Alrighty, my last team became outdated, and rather tatty- and after a fairly long break, I decided to create a thoroughly new team. I've tinkered with it a fair bit over time, and have taken into account previous suggestions etc.
Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but please give a justification.
So without further ado, here we go:
The Lead
Heatran@Shuca Berry
Naive Nature; 252 spe, 252sp.atk, 6atk
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Explosion
A quintessential part of the metagame is that a lead SHOULD lay down something that will aid the team, and Heatran does not fail in this aspect, almost always getting down stealth rock before capitulating or exploding. Although, as I have just mentioned, going pop is always an option, whenever I can, I try to keep this Heatran alive for as long as possible.
Heatran forms the first part of the defensive core of this team, with water type attacks being redirected towards...
Mixed Wall/ Wish Supporter
Vaporeon@Leftovers
Bold Nature; 188hp, 252def, 56ap.atk,12spe
-Surf
-Wish
-Protect
-Hidden Power Electric
This is the standard Vaporeon set, providing team and self healing with the combination of wish and protect. Surf is STAB and doesn't need to be explained. HP electric is to smack any Gyarados that decides to try and use vaporeon as set up fodder. I give Vaporeon 12 speed evs to outspeed standard CB Scizor, and dump the rest in special attack to give offensive moves a little more 'fizz'.
Vaporeon forms the second part of the core of this team, combining with Heatran and this upcoming third poke to provide exceptional coverage in terms of resitances.
Subseeder
Celebi@Leftovers
Bold Nature; 252hp, 220def, 38spe
-Leech Seed
-Recover
-Grass Knot
-Hidden Power Fire
This spot used to be occupied by Breloom, but it was simply too frail. With leech seed and recover, Celebi is a real pain in the ass. Grass Knot is really reliable, and HP fire is my best bet against Metagross and Scizor.
The First Sweeper/ WallBreaker
Infernape@Life Orb
Naive Nature; 252atk,66sp atk,192spe.
-Close Combat
-Overheat
-Stone Edge
-U-turn
Physical Infernape is really underrated. It's physical attacks pack one hell of a wallop, and its Overheat it very nearly as power as it's special counterpart's fire blast. U-Turn is really epic on this set, as it wears down counters that may be coming in, and also gives me an opportunity to switch my counter. I am loathe to use stone edge, as the accuracy is a REAL deterrent, but I haven't much of a choice, as the extra power is vital. This thing is really great at forcing switches, and firing off an overheat is generally a good idea, as it's probably going to hurt whatever's coming in (as long as its not Blissey).
The Second Sweeper
Azelf@Expert Belt
Naive Nature; 42 atk, 252 sp.atk, 216spe
-Explosion
-Psychic
-Grass Knot
-FIRE BLAST, AMENDED- USING FOR MORE POWER
Azelf is the second main sweeper in this team, after stealth rock damage, and life orb recoil, this is easy prey for scizor (bullet punch), so I prefer the use of expert belt, with no recoil. Explosion is when Azelf is on low health, and has nothing, or if there is a particular irksome opponent. Grass Knot hurts Tyranitar, and flamethrower for steel types. I was wandering whether I should be using fire blast, considering I'm not using life orb, what is the general opinion on that?
Scarfed Revenge Killer
Latias@Choice Scarf
Modest Nature; 252spe, 252sp.atk,6hp.
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
The standard choice scarf Latias. I had a major problem with dragon dancers before, and this seems to be able too solve the problem completely, either forcing a switch, or revenge killing effectively. Trick screws over walls (read Blissey) who come in to take the inevitable Draco Meteor. Said meteor is for dealing with outrage locked salamences, and is generally an outrageously powerful attack. Thunderbolt strokes Gyarados, and surf is for ground types and Tyranitar.
So that's it.
The main point of this team is focused around 'CeleTranVappy' as it has previously been point. These three cover each other amazingly and can cause over-prediction on the opponent's part, giving me a chance to switch in a sweeper. Of course that's very easy to say, but it can be more difficult in reality :P.
So, there you have it- please leave comments, with constructive, reasoned, criticism.
-EDIT: THREAT LIST-
Orange is a threat
Red is a SERIOUS problem, that should be amended.
DEFENSIVE
Blissey: Ape can generally take it, or at least force it out, Latias can trick a scarf onto it. And if the worst comes to the worst, Azelf can go pop in it's face.
Bronzong: Look no further than Ape.
Celebi: Ape's Overheat and U-Turn really hurt Celebi. Azelf can fire blast, and Latias can smack it around with Draco Meteor.
Cresselia: When played properly, this can really lay down one hell of a beating on this team. My only real options are blowing up on it, or trying to whittle it down gradually with Ape's U-turn. Thank god it's not too common any more.
