Hello, hello, team raters. I've been hanging out on the suspect ladder for a while and I've found myself rather liking this team, so I thought I'd run it by you folks.
~The Players~
Alakazam (Female) @Light Clay
EV Spread: 252 HP/216 SPD/40 SPDEF
Timid Nature
Synchronize
-Light Screen
-Reflect
-Encore
-Psychic
Ahh, poor old 'Zam. Azelf has stolen almost all of his thunder. However, this set remains to be very potent, and very useful for my team as a whole. With our mustachioed friend's blinding 120 base speed, Zam is almost guaranteed to get at least one Screen up. He does a great job at muddling up leads- they'll usually SR as I reflect, if that's their game, then find themselves totally incapacitated with a quick Encore. Then I can set up the other screen in peace and switch out or hit someone with a quick psychic if applicable. I try to keep Zam alive for multiple doses of screenage, but one way or another, he'll get something up unless something goes very much awry.
Ludicolo (Female) @ Leftovers
EV Spread: 4 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
-Ice Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Waterfall
-Swords dance
I don't have many principles in life, but one of them is this: If there is a good opportunity to use Ludicolo, then by god, use the dancing duck. While I haven't run into as much rain as I expected I would in the suspect ladder, Ludicolo's natural bulk and resistances to commonly used moves makes him a valued asset nonetheless. With both screens up, he's almost guaranteed a leisurely chance to use Swords Dance and then start boogeying. As one might expect, he makes an excellent check to many common Manaphy sets- the Calm Minder in particular won't fare particularly well against this fella, especially in the rain. Physical Ludiculo is also fairly unexpected, in my experience- many a time a special wall like Blissey has switched in only to be horrified by the Swords dance on the switch.
Manaphy @Leftovers
EV Spread: 80 HP, 176 SPD, 252 SPATK
Timid nature
Hydration
-Tail Glow
-Ice Beam
-Surf
-Energy Ball
The star of the show, as it were. This Manapy set is offensively monstrous, and disclined to faint, especially with screens up. It is no difficult task to find an easy spot to switch her in and start Tail-glowing up to serve up cute water pixie justice upon any foolish enough to oppose me. With Light screen, Manaphy can even take super effective hits on the chin, especially the energy balls of other Manaphies. Of course, she doesn't like Blissey a whole lot, which is why I have Physicolo and...
Tyranitar (female) @Leftovers
EV Spread: 6 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Jolly nature
Sandstream
-Dragon Dance
-Crunch
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
...this fella. DDtar might have fallen by the wayside in favor of CBtar, but with both DualScreen and Sandstorm bolstering his defenses, along with his ability to scare away quite a few Pokemon simply by being sent out, Dragon Dancing isn't quite as difficult as it might seem. Even unboosted Manaphy surfs can still be endured without effort, and the counterattack is quite resounding. DDtar also has the unique advantage of the element of surprise- by far, most people expect CBTar- and I do nothing to set them straight until he's in the middle of boosting his already impressive attack score. I don't think I really need to elaborate on the offensive virtues of this set- not a whole lot can switch in on it once it gets going. Of course, Scizor is always a bother, and thus...
Magnezone @Choice Scarf
EV Spread: 4 HP/252 SPD/252 SPATK
Naive nature
Magnet Pull
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-HP Fire
-Explosion
Magnezone has served me well throughout my battles as the definitive check against Scizor. Bullet Punch is rather easy to bait- if you see Scizor come in on a weakened Pokemon, there's a good chance it's headed your way. Thus, Magnezone comes in, roasts him, then pops out again until he's needed once more. He's also an excellent answer to the nigh-omnipresent Scarfachi that might ruin Alakazam's fun- if it tricks, Magnezone doesn't care- it's already got a scarf. And it looks quite smashing with it. If it Iron heads- well, barring unseemly amounts of hax, Magnezone will prevail with a few STAB Thunderbolts. (Not that I've discounted the 60% flinch rate, which can be ruinous if you're unlucky.) Magnezone also does well blasting anything with low Sp Def or an electric weakness with his powerful attacks- Gyarados in particular should be wary. The ever-handy explosion is there just in case I need to get something out of the way that my other attacks won't phase ASAP.
Scizor (Female) @Life Orb
EV Spread: 32 HP/252 ATK/224 SPD
Adamant Nature
Technician
-Bullet Punch
-X Scissor
-Brick Break
-Swords Dance
With Life Orb, Scizor retains his huge attack (if slightly less than the CB Variant) and gains flexibility at the cost of only being able to fire off ten attacks maximum. Another Pokemon who loves having screens up is Scizor- with only one weakness and a variety of resists, he'll have plenty of time to SD up and then butcher things before they have a chance to react. Much like the Tyranitar set, this has the added benefit of the fact that most people expect CB Scizor- and even better than misconceptions regarding DDtar, they'll have no way of knowing what I'm carrying until I attack. Many is the time that I've used Bullet Punch and my opponent shifts in something like Empoleon that resists it handily- only to look in horror at the Life Orb recoil as they get slammed by brick break the next turn. This set can also triumph over non-scarfed Magnezones (do those even exist?).
There you have it- the general idea is to set up screens, use my doubled bulk to set up, then wreak general havoc upon my foe. Fast taunters can ruin my fun to a certain extent, but most of my Pokemon are capable of dealing with them as-is. The Electric type attacks Manapy draws towards itself are handily taken by TTar, who has no fear of most non-SE special attacks. Magnezone (and to a certain extent, Alakazam- even with no SP Atk investment, 135 base is excellent and can do respectable damage to most Pokemon) takes out specialized threats like Scizor.
I'm a bit new at this, so I'm not sure if a threat list is necessary or not... If it is requested, I can provide. If you would, rate away!
