose Azelf completely, with Starmie's only damage being possibly from Life Orb.
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Sockpuppet account (Scizor) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
Role: Pivot
Scizor is an excellent pivot, being able to switch into anything it resists or takes little damage from, and then U-Turn out on switch. 248 in HP helps it bulk even better, while max Attack lets it hit as hard as possible. Band is chosen to maximize damage even further.
While pivots in general seem to be redundant on a Hyper Offense team, I feel Scizor deserves its place here, as while that's its general purpose, it can still deal heavy damage if need be. Bullet Punch is a fantastic move that completely floors Diancie, as well as dealing heavy damage to other Fairies or defensively weak threats such as Hoopa-Unbound. Pursuit can be used to trap annoying Psychics such as Celebi, Metagross, and Starmie, as well as being able to pick off the ever-so-present Gengar. Superpower rounds off the set by smashing through Heatran, Ferrothorn and especially Chansey.
Struggles with: There's no need to mention any Fire types, as their advantage is obvious. Sableye can ruin it with Will-O-Wisp, turning it into nothing but fodder. Rotom is similarly annoying, and resists Bullet Punch as well. Keldeo resists 3/4 of its moves and can take advantage of the fourth. Landorus can give it trouble if it switches in, as Scizor can't deal decent damage to it after Intimidate. Defensive Garchomp takes advantage of its contact-forcing moves, forcing Scizor to make a hard switch to avoid Rough Skin/Rocky Helmet, losing a lot of momentum. Finally, Pinsir's raw power can rip through Scizor utterly.
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Punch Bunbun (Azumarill) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
Role: Wallbreaker, potential sweeper (usually not counted on)
Azumarill's raw power doesn't need to be restated. 172 HP gives it enough bulk to survive Heatran's Flash Cannon, Scizor's Bullet Punch, and other common neutral hits. Max attack is chosen to deal the most possible damage, and 84 speed allows it to outspeed uninvested mons such as Clefable and Sylveon, among others. Choice Band was chosen over the general Sitrus Berry set, as while cremating the entire meta with 1744 attack is a beautiful thing to conceive, the Banded set has the benefit of being able to deal great damage with no set up or self harm.
Play Rough is, of course, Azumarill's primary damage source, heavily damaging anything that doesn't resist it (and sometimes even a resistance won't prevent a 2HKO). Waterfall is used to deal similar damage to anything that resists Play Rough, and taking out Landorus, Gliscor, Heatran, and Hippowdon. Aqua Jet is used to pick off weakened threats, as well as quickly dispatching frail Pokemon that are weak to it, such as Diancie or Excadrill. Finally, Superpower is used for some added coverage against beasts such as Ferrothorn, Magnezone and Tyranitar, if Play Rough somehow won't cover it.
Struggles against: Venusaur-M completely walls this, to say the least. Manetric-M and Thundurus can easily kill Azu, and Sableye (once again) neuters it with WoW. Rotom-W can do the same, but it must switch in after a Mon has fainted, or risk taking heavy damage. Finally, Metagross-M can out-bulk most of its moves and nail back with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch.
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Blood Rockfu (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earth Power
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Diamond Storm
Role: Sweeper
Diancie has to be one of my favorite Pokemon due to its extreme speed, massive power, and possessing the best ability in the game to top it off. My team had a pretty big weakness to Sableye, so I decided to answer it with this. Max Special Attack and Speed were chosen to outspeed and outdamage as much as possible. Although it does possess Diamond Storm, that is purely for coverage purposes, so little was invested in Attack.
Moonblast is the primary move here, similar to Azumarill's Play Rough, with the benefit of never missing (except in extremely rare cases, such as someone deciding to get lucky with Acupressure). It's even powerful enough to 2HKO Excadrill, provided that it's an Air Balloon set. Earth Power is Diancie's most important coverage move, letting it obliterate Heatran, as well as heavily damaging or beating enemy Diancie, Metagross, Magnezone, Excadrill and Klefki. After being split between Psychic or HP Fire, I decided on the former, as it beats out Gengar and Venusaur, and allows Diancie to speedtie other 110 threats. Finally, Diamond Storm is a nifty tool that lets Diancie take out Charizard-Y and Talonflame, deal heavy damage to Charizard-X and Thundurus, heavily damage Altaria if it hasn't gone Mega, and provides a good way to finish off weakened mons, taking out a threat while giving a high chance to a defense boost.
