Alright if the title didn't give it away this is an aggressive, weather-less team. And a good one at that if I do say so myself. Alright so lets get a look at the team.
Alright so theres the line up. Now lets move onto the team Building process.
First off I wanted to utilize a bug/fighting Core. Obviously Heracross was an instant choice.
Heracross obviously embody's the bug/fighting core aspect of my team, getting powerful STABs for both of these moves. However heracross has a couple problems. Most obviously he's too easily taken care of by physical walls. Next, if I use LO he's too easily stalled out, and can't absorb status for the team for very long. I was able to solve the latter half of the problem by changing up his moveset, but to get rid of those pesky physical attackers I needed a strong pair of special attackers.
This is where Starmie and yanmega come in. Yanmega's Access to speed boost as well as Bug/Flying STABS make him very useful once he's built up. Yanmega however still struggles taking down Skarmory, and gets wrecked when stealth rocks are down. This is where starmie comes in. Starmie easily handles skarmory and gliscor respectively while spinning off rocks for yanmega. However even with these 3 pokemon theres still some useful resistences that I need. First of all my team gets absolutely thrashed by Rotom-w. Especially in the rain where he can fire off rain boosted hydro pumps, and volt switch around. Additionally there's still other problems like like toxicroak behind a sub and volcarona in the sun.
At first I thought swampert would be the answer to all my problems. However he still gets smashed by quiver dancers and can't counter Rotom-W as much as i'd like him too.
Which is when i made the necessary change to quagsire. Quagsire's ability Unaware (ignores any boosts on any pokemon) allows him to handle quiver dancers and even a toxicroak behind a sub at +6 attack. Earthquake lets me handle tentacruel as well who was otherwise kind of a problem.
Next on the list i'd need a rocker and someone who can effectively resist rain boosted Hydro pumps and things of like nature. Ferrathorn was an obvious choice. He cripples sweepers with thunder wave and can even handle jellicent with ease (who would otherwise give my ghost fighters a bit of a problem). 4X grass resist for quagsire isn't so bad either.
And now Scizor handles the rest of my problems. Boasting great attacking power and most importantly a very powerful priority move, he makes a great final addition to this team. He utilizes my bug fighting Core very well and even packs some very nice resistances. He's effectively prevented sweeps multiple times, smashing any dreams my enemy had of sweeping me with an alakazam,terrakion, or even a weakened gengar.
Heracross@Life Orb
Nature:Adamant
192Hp/252Attack/64 Speed
Trait:Guts
-Mega Horn
-Close Combat
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Its the wallbreaking, Status absorbing Extraordinaire! Rest talk set prevents walls from abusing his Life orb and stalling him out while he sleepily fires off LO /Guts boosted Close combats and megahorns. The surprise this set brings is also another redeeming feature of this set. Honestly don't underestimate this set at all, LO/Guts Boosted close combat and megahorns often score ohko's even on pokemon that resist the combo. 64 speed ev's let me outpace a few random slower pokemon, while the remaining HP give this set much appreciated bulk.
Yanmega@Life Orb
Nature: Modest
4Hp/252SpA/252Spe
Trait:Speed Boost
-Air Slash
-HP Ground
-Bug Buzz
-Roost
Yanmega is a highly underestimated pokemon due to his 4x rock weakness, however if I play my cards right I can easily maneuver around this. Hp ground takes care of (BAN ME PLEASE), Tentacruel, and magnezone. I opted for Roost over protect because protect is not only expected but doesn't provide the healing that roost would give me incase i'm being threatened with a stall. Honestly Yanmega plays a vital role in my team as either a softener or a great Late game sweeper. Bug buzz is powerful enough to score an OHKO on rotom - W after rocks damage, as well as many other pokemon. Even tyranitar in the sand is 2hko'd by bug buzz meaning that at best he comes in to take out yanmega after another pokemon is foddered.
Picture was chosen Solely out of nostalgia.
