As you can see from the title, my latest laddering team is in a bit of a slump. It was doing very well and I was slowly creeping up the leaderboard, but now I'm back down to the 1300 range. I can blame a lot of it on hax, if I'm completely honest (burns, crits that lose me the game etc), but there's no doubt that something's wrong. The structure of my notes will go like this:
General Comments: Does what it says on the tin.
EVs: My thoughts on the EV spread of the Pokemon.
Moveset: My thoughts on the moveset of the Pokemon.
Other: Stuff like performance, etc.
Team at a Glance
Team in depth
Gengar @ Life Orb
Levitate/Hasty
EVs: 40 Atk/216 SpAtk/252 Speed
~Shadow Ball
~Focus Blast
~Explosion
~Thunderbolt
My lead, and a good one at that. It kills Tyranitar leads that don't invest a huge amount in SpDef and HP, while scaring away several others. It can't beat Azelf, though :(
The EVs allow for a garunteed Explosion OHKO on Blissey if she switches into Stealth Rock (which I generally set up very early). Max Speed helps against other Gengars and allows me to outpace Infernape. I had just enough Speed to get past Infernape at one point, but I was garunteed to lose all my other Gengar matchups and it wasn't worth it for about 3 more points of SpAtk. The rest of the EVs go in SpAtk, which is a no-brainer.
The moveset is something of an issue. The only things set in stone now are Shadow Ball and a Fighting-type move. Focus Blast is a good move; it destroys Tyranitar (unless they run Max HP and a helluva lot of SpDef) and Steels/Normals in general. Focus Punch is tempting. I haven't tried it yet, though. The 70% accuracy of Focus Blast is pretty shaky as well, which is problematic because if it misses against Tyranitar then Gengar gets owned (or even worse, DD'd against). Explosion is the real Blissey-killer. It also means that Gengar will usually take something out of the opponent's team. Thunderbolt is still on this set, but I'm having doubts about it. It doesn't offer as great coverage as I'd like, and my team lacks an Ice move which is why I think HP Ice might be better here. There's also the option of Hypnosis. However, the new 60% accuracy is a BIG turn-off, as it was touch-and-go at 70%. Like I said, Gengar doesn't like missing.
Gengar is a great Pokemon in general, and he's more than earned his place on the team. He can scare stuff away, blow stuff up and even sweep in a pinch.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Flash Fire/Modest
EVs: 252 HP/16 SpA/240 SpDef
~Overheat
~Stealth Rock
~Roar
~Will-O-Wisp
It might be unorthodox, but I love this guy. Since I already have a great revenge killer in Flygon I changed Heatran's moveset as an experiment, and it really works.
The EVs allow Heatran to take the most hits. Max HP and 240 SpDef EVs really allows Heatran to take Special hits, including survival of Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast (73% max). The rest is in SpA to reach 330, a nice number.
Overheat is for bite. Even though attacking isn't this Heatran's primary goal, a 140 Base Power STAB'd move coming off of 330 SpAtk is nothing to sneeze at. It's a garunteed OHKO on Gengar as well. Stealth Rock setup is important for obvious reasons and this Heatran is a prime candidate for setting it up. Will-O-Wisp cripples Heatran's "friends" Salamence, Gyarados and Tyranitar, amongst others. Finally, Roar rounds out the set. A phazer is pretty important, as it ruins Baton Pass chains and Ninjask.
Heatran is one of the most important members of the team, crippling stuff whilst setting up Stealth Rock and blazing stuff into the ground. It's also an effective counter for non-CB Weavile, unless they're Swords Dancers that have a Life Orb (and even then, there's a good chance Brick Break won't OHKO). The quad-Ice resistance is key to this team, as well, what with Salamence and Flygon. Since most people expect Heatran to be choiced in some way or another, it has great surprise value.
Azelf @ Expert Belt
Levitate/Timid
EVs: 40 HP/252 SpAtk/216 Speed
~Nasty Plot
~Flamethrower
~Psychic
~Grass Knot
Azelf is a good Special Sweeper, but it isn't as useful as the other Pokemon on this team. I can't put my finger on it, but it just can't sweep as easily as I'd like. If Gengar can clear Blissey away then it has a good chance, it just doesn't seem to work too well.
40 HP puts Azelf at 301 HP, enough to survive 3 Seismic Tosses from Blissey. It also garuntees survival from Choice Band Weavile's Pursuit, as long as I stay in. Max Special Attack is a given on a Special Sweeper. The Speed EVs put Azelf at 352, enough to beat Gengar.
Nasty Plot makes Azelf dangerous if I can get one off. Psychic, Flamethrower and Grass Knot hits pretty much everything in the game not called Heatran or Houndoom. I quite liked HP Fighting when I had it, Grass Knot does way more to Swampert though (who I have a weakness to otherwise).
Azelf is usually quite good in late-game situations, it's just not as useful as the other Pokemon. If anyone has some suggestions for a replacement, I'd be glad to hear them.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Intimidate/Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
~Dragon Dance
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~Fire Blast
The dreaded DDMence makes an appearance on my team, and what a fine specimen of a Physical Sweeper he is. I usually save Mence for mid-late game shenanigans, where I can grab a DD and fire off an Outrage to destroy the opponent's remaining team.
Max Attack and Speed for optimal sweeping. I had 270 Speed at one point, but always being outsped by enemy ScarfTrans was no fun at all.
Dragon Dance is pretty much a given on Dragon Dance Salamence, lol. Outrage gets insane power and accuracy. Earthquake destroys all grounded Steels that resist Outrage and Fire Blast is for Skarm. It can also finish off a Bronzong.