Donphan: Vappy takes a pitiful amount from the normal Domphan's EQ and strokes it with surf, for the OHKO. The same goes for Latias, taking nothing from EQ.
Dusknoir: Although I have nothing that TRULY counters it, most of the stuff can do a hell of a lot.
Forretress: Ape says hi. Azelf nails it, and Vaporeon can beat it.
Gyarados: Latias really hurts it with thunderbolt, it can try and set up on Vappy, but it'll eat an HP electric in the process.
Hippowdon: UUUGHHH... although perfectly counterable, it brings sand, and my team HATES sand. Stockpile set can really fuck me over. Celebi can generally nail it.
Defensive Jirachi: Ape makes a great switch in, and can force it out.
Rotom-H: This thing can mess my team up, Latias can do some damage with meteor, but doesn't like shadow ball. Ape can hit it with an Overheat. But I can generally play around it.
Suicune: Generally, Celebi is a good counter, but if it gets a few calm minds, i'm kinda boned (isn't everyone!:P) Azelf can blow up as a last resort, Latias does OK with thunderbolt.
Swampert: Although Swampert leads are a pain for my Heatran, Celebi does just fine, as does Azelf (grass knot)
Tyranitar: Azelf must be careful, but Ape does well, a weakened one can be taken by celebi or latias.
Vaporeon: Not a problem, has to be careful switching into Ape, Close Combat can do upwards of 65%. The standard generally doesn't pack ice beam now, celebi makes a fine switch, threatening seeding.
Zapdos I can do NOTHING to the specially defensive one, except maybe hit it with a stone edge, or explode. The physically defensive one is somewhat more easily taken care of, by a combination of strong special attacks from Ape or Latias, sometimes from Heatran. Heatran loves taking heat waves aimed at celebi. The only good news is 25% off every time it comes in.
Offensive
Azelf: The lead set doesn't trouble Heatran, however it can annoy me if it gets up dual screen
Breloom: Ape's u-turn breaks its sub, then go to latias to take the FALCON PAWNCH
Dragonite: I just regard this as an inferior mence.
Dugtrio: Ape is the only thing Dugtrio really hurts, which is unfortunate.
Electivire: Potentially annoying, very mediocre pre motor drive. Even then, Latias can still outspeed it and hit it with the appropriate attack.
Gallade: Random status can be aggravating. But somewhat too slow and fragile to be much of a threat.
Gengar: The only way I can hope to kill is by using Scarf Latias, otherwise I'm screwed
Gyarados: See above.
Heatran: Vaporeon walls it fairly well.
Heracross: When not scarfed, Ape does very well, when Scarfed Latias makes an excellent ceck, but must not switch into megahorn, otherwise it'll be introduced to Mr T's friend 'PAIN!!' Azelf can also psychic into oblivion.
Infernape:Latias outspeeds every variant. Vaporeon can come in after one of my pokes has fainted.
Jolteon: Specsjolt can be a bit of a pain, but it's very frail, and can barely switch in on any neutral move.
Kingdra: Latias is great, meteor strokes it
Lucario: I can generally take SD varieties, Azelf can take an extremespeed... and flamethrower back for the kill, Latias can hope to fire off an attack to finish a weakened one.
Machamp: More annoying than dangerous. Easily managed by azelf, latias' draco meteor hurts a lot, as do Ape's CC and Overheat
Magnezone: He traps none of my team, which completely stops his fun, Azelf can run rings around him, as can Ape, if Scarfed, things can get somewhat more tricky, but Latias and it's monster sp.def can generally take whatever's being thrown around.
Mamoswine: Mamo doesn't bother me too much Celebi generally outspeeds and OHKOes with grass knot. Celebi can come in on an earthquake.
Metagross: Agiligross can be very nasty, vaporeon can generally take a hit or two from it, and strike back with surf, celebi can switch it and try hp fire.
Porygon-Z: This is wipeout, only scarf versions stand a chance, and they take Latias' meteor.
Salamence: Latias revenge kills/ nails EVERY mence under the sun, faster, meteor OHKOes.
Scizor: It's not fast enough to bother me with bug type moves, but i must be careful switching in. Latias takes surprisingly little from CB bullet punch, and can deal a lot of damage back. Infernape kicks it's ass.
Starmie: Latias outspeeds it. Fairly frail.
Suicune: Offensive minded Suicune can pose a largeish threat to me.
Togekiss: Stealth rock is unpleasant, after this latias nearly always OHKOes
Tyranitar: Although somewhat dangerous, I have enough that can cause it considerable discomfort.
Weavile: SR hurts it, but it can hurt me, however scarf latias nails it. SD set is quite a large ptoblem.
Yanmega: Nailed by SR. Latias is ok, surprisingly, I can't actually do much to it after it gets a speed boost. Heatran is great against it, anf vappy can do quite nicely
Zapdos: Annoyance, as mentioned. Sweeping Zapdos fares slightly worse.
Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but please give a justification.
So without further ado, here we go:
The Lead
Heatran@Shuca Berry
Naive Nature; 252 spe, 252sp.atk, 6atk
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Explosion
A quintessential part of the metagame is that a lead SHOULD lay down something that will aid the team, and Heatran does not fail in this aspect, almost always getting down stealth rock before capitulating or exploding. Although, as I have just mentioned, going pop is always an option, whenever I can, I try to keep this Heatran alive for as long as possible.
Heatran forms the first part of the defensive core of this team, with water type attacks being redirected towards...
Mixed Wall/ Wish Supporter
Vaporeon@Leftovers
Bold Nature; 188hp, 252def, 56ap.atk,12spe
-Surf
-Wish
-Protect
-Hidden Power Electric
This is the standard Vaporeon set, providing team and self healing with the combination of wish and protect. Surf is STAB and doesn't need to be explained. HP electric is to smack any Gyarados that decides to try and use vaporeon as set up fodder. I give Vaporeon 12 speed evs to outspeed standard CB Scizor, and dump the rest in special attack to give offensive moves a little more 'fizz'.
Vaporeon forms the second part of the core of this team, combining with Heatran and this upcoming third poke to provide exceptional coverage in terms of resitances.
Subseeder
Celebi@Leftovers
Bold Nature; 252hp, 220def, 38spe
-Leech Seed
-Recover
-Grass Knot
-Hidden Power Fire
This spot used to be occupied by Breloom, but it was simply too frail. With leech seed and recover, Celebi is a real pain in the ass. Grass Knot is really reliable, and HP fire is my best bet against Metagross and Scizor.
The First Sweeper/ WallBreaker
Infernape@Life Orb
Naive Nature; 252atk,66sp atk,192spe.
-Close Combat
-Overheat
-Stone Edge
-U-turn
Physical Infernape is really underrated. It's physical attacks pack one hell of a wallop, and its Overheat it very nearly as power as it's special counterpart's fire blast. U-Turn is really epic on this set, as it wears down counters that may be coming in, and also gives me an opportunity to switch my counter. I am loathe to use stone edge, as the accuracy is a REAL deterrent, but I haven't much of a choice, as the extra power is vital. This thing is really great at forcing switches, and firing off an overheat is generally a good idea, as it's probably going to hurt whatever's coming in (as long as its not Blissey).
The Second Sweeper
Azelf@Expert Belt
Naive Nature; 42 atk, 252 sp.atk, 216spe
-Explosion
-Psychic
-Grass Knot
-FIRE BLAST, AMENDED- USING FOR MORE POWER
Azelf is the second main sweeper in this team, after stealth rock damage, and life orb recoil, this is easy prey for scizor (bullet punch), so I prefer the use of expert belt, with no recoil. Explosion is when Azelf is on low health, and has nothing, or if there is a particular irksome opponent. Grass Knot hurts Tyranitar, and flamethrower for steel types. I was wandering whether I should be using fire blast, considering I'm not using life orb, what is the general opinion on that?
Scarfed Revenge Killer
Latias@Choice Scarf
Modest Nature; 252spe, 252sp.atk,6hp.
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
The standard choice scarf Latias. I had a major problem with dragon dancers before, and this seems to be able too solve the problem completely, either forcing a switch, or revenge killing effectively. Trick screws over walls (read Blissey) who come in to take the inevitable Draco Meteor. Said meteor is for dealing with outrage locked salamences, and is generally an outrageously powerful attack. Thunderbolt strokes Gyarados, and surf is for ground types and Tyranitar.
So that's it.
The main point of this team is focused around 'CeleTranVappy' as it has previously been point. These three cover each other amazingly and can cause over-prediction on the opponent's part, giving me a chance to switch in a sweeper. Of course that's very easy to say, but it can be more difficult in reality :P.
So, there you have it- please leave comments, with constructive, reasoned, criticism.
-EDIT: THREAT LIST-
Orange is a threat
Red is a SERIOUS problem, that should be amended.
DEFENSIVE
Blissey: Ape can generally take it, or at least force it out, Latias can trick a scarf onto it. And if the worst comes to the worst, Azelf can go pop in it's face.
Bronzong: Look no further than Ape.
Celebi: Ape's Overheat and U-Turn really hurt Celebi. Azelf can fire blast, and Latias can smack it around with Draco Meteor.
Cresselia: When played properly, this can really lay down one hell of a beating on this team. My only real options are blowing up on it, or trying to whittle it down gradually with Ape's U-turn. Thank god it's not too common any more.
Donphan: Vappy takes a pitiful amount from the normal Domphan's EQ and strokes it with surf, for the OHKO. The same goes for Latias, taking nothing from EQ.
