Overview
After taking a hiatus from Pokemon since not so long after the introduction of the 5th generation, I decided to get back into the competitive scene and build a team so I can start laddering again. After reading up some Smog articles, I decided to base a team around DD Dragonite since I found his new ability, Multiscale, to be interesting.
After choosing a Pokemon to base my team around, I decided that I should help Dragonite sweep by the use of lures and a Magnezone. The general way to play this team is to keep up the offensive momentum as well as trying to take care of any checks to physical dragon sweeps.
After taking a hiatus from Pokemon since not so long after the introduction of the 5th generation, I decided to get back into the competitive scene and build a team so I can start laddering again. After reading up some Smog articles, I decided to base a team around DD Dragonite since I found his new ability, Multiscale, to be interesting.
After choosing a Pokemon to base my team around, I decided that I should help Dragonite sweep by the use of lures and a Magnezone. The general way to play this team is to keep up the offensive momentum as well as trying to take care of any checks to physical dragon sweeps.
Knights of the Dragonic Order
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Explosion
- Taunt
One of the lead I’ve been using since the glory days of the DP-era. It basically sets up my hazards, prevents slower supporters from doing their job, and U-Turn does a wonderful job of scouting while dealing a respectable amount of damage. Explosion might not be as powerful as it was before, but it still packs a punch coming from a 394 Atk stat if my Azelf is still alive, which it often is surprisingly enough. Team preview may have changed the lead meta, but this Pokemon still does its job well enough.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
While this may have been put on the team originally to just get rid of the rocks while maintaining offensive pressure, play-testing made me have to use this Pokemon to deal with some of the faster threats to my team which aren’t scarfed. In fact, this star can even net a KO or two depending on the situation.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Terror to Ferrathorns, Skarmories, and Scizors alike, Magnezone usually gets the job of removing those troublesome Steel types. Still, I tend to have difficulty killing off Ferrathorns with rain supporting neutering HP Fire. In fact, I even debated on giving it Choice Specs instead or changing its set to a Sub Charge variant, but I found situation where the speed actually helped me take down some things such as weakened Jirachis. Also, I find Volt Switch a very useful tool for scouting.
Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 64 Atk / 192 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
The main point of putting this guy on the team is to lure in Dragon checks. If Gliscor or some other none-steel physical wall comes in, I DM their faces and follow it up with an Outrage if they still survive. This dragon isn’t going to live for long most of the time, but he usually softens up whatever is blocking a DD sweep.
Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 152 HP / 140 Atk / 40 SDef / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall
- Rest
One of my two DDers in this team. I used this before in the latter stages of the 4th Generation metagame and also seen it in a RMT the Smog showcased at one point. The reason for Kingdra’s place in this team is twofold: to set-up on the likes of Jellicant and Vaporean who would otherwise end most DD sweeps, and to help decimate Rain Teams. That double speed Swift Swim provides really does make revenge killing and/or setting-up a lot easier.
Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roostt
And here lies the centerpiece of the team. This guy can take hits like a champ as well as deal out the damage should he have enough DDs under his belt. Though I intended for this guy to usually appear during the endgame, the appearance of such threats like Latios in less than cloudy skies usually forces me to use this guy to revenge kill something else the blue-and-white dragon offed with a Dragon Type move, leaving me have to sweep the opponent with one of my other Pokemon since Dragonite usually doesn’t live long after revenge killing Latios or similar threats. Still, he does perform admirably if the conditions are right – which they usually are.
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Explosion
- Taunt
One of the lead I’ve been using since the glory days of the DP-era. It basically sets up my hazards, prevents slower supporters from doing their job, and U-Turn does a wonderful job of scouting while dealing a respectable amount of damage. Explosion might not be as powerful as it was before, but it still packs a punch coming from a 394 Atk stat if my Azelf is still alive, which it often is surprisingly enough. Team preview may have changed the lead meta, but this Pokemon still does its job well enough.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
While this may have been put on the team originally to just get rid of the rocks while maintaining offensive pressure, play-testing made me have to use this Pokemon to deal with some of the faster threats to my team which aren’t scarfed. In fact, this star can even net a KO or two depending on the situation.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Terror to Ferrathorns, Skarmories, and Scizors alike, Magnezone usually gets the job of removing those troublesome Steel types. Still, I tend to have difficulty killing off Ferrathorns with rain supporting neutering HP Fire. In fact, I even debated on giving it Choice Specs instead or changing its set to a Sub Charge variant, but I found situation where the speed actually helped me take down some things such as weakened Jirachis. Also, I find Volt Switch a very useful tool for scouting.
Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 64 Atk / 192 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
The main point of putting this guy on the team is to lure in Dragon checks. If Gliscor or some other none-steel physical wall comes in, I DM their faces and follow it up with an Outrage if they still survive. This dragon isn’t going to live for long most of the time, but he usually softens up whatever is blocking a DD sweep.
Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 152 HP / 140 Atk / 40 SDef / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall
- Rest
One of my two DDers in this team. I used this before in the latter stages of the 4th Generation metagame and also seen it in a RMT the Smog showcased at one point. The reason for Kingdra’s place in this team is twofold: to set-up on the likes of Jellicant and Vaporean who would otherwise end most DD sweeps, and to help decimate Rain Teams. That double speed Swift Swim provides really does make revenge killing and/or setting-up a lot easier.
Dragonite (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roostt
And here lies the centerpiece of the team. This guy can take hits like a champ as well as deal out the damage should he have enough DDs under his belt. Though I intended for this guy to usually appear during the endgame, the appearance of such threats like Latios in less than cloudy skies usually forces me to use this guy to revenge kill something else the blue-and-white dragon offed with a Dragon Type move, leaving me have to sweep the opponent with one of my other Pokemon since Dragonite usually doesn’t live long after revenge killing Latios or similar threats. Still, he does perform admirably if the conditions are right – which they usually are.
Threat List:
Cloyster: Pretty much a non-issue as long as I kill it fast enough. Even if it does manage to Shell Smash, I do have Magnezone who might be able to KO it should it be weakened enough and the oversized magnet having enough health to not die off.
Jirachi: Can sometimes be a problem, especially if it runs Body Slam and Iron Head on the same set, but it’s a threat I can usually play around by assaulting it with powerful attacks.
Ferrathorn: Pulling out this weed is child’s play should there be a lack of rain clouds. On the chance that this guy befriended with Politoad, I would be forced to pelt him. In fact, this Pokemon in the rain is one of the reasons I’m posting this team on the RMT forum.
Latios/Latias: I’m putting these two Pokemon together even though I rarely see Latias. These are Pokemon I can easily revenge kill with Kingdra should it be raining; otherwise, I likely have to resort to using Dragonite should the terrain be less than wet. Still, they aren’t too much of a threat as long as I play round them correctly.
Scrafty: A new threat the 5th Generation introduced which I learned of the hard way, namely a fist to the face. Out of all the Scrafty I have fought against, the ones which give me the most trouble is usually the set I have seen the most – Bulk Up with Rest. Since my team physically-based for the most part, I can hardly scratch the thing with most of my Pokemon. And should I try to wear it out with either Starmie or Magnezone, it will just Rest to get back the damage and promptly kill them off afterward, proceeding to sweep the rest of my team.
Jirachi: Can sometimes be a problem, especially if it runs Body Slam and Iron Head on the same set, but it’s a threat I can usually play around by assaulting it with powerful attacks.
Ferrathorn: Pulling out this weed is child’s play should there be a lack of rain clouds. On the chance that this guy befriended with Politoad, I would be forced to pelt him. In fact, this Pokemon in the rain is one of the reasons I’m posting this team on the RMT forum.
Latios/Latias: I’m putting these two Pokemon together even though I rarely see Latias. These are Pokemon I can easily revenge kill with Kingdra should it be raining; otherwise, I likely have to resort to using Dragonite should the terrain be less than wet. Still, they aren’t too much of a threat as long as I play round them correctly.
Scrafty: A new threat the 5th Generation introduced which I learned of the hard way, namely a fist to the face. Out of all the Scrafty I have fought against, the ones which give me the most trouble is usually the set I have seen the most – Bulk Up with Rest. Since my team physically-based for the most part, I can hardly scratch the thing with most of my Pokemon. And should I try to wear it out with either Starmie or Magnezone, it will just Rest to get back the damage and promptly kill them off afterward, proceeding to sweep the rest of my team.
Conclusion
This is a team which generally does well as long as I keep my momentum going. Since the team is generally slow, I usually have to play around the faster threats before I can get them removed. The main concerns for my team are Ferrathorns under the rain and Bulk Up Scrafty.
This is a team which generally does well as long as I keep my momentum going. Since the team is generally slow, I usually have to play around the faster threats before I can get them removed. The main concerns for my team are Ferrathorns under the rain and Bulk Up Scrafty.
