Instinctive Travels - 1851 and rising

[TPO3]

Intro

Instinctive Travels

Sup Smogon! TPO3 here, normally I troll around the UU forum a lot, but with UU not exactly being established yet as well as all of the new mechanics in OU, I figured I'd give some Pokebank OU a shot. The team here, Instinctive Travels has gotten me up to a ranking of 1851 to date on the PS ladder, but I know it's nowhere near complete. I honestly think avoiding my weaknesses by sheer luck is what's gotten me that high. I'm hoping you guys can come up with some good criticism for me because like I said, this isn't close to perfect.​

Teambuilding Process

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So I hit my boy PDC up on skype one day and was all "man, I wanna make a Talonflame team. See what all the rage is about." He suggested pairing it with Breloom to get things kicked off, since a lot of the crap Talonflame will u-turn out of just get eaten by breloom.

So because I'm a boring shit who thought of a FWG offensive core, Rotom-W was added. The VoltTurn mini-core is kind of cool since Grass-types that Rotom hates get trolled by Talonflame, and Rotom-W is just generally good in this meta.

So the team was pretty weak to dragons, I figured either Azumarill or Togekiss should be added. I went with Togekiss because I hadn't tested it out yet, and I didn't want a 4x SR weak pokemon to be the only switch-in to Grass and Ground.

Aegislash was added next to give me extra insurance against Dragons, as well as Deoxys-N which was running around at the time the team was built.

Garchomp was initially added as the 6th member of the team. I needed something to set up Stealth Rock as well as something for Electric-types and Excadrill. Later though, I noticed Talonflame was really hard to pull of without Spin support. People would just suicide their Stealth Rockers and it would ruin the pokemon I was attempting to build the team around.

Thus, I switched to Excadrill for the Spin support and I was all set for testing!

In-Depth Look!

Katniss (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Trait: Gale Wings
Jolly
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
~Brave Bird
~Flare Blitz
~U-turn
~Return

So Talonflame kicks the team off. I opted for Choice Band over Life Orb/Flying Gem because I really love all of the power it provides. Base 81 Attack isn't the greatest, but when paired with STAB Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, even a mediocre base Attack has the potential to deal a lot of damage. U-turn is here for keeping momentum obviously. I threw return into the last slot because I figured it was the only real option I had. It hits Rotom-W neutrally, and the Special Attack isn't high enough to really abuse Hidden Power Ground to surprise Heatrans. Roost and Will-o-Wisp aren't the greatest options for a CB mon, although I have considered Tailwind for the 4th slot for situations where I can just sac the pigeon and up the speed of my team, which is rather bulky and slow.

I run max speed for the ability to outrun anything below base 125, including Greninja. U-turn doesn't get priority like Gale Wings does, so the extra speed does actually come in handy, unlike most sets. The 4 EVs are placed into Defense for the +2 Extremespeeds. Download Genesect is also going to be nabbing Special Attack boosts anyways due to the 2 base point difference in the defensive stats.

Toad (Breloom) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
Jolly
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
~Swords Dance
~Spore
~Mach Punch
~Bullet Seed

Breloom was thrown onto the team as a starting point to work off of. It beats down Water-types as well as Rock-types and Steel-types that resist Talonflame's Brave Bird and it's got a nice Priority move in Technician Mach Punch. Bullet Seed and Mach Punch are here for STAB, Swords Dance is here to boost attack in situations where my opponent might be forced to switch. Spore is used in the last slot despite both the nerfs to it. I just think 100% accurate Sleep is too good to pass up.

Unfortunately I don't get to use Low Sweep because trollfreak decided to up its base power by 5, putting it out of Technician's boost range, which is shame, because lowering the speed of switch-ins could be pretty useful on a bulky team like this. The EVs are boring, I'm not sure they need much explanation other than "hit as hard and fast as possible."