Dusknoir: Although I have nothing that TRULY counters it, most of the stuff can do a hell of a lot.
Forretress: Ape says hi. Azelf nails it, and Vaporeon can beat it.
Gyarados: Latias really hurts it with thunderbolt, it can try and set up on Vappy, but it'll eat an HP electric in the process.
Hippowdon: UUUGHHH... although perfectly counterable, it brings sand, and my team HATES sand. Stockpile set can really fuck me over. Celebi can generally nail it.
Defensive Jirachi: Ape makes a great switch in, and can force it out.
Rotom-H: This thing can mess my team up, Latias can do some damage with meteor, but doesn't like shadow ball. Ape can hit it with an Overheat. But I can generally play around it.
Suicune: Generally, Celebi is a good counter, but if it gets a few calm minds, i'm kinda boned (isn't everyone!:P) Azelf can blow up as a last resort, Latias does OK with thunderbolt.
Swampert: Although Swampert leads are a pain for my Heatran, Celebi does just fine, as does Azelf (grass knot)
Tyranitar: Azelf must be careful, but Ape does well, a weakened one can be taken by celebi or latias.
Vaporeon: Not a problem, has to be careful switching into Ape, Close Combat can do upwards of 65%. The standard generally doesn't pack ice beam now, celebi makes a fine switch, threatening seeding.
Zapdos I can do NOTHING to the specially defensive one, except maybe hit it with a stone edge, or explode. The physically defensive one is somewhat more easily taken care of, by a combination of strong special attacks from Ape or Latias, sometimes from Heatran. Heatran loves taking heat waves aimed at celebi. The only good news is 25% off every time it comes in.
Offensive
Azelf: The lead set doesn't trouble Heatran, however it can annoy me if it gets up dual screen
Breloom: Ape's u-turn breaks its sub, then go to latias to take the FALCON PAWNCH
Dragonite: I just regard this as an inferior mence.
Dugtrio: Ape is the only thing Dugtrio really hurts, which is unfortunate.
Electivire: Potentially annoying, very mediocre pre motor drive. Even then, Latias can still outspeed it and hit it with the appropriate attack.
Gallade: Random status can be aggravating. But somewhat too slow and fragile to be much of a threat.
Gengar: The only way I can hope to kill is by using Scarf Latias, otherwise I'm screwed
Gyarados: See above.
Heatran: Vaporeon walls it fairly well.
Heracross: When not scarfed, Ape does very well, when Scarfed Latias makes an excellent ceck, but must not switch into megahorn, otherwise it'll be introduced to Mr T's friend 'PAIN!!' Azelf can also psychic into oblivion.
Infernape:Latias outspeeds every variant. Vaporeon can come in after one of my pokes has fainted.
Jolteon: Specsjolt can be a bit of a pain, but it's very frail, and can barely switch in on any neutral move.
Kingdra: Latias is great, meteor strokes it
Lucario: I can generally take SD varieties, Azelf can take an extremespeed... and flamethrower back for the kill, Latias can hope to fire off an attack to finish a weakened one.
Machamp: More annoying than dangerous. Easily managed by azelf, latias' draco meteor hurts a lot, as do Ape's CC and Overheat
Magnezone: He traps none of my team, which completely stops his fun, Azelf can run rings around him, as can Ape, if Scarfed, things can get somewhat more tricky, but Latias and it's monster sp.def can generally take whatever's being thrown around.
Mamoswine: Mamo doesn't bother me too much Celebi generally outspeeds and OHKOes with grass knot. Celebi can come in on an earthquake.
Metagross: Agiligross can be very nasty, vaporeon can generally take a hit or two from it, and strike back with surf, celebi can switch it and try hp fire.
Porygon-Z: This is wipeout, only scarf versions stand a chance, and they take Latias' meteor.
Salamence: Latias revenge kills/ nails EVERY mence under the sun, faster, meteor OHKOes.
Scizor: It's not fast enough to bother me with bug type moves, but i must be careful switching in. Latias takes surprisingly little from CB bullet punch, and can deal a lot of damage back. Infernape kicks it's ass.
Starmie: Latias outspeeds it. Fairly frail.
Suicune: Offensive minded Suicune can pose a largeish threat to me.
Togekiss: Stealth rock is unpleasant, after this latias nearly always OHKOes
Tyranitar: Although somewhat dangerous, I have enough that can cause it considerable discomfort.
Weavile: SR hurts it, but it can hurt me, however scarf latias nails it. SD set is quite a large ptoblem.
Yanmega: Nailed by SR. Latias is ok, surprisingly, I can't actually do much to it after it gets a speed boost. Heatran is great against it, anf vappy can do quite nicely
Zapdos: Annoyance, as mentioned. Sweeping Zapdos fares slightly worse.