~The Players~
Alakazam (Female) @Light Clay
EV Spread: 252 HP/216 SPD/40 SPDEF
Timid Nature
Synchronize
-Light Screen
-Reflect
-Encore
-Psychic
Ahh, poor old 'Zam. Azelf has stolen almost all of his thunder. However, this set remains to be very potent, and very useful for my team as a whole. With our mustachioed friend's blinding 120 base speed, Zam is almost guaranteed to get at least one Screen up. He does a great job at muddling up leads- they'll usually SR as I reflect, if that's their game, then find themselves totally incapacitated with a quick Encore. Then I can set up the other screen in peace and switch out or hit someone with a quick psychic if applicable. I try to keep Zam alive for multiple doses of screenage, but one way or another, he'll get something up unless something goes very much awry.
Ludicolo (Female) @ Leftovers
EV Spread: 4 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Adamant nature
Swift Swim
-Ice Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Waterfall
-Swords dance
I don't have many principles in life, but one of them is this: If there is a good opportunity to use Ludicolo, then by god, use the dancing duck. While I haven't run into as much rain as I expected I would in the suspect ladder, Ludicolo's natural bulk and resistances to commonly used moves makes him a valued asset nonetheless. With both screens up, he's almost guaranteed a leisurely chance to use Swords Dance and then start boogeying. As one might expect, he makes an excellent check to many common Manaphy sets- the Calm Minder in particular won't fare particularly well against this fella, especially in the rain. Physical Ludiculo is also fairly unexpected, in my experience- many a time a special wall like Blissey has switched in only to be horrified by the Swords dance on the switch.
Manaphy @Leftovers
EV Spread: 80 HP, 176 SPD, 252 SPATK
Timid nature
Hydration
-Tail Glow
-Ice Beam
-Surf
-Energy Ball
The star of the show, as it were. This Manapy set is offensively monstrous, and disclined to faint, especially with screens up. It is no difficult task to find an easy spot to switch her in and start Tail-glowing up to serve up cute water pixie justice upon any foolish enough to oppose me. With Light screen, Manaphy can even take super effective hits on the chin, especially the energy balls of other Manaphies. Of course, she doesn't like Blissey a whole lot, which is why I have Physicolo and...
Tyranitar (female) @Leftovers
EV Spread: 6 HP/252 ATK/252 SPD
Jolly nature
Sandstream
-Dragon Dance
-Crunch
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
...this fella. DDtar might have fallen by the wayside in favor of CBtar, but with both DualScreen and Sandstorm bolstering his defenses, along with his ability to scare away quite a few Pokemon simply by being sent out, Dragon Dancing isn't quite as difficult as it might seem. Even unboosted Manaphy surfs can still be endured without effort, and the counterattack is quite resounding. DDtar also has the unique advantage of the element of surprise- by far, most people expect CBTar- and I do nothing to set them straight until he's in the middle of boosting his already impressive attack score. I don't think I really need to elaborate on the offensive virtues of this set- not a whole lot can switch in on it once it gets going. Of course, Scizor is always a bother, and thus...
Magnezone @Choice Scarf
EV Spread: 4 HP/252 SPD/252 SPATK
Naive nature
Magnet Pull
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-HP Fire
-Explosion
Magnezone has served me well throughout my battles as the definitive check against Scizor. Bullet Punch is rather easy to bait- if you see Scizor come in on a weakened Pokemon, there's a good chance it's headed your way. Thus, Magnezone comes in, roasts him, then pops out again until he's needed once more. He's also an excellent answer to the nigh-omnipresent Scarfachi that might ruin Alakazam's fun- if it tricks, Magnezone doesn't care- it's already got a scarf. And it looks quite smashing with it. If it Iron heads- well, barring unseemly amounts of hax, Magnezone will prevail with a few STAB Thunderbolts. (Not that I've discounted the 60% flinch rate, which can be ruinous if you're unlucky.) Magnezone also does well blasting anything with low Sp Def or an electric weakness with his powerful attacks- Gyarados in particular should be wary. The ever-handy explosion is there just in case I need to get something out of the way that my other attacks won't phase ASAP.
Scizor (Female) @Life Orb
EV Spread: 32 HP/252 ATK/224 SPD
Adamant Nature
Technician
-Bullet Punch
-X Scissor
-Brick Break
-Swords Dance
With Life Orb, Scizor retains his huge attack (if slightly less than the CB Variant) and gains flexibility at the cost of only being able to fire off ten attacks maximum. Another Pokemon who loves having screens up is Scizor- with only one weakness and a variety of resists, he'll have plenty of time to SD up and then butcher things before they have a chance to react. Much like the Tyranitar set, this has the added benefit of the fact that most people expect CB Scizor- and even better than misconceptions regarding DDtar, they'll have no way of knowing what I'm carrying until I attack. Many is the time that I've used Bullet Punch and my opponent shifts in something like Empoleon that resists it handily- only to look in horror at the Life Orb recoil as they get slammed by brick break the next turn. This set can also triumph over non-scarfed Magnezones (do those even exist?).
There you have it- the general idea is to set up screens, use my doubled bulk to set up, then wreak general havoc upon my foe. Fast taunters can ruin my fun to a certain extent, but most of my Pokemon are capable of dealing with them as-is. The Electric type attacks Manapy draws towards itself are handily taken by TTar, who has no fear of most non-SE special attacks. Magnezone (and to a certain extent, Alakazam- even with no SP Atk investment, 135 base is excellent and can do respectable damage to most Pokemon) takes out specialized threats like Scizor.
I'm a bit new at this, so I'm not sure if a threat list is necessary or not... If it is requested, I can provide. If you would, rate away!