Starmie@Water Gem
Nature:Timid
Trait: Natural cure
4Hp/252SpA/252Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Rapid Spin
-Ice Beam
-Thunder
Alright so first off I opted for water Gem because Life Orb Makes Starmie die too easily while leftovers means i miss out on Certain OHKO's. Water Gem was the best possible solution. It allows me to score an OHKO on forretress (or if he's using sturdy, Hydro pump then rapid spin) as well as rack up some fairly impressive hits on a few other pokemon. Thunder abuses any kind of rain my enemy might bring up and sscores 2hko's that thunderbolt would never get (especially without LO). Rapid spin is self explanatory and really the whole reason why starmie is on this team. Despite the lack of life orb, it isnt unusual at all for starmie to get a nice late game sweep when a few pokemon are taken out of the equation. Another advantage of water gem is that I can OHKO non Special defensively bulky ninetails in the sun. (while the non aggressive variants fail to KO with solar beam).
Quagsire@Leftovers
Nature:Sassy
Trait:Unaware
252hp/252SpDef/4Attk
-Earthquake
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Encore
Quiver dancers, Moxie Boosted mences and Rotom-W all become easily handled thanks to this pokemons great typing and unique ability Unaware. Earthquake takes care of toxicroaks, tentacruels and the like while scald hampers physical sweepers, and takes care of my little fire problem. Finally Ice beam is there to handle dragons and in coming grass types. Encore anything that isnt handled by my other moves and then switch according to the useful resistances my team is packed with. Maybe i'll switch this moveset around a little. Quagsire is definitely a vital Member of my team.
Ferrothorn@Rocky Helmet
Nature:Relaxed
Trait:Iron Barbs
252Hp/88Def/168SpDef
-Power Whip
-Thunder Wave
-Leech Seed
-Stealth Rocks
Ferrathorn is completely indisposable as utility. He spreads around paralysis, sets ups rocks, and provides some (meager) healing with leech seed. Power whip lets him get rid of bulky waters that otherwise bother me. Rocky helmet and iron barbs let me (occassionally) use him more aggressively;softening my foes up before bullet punching with scizor. The ev spread was just ripped off smogon but i'm honestly considering a much more aggressive spread. I wouldn't mind losing some of my Defensive bulk (especially considering the only physical attacks i'm taking are resisted outrages (which scizor can do just fine)) in favor of some special defense or attack investment. His main utility is to setup rocks and handle bulky waters, I often end up foddering him to magnezones or a fireblaster i cant afford to switch somebody else into. So yeah theres a pretty big chance that his moveset/ev's will be shuffled around a bit, but theres a pretty decent chance he's going to be staying.
Scizor@Life Orb
Nature:Adamant
Trait:Technician
252Attk/64Spe/194Hp
-Brick Break
-Bug bite
-Bullet Punch
-Swords Dance
Alright so I played around with this guy and I have to say LO/SD scizor is definitely the way to go. Taking advantage of scizors natural bulk and great resistances It's pretty easy to grab a swords dance or two. I opt for Life orb over Choice Band because I dont like having a 2nd easy target for magnezone on my team. Additionally after a swords dance scizor can easily pull out a late game sweep. LO Bullet Punch is still strong enough for scizor to Immediately threaten terrakion, alakazam, and a few other frail sweepers. What else is there to say? Bug bite after a swords dance is absolutely ferocious, and brick break does decent damage, and (very occasionally do i do this) can take care of a light screen or reflect that would otherwise hamper my sweep. Im not really willing to budge on my scizor layout. Honestly the only thing that could be viable to change around would be the EV spread.
So yeah thats my team. I have a problem with Sun teams (i'd say I lose to about half of them, but those are really the only teams i can't handle that well) and even more particularly venasaur in the sun is a problem. More likely than not i'll be switching yanmega out for some kind of scarfed volcarona or something that can immediately threaten if scizor is down.