Voltergeist (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
Modest
232 HP/56 SpAtk/220 Spe
~Hydro Pump
~Volt Switch
~Will-o-Wisp
~Pain Split

Rotom completes the boring and standard Fire/Water/Grass core, but I don't mind how boring it is for how well it pairs with the team. Volt Switching out of Grass-types into Talonflame is great, and Rotom gives me a check to things like Azumarill, Togekiss, Heatran, and Swords Dance versions of Aegislash. Will-o-Wisp also got a great buff to 85 accuracy, so it's fun to abuse that a little bit. Pain Split is nice for recovery and Hydro Pump is just...standard. It gets STAB, it hits hard, and it has decent coverage with Volt Switch, just missing out on Dragons and Grass-types.

The moveset is just the standard one from Black/White regarding its EVs, Nature, and Moves. I'd love to switch them up for the new meta, but I haven't really found a need to yet. The rotoms I've been running into on Ladder have all been really bulky sets that take ~45% from Mega Gengar, while mine seems to consistently take 60+, so I'm not sure what set everybody normally uses but I'd much appreciate it if you could help me out with that.

Glamdring (Aegislash) @ Leftovers
Trait: Stance Change
Quiet
252 HP/4 Atk/252 SpAtk
~King's Shield
~Shadow Sneak
~Shadow Ball
~Sacred Sword

Aegislash gives me a good switch-in to a lot of things that the first 3 pokemon lack resistances to, but the most important ones are Psychic and Dragon. Aegislash gives me a pokemon that consistently switches into Mega Alakazam, the formerly OU Deoxys-N, the still OU Deoxys-S and D, and specially-based Dragon-types like Lati@s. It also checks a lot of physical attackers since it can revenge any Dragons locked into Outrage, and I can half physical pokemon's attack if I don't play too predictably with King's Shield.

I prefer this mixed version of Aegislash to the Swords Dance sets due to how predictable they can be. I'm also not a fan of any pokemon that sets up only to have its strongest attack be Iron Head. Shadow Ball instead gives me more versatility, and a way to keep things like Landorus-T and Gliscor off the field. It's also a stronger Ghost-STAB move than Shadow Sneak, which is great in a tier where Normal-types and Dark-types are barely present, both of which are hit by Sacred Sword.

Knuckles (Excadrill) @Shuca Berry
Trait: Mold Breaker
Adamant
168 HP/124 Atk/140 Def/76 Spe
~Earthquake
~Iron Head
~Rapid Spin
~Stealth Rock

I'm just going to admit to being a n00b here and say I don't really know what the EV spread is. PDC gave me a team that used Chople Excadrill, so just c/p'd the EV spread, kind of just rolling with it. 76 Speed is apparently enough to get by the slower, bulkier versions of Rotom-W running around on ladder, and the HP and Defense was for surviving Mega Lucario Close Combat (with Chople, which is what the spread was originally for) so switching it up a bit would not be a bad idea at all. The rest was dumped into Attack.

I switched to Shuca Berry on this team to have an extra check to Ground-type attacks since the only one I really had was Rotom-W which loses to Mold Breaker. Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin are both used to support the team, SR for the extra damage and Rapid Spin to help Talonflame not get nuked as it switches in. Earthquake for STAB, I opted for Iron Head in the 2nd slot to hit Fairy-types, I prefer that instead of Rock Slide or whatever else this pokemon gets.

Don't Blink (Togekiss) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
248 HP/28 SpAtk/232 Spe
~Air Slash
~Roost
~Nasty Plot
~Dazzling Gleam

Togekiss rounds the team out, giving me a switch-in to Grass, Ground, and Dragon. I took the EV Spread from the OP of the Togekiss thread in Uncharted Territory, and the moves as well. Air Slash and Dazzling Gleam are a decent STAB combination, and Nasty Plot allows them to do a decent amount of damage. Roost is the 4th slot for healing. Pretty standard.

I've toyed around with Heal Bell and Thunder Wave instead of Nasty Plot and/or Dazzling Gleam, but I haven't found them as effective. Heal Bell has been nice for Burns from Scald, but I think I prefer the extra power more. Thunder Wave is situationally nice as well, but it gives Rotom-W and other Electrics a free switch in since they can no longer be Paralyzed. Because Excadrill can be a tad problematic for the team, I've been thinking about either Flamethrower or Aura Sphere for the last slot, but I want some opinions before I switch out of Fairy STAB.