Struggles with: Scizor and Medicham-Mega will always beat this with Bullet Punch. Scarfed mons such as Landorus, Kyurem-B, Jirachi and Keldeo will put it in its place quickly. Manaphy can bulk a hit and reply with Surf, and Rotom-W can do much the same. Serperior is Diancie's worst threat, as it can outspeed Diancie, 1HKO'ing it while boosting itself as well.
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Bravest Bird (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Role: Revenge Killer, backup Sweeper
Talonflame's role is to pick off weakened threats, and then switch to something else. However, should the opportunity arise, a prediction will lead into a SD, giving it all it needs to sweep. Max attack was chosen to deal as much damage as possible, as Talonflame's attack in general is rather lacking. Max Speed lets it go before enemy Talonflame, which can be necessary to secure a sweep. Sharp Beak is chosen to boost Brave Bird's damage, as while Life Orb is promising to give Flare Blitz a similar boost, Sharp Beak is preferable to give it more survival factor. (Nothing hurts more than 1HKO'ing yourself from a Rocky-Helmet Ferrothorn from sheer recoil)
Brave Bird is the primary move, abusing Gale Wings brilliantly to slam itself into any weakened threat, as well as things weak to it, such as Conkeldurr or Venusaur. Flare Blitz is to use its other STAB, nuking Ferrothorn and Scizor, among other things. Swords Dance was chosen so that, when the opportunity arises, Talonflame's role instantly changes from a basic revenge killer to a straight up sweeper. Roost is used to heal off Recoil damage, however, it's only used occasionally.
Struggles with: Heatran and Tyranitar completely wall it, Tyranitar especially, which can strike it hard with Pursuit, or even worse, set up a Dragon Dance. Bisharp is a tricky one, as a Pokemon all about mindgames should be: Risking a switch could result in something losing their item, but going for the hit could result in Sucker Punch, which will kill Talon even if it's at full health (remember, recoil). Clefable and the niche Quagsire can stop it even if it has a Swords Dance going, Quag especially seeing as it has the water type (considering it's NU, though, that doesn't seem to be a very big worry). Hippowdon walls it and can finish it off with Stone Edge if it runs it, and while they aren't going to be striking back, Ferrothorn and Garchomp will make Talonflame destroy itself through raw recoil.
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STAR PLATINUM (Hoopa-Unbound) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
Happiness: 0
EVs: 140 Atk / 116 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Psychic
Role: Wallbreaker
Hoopa is strong, indeed! With max Speed to ensure it can outspeed as much as possible, 140 Attack to aid in defeating most Fairies, and 116 Special Attack to bolster its STABS a good deal. Life Orb was chosen so that Hoopa can deal the most damage possible without being locked in a move (with 60 Defense, it's not living long anyway)
Dark Pulse was chosen over Hyperspace Fury, to nail Metagross and Lati@s, as well as Gliscor. Gunk Shot is what I like to call the Flying F-Bomb to all fairies in this game, and coming from a 391 stat, it completely obliterates anything not named Klefki. Drain Punch gives Hoopa some durability, and hurts Tyranitar, Heatran and Ferrothorn heavily. Psychic is Hoopa's main attack, destroying many threats effortlessly, and god forbid if RNGesus looks down upon you and you get a Special Defense drop on your only counter
Struggles against: The move U-Turn in general will always 1HKO it, even if there aren't any Atk EV's in place. Priority moves put Hoopa in his place quickly, and any physical mon faster than it will always beat it Hoopa follows the Yoda method of "Do or do not".
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So there you have it, a team held together entirely by bad nicknames. The team has went through many changes (Diancie's 4th moveslot, Scizor used to be a Bisharp), and I'd like help on pinpointing any other flaws in it. Thank you very much in advance.
If there's a decline in quality during this, that's likely because I wrote this at 2 AM and it took 2 hours longer than it should have
This here's my Hyper Offense team. I worked hard on it, and played with it plenty of times, but I know that sometimes, there are just times where I'm completely decimated by a Pokemon, but I don't really know how to beat off specific threats without radically changing my team, which is why I made this thread.
So without further ado, the 'mons themselves.
Graveller (Azelf) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
Role: Lead
A blast from Gen IV's past, I still find Azelf particularly great at its job. I chosen max speed so I can outspeed common Rocks leads such as Garchomp and Landorus, and max Attack to deal the most possible damage while exploding. Focus Sash is chosen to almost always give it a turn to set up Rocks.