Keep in mind im trying to keep a Primarily BUG core.
Thanks in Advance :)
Alright so theres the line up. Now lets move onto the team Building process.
First off I wanted to utilize a bug/fighting Core. Obviously Heracross was an instant choice.
Heracross obviously embody's the bug/fighting core aspect of my team, getting powerful STABs for both of these moves. However heracross has a couple problems. Most obviously he's too easily taken care of by physical walls. Next, if I use LO he's too easily stalled out, and can't absorb status for the team for very long. I was able to solve the latter half of the problem by changing up his moveset, but to get rid of those pesky physical attackers I needed a strong pair of special attackers.
This is where Starmie and yanmega come in. Yanmega's Access to speed boost as well as Bug/Flying STABS make him very useful once he's built up. Yanmega however still struggles taking down Skarmory, and gets wrecked when stealth rocks are down. This is where starmie comes in. Starmie easily handles skarmory and gliscor respectively while spinning off rocks for yanmega. However even with these 3 pokemon theres still some useful resistences that I need. First of all my team gets absolutely thrashed by Rotom-w. Especially in the rain where he can fire off rain boosted hydro pumps, and volt switch around. Additionally there's still other problems like like toxicroak behind a sub and volcarona in the sun.
At first I thought swampert would be the answer to all my problems. However he still gets smashed by quiver dancers and can't counter Rotom-W as much as i'd like him too.
Which is when i made the necessary change to quagsire. Quagsire's ability Unaware (ignores any boosts on any pokemon) allows him to handle quiver dancers and even a toxicroak behind a sub at +6 attack. Earthquake lets me handle tentacruel as well who was otherwise kind of a problem.
Next on the list i'd need a rocker and someone who can effectively resist rain boosted Hydro pumps and things of like nature. Ferrathorn was an obvious choice. He cripples sweepers with thunder wave and can even handle jellicent with ease (who would otherwise give my ghost fighters a bit of a problem). 4X grass resist for quagsire isn't so bad either.
And now Scizor handles the rest of my problems. Boasting great attacking power and most importantly a very powerful priority move, he makes a great final addition to this team. He utilizes my bug fighting Core very well and even packs some very nice resistances. He's effectively prevented sweeps multiple times, smashing any dreams my enemy had of sweeping me with an alakazam,terrakion, or even a weakened gengar.
Heracross@Life Orb
Nature:Adamant
192Hp/252Attack/64 Speed
Trait:Guts
-Mega Horn
-Close Combat
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Its the wallbreaking, Status absorbing Extraordinaire! Rest talk set prevents walls from abusing his Life orb and stalling him out while he sleepily fires off LO /Guts boosted Close combats and megahorns. The surprise this set brings is also another redeeming feature of this set. Honestly don't underestimate this set at all, LO/Guts Boosted close combat and megahorns often score ohko's even on pokemon that resist the combo. 64 speed ev's let me outpace a few random slower pokemon, while the remaining HP give this set much appreciated bulk.
Yanmega@Life Orb
Nature: Modest
4Hp/252SpA/252Spe
Trait:Speed Boost
-Air Slash
-HP Ground
-Bug Buzz
-Roost
Yanmega is a highly underestimated pokemon due to his 4x rock weakness, however if I play my cards right I can easily maneuver around this. Hp ground takes care of (BAN ME PLEASE), Tentacruel, and magnezone. I opted for Roost over protect because protect is not only expected but doesn't provide the healing that roost would give me incase i'm being threatened with a stall. Honestly Yanmega plays a vital role in my team as either a softener or a great Late game sweeper. Bug buzz is powerful enough to score an OHKO on rotom - W after rocks damage, as well as many other pokemon. Even tyranitar in the sand is 2hko'd by bug buzz meaning that at best he comes in to take out yanmega after another pokemon is foddered.
Picture was chosen Solely out of nostalgia.