Threats, Possible Changes, and Closing Comments

Like I said in the intro, I know this isn't close to perfect. Rotom-W and Excadrill's EVs could use some help, since I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Mold Breaker Excadrill also poses a problem to this team since I don't really have anything that can consistently switch into it due to its combination of attacks. Assault Vest variants are especially a pain when they survive Rotom-W's Hydro Pump and promptly KO it. Thankfully, most I've seen are either Scarf or Shift Gear, which can be handled with proper prediction and play, but it can still be a pain due to its wide movepool. The only other real threat off the top of my head is Azumarill since again, nothing can really switch in consistently, but fortunately my team doesn't give it much of a chance to switch in.

Some things that stick out to me are Breloom and Togekiss. Breloom hasn't been quite as good in this metagame as I had originally anticipated. With priority gaining a lot of popularity as well as the popularity of Mega Gengar, Aegislash, and Dragons, it's been very difficult to not give my opponent free turns. Togekiss to a lesser extent sticks out because it posess the power to threaten anything without a turn of setup, and that turn is hard to get in since it normally just results in a Steel-type like Genesect or Scizor coming in to exploit its newly found Steel weakness. The rest of the team appears to be pulling their weight just fine, but I'm not opposed to switching anything out if it helps me win more, even the bird.

Thanks for reading, any and all help is greatly appreciated! Really hope you enjoyed the RMT! That being said, rate away!

 

[Kawaii Kyouko]

>Voltergeist

Aside from that, I'd recommend going with MaxMax physical bulk on your Rotom-W. It'll ease up your ways to handle Talonflame, which no matter how much I like to admit it, is one of the threats one have to prepare for.

Technician Breloom just isn't as effective as it was in B2W2, and this is due to Talonflame and Aegislash. I would either go for the bulkier SubPunch set or go for another grasstype entirely.

 

[Shurtugal]

Hey there!

I got a few nitpicks to share with you :)

The first one is with that Rotom-W -- that spread is pretty useless. Unless you're running Specs / Scarf, it isn't worth investing in speed at all. The standard staple set atm is Bold natured Rotom-W with 248 Hp / 252 Def / 8 SpD as that Rotom-W set is the best there is atm. It just has more utility right now with Talonflame and what not being OU. I'd also lean towards using the ChestoResto variant of Rotom-W.

As for your Aegislash, I ran a set similar and I've got to say, Weakness Policy is its best friend. Things like LandoT, Garchomp, Dragonite, and Excadrill can't OHKO Aegislash with +0 Earthquake, which makes luring + KOing them so much easier since WP gives you an entire +2 boost for Shadow Ball!

Excadrill doesn't want Shuca Berry, especially when Iron Head fails to OHKO most EQ users who hit you. No, you want Chopple Berry instead, especially since NP MegaLucario is quite threatening (as well as Gengar). Chopple allows you to lure in Keldeo / Terrakion / Lucario / Gengar with such finesse and ease so it's something you'll want to invest in, especially since it's much more useful than Shuca Berry. Talonflame wants Adamant nature with just enough speed to outrun Jolly Excadrill, because let's face it, Choice Band Talonflame as weak as hell without Adamant (and even then...).

I'm going to recommend switching Togekiss out for MegaKangs since you want something that will appreciate Mixed Aegi's ability to lure in physical walls and Exca's ability to lure in Gengar / Lucario / Keldeo / Terrakion, and nothing appreciates it more than Kangs. I'd go with Jolly, with a standard move set of PuP / Frustration / Sucker Punch / Earthquake since you can beat Skarm and Co. with your teammates fairly easily.

Finally, I'd give CB Scizor some usage over Breloom, since Breloom is not that great anymore this gen at all (which I'm sure you've noticed). You're kind've, sorta Kangs weak if it can remove Aegislash (and it has Scrappy mind games, and if it even gets +2 on anything else EQ will OHKO) so having Zor is useful since Superpower can OHKO Kangs as well as resist its normal STABs. Gengar is also slightly annoying to face, which makes Scizor great for Bullet Punching -- Something Gene / Breloom can't really do too well.