For the most part, it's going to set up rocks and then explode to take out whatever its facing, or at least heavily damaging it while maintaining momentum. When faced with a Scizor, Skarmory or Ferrothorn, Flamethrower does a good job at beating them out, especially if they have to switch in on rocks. Taunt is used to shut down other Rock leads such as the before-mentioned Garchomp and Landorus, as well as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, and Heatran, among others.
Struggles against: Thundurus, Sableye (both Mega or otherwise) and the occasional Whimsicott completely shut it down, which is an awful thing as a lead. Tyranitar can deal enough damage with any Dark move, and let the resulting Sand damage finish it off. Fake-Out Weavile and Lopunny-Mega are guaranteed to finish it off before it can do anything, no matter how bad the opponent is. Lastly, Starmie is a shaky threat, as depending on the Speed Tie's favor, I could either end up with the Starmie dead and rocks up, or I could lose Azelf completely, with Starmie's only damage being possibly from Life Orb.
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Sockpuppet account (Scizor) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
Role: Pivot
Scizor is an excellent pivot, being able to switch into anything it resists or takes little damage from, and then U-Turn out on switch. 248 in HP helps it bulk even better, while max Attack lets it hit as hard as possible. Band is chosen to maximize damage even further.
While pivots in general seem to be redundant on a Hyper Offense team, I feel Scizor deserves its place here, as while that's its general purpose, it can still deal heavy damage if need be. Bullet Punch is a fantastic move that completely floors Diancie, as well as dealing heavy damage to other Fairies or defensively weak threats such as Hoopa-Unbound. Pursuit can be used to trap annoying Psychics such as Celebi, Metagross, and Starmie, as well as being able to pick off the ever-so-present Gengar. Superpower rounds off the set by smashing through Heatran, Ferrothorn and especially Chansey.
Struggles with: There's no need to mention any Fire types, as their advantage is obvious. Sableye can ruin it with Will-O-Wisp, turning it into nothing but fodder. Rotom is similarly annoying, and resists Bullet Punch as well. Keldeo resists 3/4 of its moves and can take advantage of the fourth. Landorus can give it trouble if it switches in, as Scizor can't deal decent damage to it after Intimidate. Defensive Garchomp takes advantage of its contact-forcing moves, forcing Scizor to make a hard switch to avoid Rough Skin/Rocky Helmet, losing a lot of momentum. Finally, Pinsir's raw power can rip through Scizor utterly.
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Punch Bunbun (Azumarill) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
Role: Wallbreaker, potential sweeper (usually not counted on)
Azumarill's raw power doesn't need to be restated. 172 HP gives it enough bulk to survive Heatran's Flash Cannon, Scizor's Bullet Punch, and other common neutral hits. Max attack is chosen to deal the most possible damage, and 84 speed allows it to outspeed uninvested mons such as Clefable and Sylveon, among others. Choice Band was chosen over the general Sitrus Berry set, as while cremating the entire meta with 1744 attack is a beautiful thing to conceive, the Banded set has the benefit of being able to deal great damage with no set up or self harm.
Play Rough is, of course, Azumarill's primary damage source, heavily damaging anything that doesn't resist it (and sometimes even a resistance won't prevent a 2HKO). Waterfall is used to deal similar damage to anything that resists Play Rough, and taking out Landorus, Gliscor, Heatran, and Hippowdon. Aqua Jet is used to pick off weakened threats, as well as quickly dispatching frail Pokemon that are weak to it, such as Diancie or Excadrill. Finally, Superpower is used for some added coverage against beasts such as Ferrothorn, Magnezone and Tyranitar, if Play Rough somehow won't cover it.
Struggles against: Venusaur-M completely walls this, to say the least. Manetric-M and Thundurus can easily kill Azu, and Sableye (once again) neuters it with WoW. Rotom-W can do the same, but it must switch in after a Mon has fainted, or risk taking heavy damage. Finally, Metagross-M can out-bulk most of its moves and nail back with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch.
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Blood Rockfu (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earth Power
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Diamond Storm
Role: Sweeper
Diancie has to be one of my favorite Pokemon due to its extreme speed, massive power, and possessing the best ability in the game to top it off. My team had a pretty big weakness to Sableye, so I decided to answer it with this. Max Special Attack and Speed were chosen to outspeed and outdamage as much as possible. Although it does possess Diamond Storm, that is purely for coverage purposes, so little was invested in Attack.