Starmie@Water Gem
Nature:Timid
Trait: Natural cure
4Hp/252SpA/252Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Rapid Spin
-Ice Beam
-Thunder
Alright so first off I opted for water Gem because Life Orb Makes Starmie die too easily while leftovers means i miss out on Certain OHKO's. Water Gem was the best possible solution. It allows me to score an OHKO on forretress (or if he's using sturdy, Hydro pump then rapid spin) as well as rack up some fairly impressive hits on a few other pokemon. Thunder abuses any kind of rain my enemy might bring up and sscores 2hko's that thunderbolt would never get (especially without LO). Rapid spin is self explanatory and really the whole reason why starmie is on this team. Despite the lack of life orb, it isnt unusual at all for starmie to get a nice late game sweep when a few pokemon are taken out of the equation. Another advantage of water gem is that I can OHKO non Special defensively bulky ninetails in the sun. (while the non aggressive variants fail to KO with solar beam).
Quagsire@Leftovers
Nature:Sassy
Trait:Unaware
252hp/252SpDef/4Attk
-Earthquake
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Encore
Quiver dancers, Moxie Boosted mences and Rotom-W all become easily handled thanks to this pokemons great typing and unique ability Unaware. Earthquake takes care of toxicroaks, tentacruels and the like while scald hampers physical sweepers, and takes care of my little fire problem. Finally Ice beam is there to handle dragons and in coming grass types. Encore anything that isnt handled by my other moves and then switch according to the useful resistances my team is packed with. Maybe i'll switch this moveset around a little. Quagsire is definitely a vital Member of my team.
Ferrothorn@Rocky Helmet
Nature:Relaxed
Trait:Iron Barbs
252Hp/88Def/168SpDef
-Power Whip
-Thunder Wave
-Leech Seed
-Stealth Rocks
Ferrathorn is completely indisposable as utility. He spreads around paralysis, sets ups rocks, and provides some (meager) healing with leech seed. Power whip lets him get rid of bulky waters that otherwise bother me. Rocky helmet and iron barbs let me (occassionally) use him more aggressively;softening my foes up before bullet punching with scizor. The ev spread was just ripped off smogon but i'm honestly considering a much more aggressive spread. I wouldn't mind losing some of my Defensive bulk (especially considering the only physical attacks i'm taking are resisted outrages (which scizor can do just fine)) in favor of some special defense or attack investment. His main utility is to setup rocks and handle bulky waters, I often end up foddering him to magnezones or a fireblaster i cant afford to switch somebody else into. So yeah theres a pretty big chance that his moveset/ev's will be shuffled around a bit, but theres a pretty decent chance he's going to be staying.
Scizor@Life Orb
Nature:Adamant
Trait:Technician
252Attk/64Spe/194Hp
-Brick Break
-Bug bite
-Bullet Punch
-Swords Dance
Alright so I played around with this guy and I have to say LO/SD scizor is definitely the way to go. Taking advantage of scizors natural bulk and great resistances It's pretty easy to grab a swords dance or two. I opt for Life orb over Choice Band because I dont like having a 2nd easy target for magnezone on my team. Additionally after a swords dance scizor can easily pull out a late game sweep. LO Bullet Punch is still strong enough for scizor to Immediately threaten terrakion, alakazam, and a few other frail sweepers. What else is there to say? Bug bite after a swords dance is absolutely ferocious, and brick break does decent damage, and (very occasionally do i do this) can take care of a light screen or reflect that would otherwise hamper my sweep. Im not really willing to budge on my scizor layout. Honestly the only thing that could be viable to change around would be the EV spread.
So yeah thats my team. I have a problem with Sun teams (i'd say I lose to about half of them, but those are really the only teams i can't handle that well) and even more particularly venasaur in the sun is a problem. More likely than not i'll be switching yanmega out for some kind of scarfed volcarona or something that can immediately threaten if scizor is down.
Keep in mind im trying to keep a Primarily BUG core.
Thanks in Advance :)