Lastly, with CB Zor, you might want to consider SD Talon over your own, but CB Talon / CB Scizor / Rotom-W make a powerful VoltTurn core, so it's entirely up to you.

Good Luck! (Note: I think this is Pokebank OU RMT, but in case I'm wrong I'm sorry if this is Pre-Pokebank since I rated assuming the former).

 

[Alonsoforever]

What's the point of Return? Hitting Rotom-W neutrally? Isn't Talonflame better off just U-turning against that Pokémon? I think it doesn't accomplish anything, Toxic, for catching an incoming wall (or even the aforementioned Rotom-W), or Tailwind, as you said, are far more useful.

 

[TPO3]

Thanks for the rates! Physically bulky Rotom seems to be popular, so I'll go ahead and switch the EV Spread up to that.

Excadrill doesn't want Shuca Berry, especially when Iron Head fails to OHKO most EQ users who hit you. No, you want Chopple Berry instead, especially since NP MegaLucario is quite threatening (as well as Gengar). Chopple allows you to lure in Keldeo / Terrakion / Lucario / Gengar with such finesse and ease so it's something you'll want to invest in, especially since it's much more useful than Shuca Berry.

I'll go ahead and give Chople Berry Exca a try, although would you suggest anything then for Mold Breaker Excadrill? I guess making Rotom more physically bulky will somewhat aleviate the problem of being weak to anything with EdgeQuake, but Mold Breaker Excadrill will still pose a threat, especially if I remove Breloom for Scizor.

I'm going to recommend switching Togekiss out for MegaKangs since you want something that will appreciate Mixed Aegi's ability to lure in physical walls and Exca's ability to lure in Gengar / Lucario / Keldeo / Terrakion, and nothing appreciates it more than Kangs. I'd go with Jolly, with a standard move set of PuP / Frustration / Sucker Punch / Earthquake since you can beat Skarm and Co. with your teammates fairly easily.

That's an interesting suggestin, that thought had not even crossed my mind. With fighting-types and Gliscor/Landorus out of the way, Kangaskhan would have a much easier time going for a sweep, so I'll be sure to give it a shot. I'll also be sure to try Scizor > Breloom, to make up for the Dragon coverage Togekiss provides. However this does give me 3 Steel-types on the same team, which could be a bit problematic. I've only got 1 fire resistance so it's going to be stressed a lot.

For the question of Jolly/Adamant Talonflame, I'll think about it a bit. I honestly haven't found Jolly Talonflame to be weak at all. STAB Brave Bird/Flare Blitz with Choice Band backing it up has been really potent, even off of its average base 81 Attack. Its coverage moves have been a bit weak (U-turn not even OHKOing a Greninja after SR, lolwat) but I haven't found that of its STAB moves. I might give it a shot though, just to see what happens.

What's the point of Return? Hitting Rotom-W neutrally? Isn't Talonflame better off just U-turning against that Pokémon? I think it doesn't accomplish anything, Toxic, for catching an incoming wall (or even the aforementioned Rotom-W), or Tailwind, as you said, are far more useful.

Yeah, that was what Return was used for. I originally kind of threw it on because I didn't like the idea of Talonflame being locked into Tailwind or Toxic or WoW, forcing me to let something eat a hit as it switched out. However, Return has been rather useless, so I'll replace it with Tailwind to see what happens.

 

[Shurtugal]

Don't you know? Aegislash can live EQ from Adamant Excadrill :)

OK, teasing aside, I can see why you are worried. I just want to point out that technically it should be OK since Talonflame can switch in an OHKO with Flare Blitz (most use SR over Rock Slide). However, it is a legit concern. I'd firstly make your Exca spread 252 / 252 so you can speed tie against opposing Excadrills.

Lastly, I'm going to suggest not using Scizor -- you can you CB Genesect instead. By using a Hasty nature with Blaze Kick, you should be able to invest enough to outrun 307 so you jump positive natured Lucario (in case it mega evolves on you, it doesn't get the speed tier the turn it MEs) and you can OHKO both Luke and Drill with Blaze Kick.

With that, you should be able to moderately check it. Good luck :)