Moonblast is the primary move here, similar to Azumarill's Play Rough, with the benefit of never missing (except in extremely rare cases, such as someone deciding to get lucky with Acupressure). It's even powerful enough to 2HKO Excadrill, provided that it's an Air Balloon set. Earth Power is Diancie's most important coverage move, letting it obliterate Heatran, as well as heavily damaging or beating enemy Diancie, Metagross, Magnezone, Excadrill and Klefki. After being split between Psychic or HP Fire, I decided on the former, as it beats out Gengar and Venusaur, and allows Diancie to speedtie other 110 threats. Finally, Diamond Storm is a nifty tool that lets Diancie take out Charizard-Y and Talonflame, deal heavy damage to Charizard-X and Thundurus, heavily damage Altaria if it hasn't gone Mega, and provides a good way to finish off weakened mons, taking out a threat while giving a high chance to a defense boost.
Struggles with: Scizor and Medicham-Mega will always beat this with Bullet Punch. Scarfed mons such as Landorus, Kyurem-B, Jirachi and Keldeo will put it in its place quickly. Manaphy can bulk a hit and reply with Surf, and Rotom-W can do much the same. Serperior is Diancie's worst threat, as it can outspeed Diancie, 1HKO'ing it while boosting itself as well.
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Bravest Bird (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Role: Revenge Killer, backup Sweeper
Talonflame's role is to pick off weakened threats, and then switch to something else. However, should the opportunity arise, a prediction will lead into a SD, giving it all it needs to sweep. Max attack was chosen to deal as much damage as possible, as Talonflame's attack in general is rather lacking. Max Speed lets it go before enemy Talonflame, which can be necessary to secure a sweep. Sharp Beak is chosen to boost Brave Bird's damage, as while Life Orb is promising to give Flare Blitz a similar boost, Sharp Beak is preferable to give it more survival factor. (Nothing hurts more than 1HKO'ing yourself from a Rocky-Helmet Ferrothorn from sheer recoil)
Brave Bird is the primary move, abusing Gale Wings brilliantly to slam itself into any weakened threat, as well as things weak to it, such as Conkeldurr or Venusaur. Flare Blitz is to use its other STAB, nuking Ferrothorn and Scizor, among other things. Swords Dance was chosen so that, when the opportunity arises, Talonflame's role instantly changes from a basic revenge killer to a straight up sweeper. Roost is used to heal off Recoil damage, however, it's only used occasionally.
Struggles with: Heatran and Tyranitar completely wall it, Tyranitar especially, which can strike it hard with Pursuit, or even worse, set up a Dragon Dance. Bisharp is a tricky one, as a Pokemon all about mindgames should be: Risking a switch could result in something losing their item, but going for the hit could result in Sucker Punch, which will kill Talon even if it's at full health (remember, recoil). Clefable and the niche Quagsire can stop it even if it has a Swords Dance going, Quag especially seeing as it has the water type (considering it's NU, though, that doesn't seem to be a very big worry). Hippowdon walls it and can finish it off with Stone Edge if it runs it, and while they aren't going to be striking back, Ferrothorn and Garchomp will make Talonflame destroy itself through raw recoil.
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STAR PLATINUM (Hoopa-Unbound) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
Happiness: 0
EVs: 140 Atk / 116 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Psychic
Role: Wallbreaker
Hoopa is strong, indeed! With max Speed to ensure it can outspeed as much as possible, 140 Attack to aid in defeating most Fairies, and 116 Special Attack to bolster its STABS a good deal. Life Orb was chosen so that Hoopa can deal the most damage possible without being locked in a move (with 60 Defense, it's not living long anyway)
Dark Pulse was chosen over Hyperspace Fury, to nail Metagross and Lati@s, as well as Gliscor. Gunk Shot is what I like to call the Flying F-Bomb to all fairies in this game, and coming from a 391 stat, it completely obliterates anything not named Klefki. Drain Punch gives Hoopa some durability, and hurts Tyranitar, Heatran and Ferrothorn heavily. Psychic is Hoopa's main attack, destroying many threats effortlessly, and god forbid if RNGesus looks down upon you and you get a Special Defense drop on your only counter
Struggles against: The move U-Turn in general will always 1HKO it, even if there aren't any Atk EV's in place. Priority moves put Hoopa in his place quickly, and any physical mon faster than it will always beat it Hoopa follows the Yoda method of "Do or do not".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have it, a team held together entirely by bad nicknames. The team has went through many changes (Diancie's 4th moveslot, Scizor used to be a Bisharp), and I'd like help on pinpointing any other flaws in it. Thank you very much in advance.
If there's a decline in quality during this, that's likely because I wrote this at 2 AM and it took 2 hours longer than it should have