As the most powerful Physical threat this team has, Mence is pretty much a staple. I have, however, thought about switching him out for Scizor since Scizor would remedy the Weavile weakness as well as providing more resistances.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Levitate/Adamant
EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Speed
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~U-turn
~Stone Edge
One of the best revenge killers in the metagame in my opinion, Flygon uses his great Speed, surprising power and useful array of resistances to bring something unique to my team.
Max Attack with Adamant is needed to give Flygon that aforementioned power. With Max Attack and Adamant, Flygon can 2HKO Blissey with Outrage and deal more damage to Gyarados with Stone Edge. 176 Speed EVs gets Flygon to 420 Speed, enough to beat Choice Scarf Heatran and several Speed uppers (the ones that rest at 270 Speed). The rest goes in HP to help Flygon take a few hits. Without the extra HP, CB Tyranitar's Stone Edge would have a greater chance of 2HKOing for example.
Dragon/Ground is great offensive typing (as well as defensive) and Flygon gets the moves to use it. Outrage and Earthquake really hurt everything that doesn't resist them. U-turn is for scouting, and it's surprisingly useful. Stone Edge allows me to revenge kill Gyarados, or come in on a Dragon Dance to hit it very hard (unless the Gyarados is Jolly, which is very rare).
A great Pokemon, Flygon is another staple to the team. However, he doesn't have the same insane power as Salamence does.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure/Calm
EVs: 252 Def/80 SpA/176 SpDef
~Wish
~Protect
~Flamethrower
~Seismic Toss/Ice Beam
Special wall. Standard Bliss, doesn't need much explanation. In fact, I'm going to skip straight to the moveset dilemma.
Flamethrower isn't moving from the set. It roasts Scizors who think they can come in a SD up on Blissey, as well as hitting Heracross hard. It's the final moveslot that I'm having problems with. Seismic Toss is a good move in general for Blissey, and I need it to deal with Starmie. Ice Beam however will give my team the much-needed Ice attack. It'll hit the Dragons really hard, and I often wish I had Ice Beam to hit Salamence as it comes in and DDs up.
Problems
Gyarados: I don't have very good methods of dealing with it. If it grabs a DD and it runs Max Speed with Adamant, only Flygon outspeeds it (who can't OHKO with Stone Edge).
Weavile: Only one thing deals with Weavile for sure, and that's Heatran. Swords Dance Weavile has a good chance of mowing this team down if it has Ice Shard. Life Orb Weaviles put me in a similar dilemma, although they can't kill Heatran. Choice Weaviles aren't as big of a problem; Heatran resists both STAB moves and I have two Pokemon to resist Brick Break and one that's immune.
Starmie: If it has Recover, it can pretty much own my team. If not, Blissey can stall it out even without Seismic Toss. Otherwise there's not much I can do.
General Comments: Does what it says on the tin.
EVs: My thoughts on the EV spread of the Pokemon.
Moveset: My thoughts on the moveset of the Pokemon.
Other: Stuff like performance, etc.
Team at a Glance
Team in depth
Gengar @ Life Orb
Levitate/Hasty
EVs: 40 Atk/216 SpAtk/252 Speed
~Shadow Ball
~Focus Blast
~Explosion
~Thunderbolt
My lead, and a good one at that. It kills Tyranitar leads that don't invest a huge amount in SpDef and HP, while scaring away several others. It can't beat Azelf, though :(
The EVs allow for a garunteed Explosion OHKO on Blissey if she switches into Stealth Rock (which I generally set up very early). Max Speed helps against other Gengars and allows me to outpace Infernape. I had just enough Speed to get past Infernape at one point, but I was garunteed to lose all my other Gengar matchups and it wasn't worth it for about 3 more points of SpAtk. The rest of the EVs go in SpAtk, which is a no-brainer.
The moveset is something of an issue. The only things set in stone now are Shadow Ball and a Fighting-type move. Focus Blast is a good move; it destroys Tyranitar (unless they run Max HP and a helluva lot of SpDef) and Steels/Normals in general. Focus Punch is tempting. I haven't tried it yet, though. The 70% accuracy of Focus Blast is pretty shaky as well, which is problematic because if it misses against Tyranitar then Gengar gets owned (or even worse, DD'd against). Explosion is the real Blissey-killer. It also means that Gengar will usually take something out of the opponent's team. Thunderbolt is still on this set, but I'm having doubts about it. It doesn't offer as great coverage as I'd like, and my team lacks an Ice move which is why I think HP Ice might be better here. There's also the option of Hypnosis. However, the new 60% accuracy is a BIG turn-off, as it was touch-and-go at 70%. Like I said, Gengar doesn't like missing.
Gengar is a great Pokemon in general, and he's more than earned his place on the team. He can scare stuff away, blow stuff up and even sweep in a pinch.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Flash Fire/Modest
EVs: 252 HP/16 SpA/240 SpDef
~Overheat
~Stealth Rock
~Roar
~Will-O-Wisp
It might be unorthodox, but I love this guy. Since I already have a great revenge killer in Flygon I changed Heatran's moveset as an experiment, and it really works.
The EVs allow Heatran to take the most hits. Max HP and 240 SpDef EVs really allows Heatran to take Special hits, including survival of Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast (73% max). The rest is in SpA to reach 330, a nice number.
Overheat is for bite. Even though attacking isn't this Heatran's primary goal, a 140 Base Power STAB'd move coming off of 330 SpAtk is nothing to sneeze at. It's a garunteed OHKO on Gengar as well. Stealth Rock setup is important for obvious reasons and this Heatran is a prime candidate for setting it up. Will-O-Wisp cripples Heatran's "friends" Salamence, Gyarados and Tyranitar, amongst others. Finally, Roar rounds out the set. A phazer is pretty important, as it ruins Baton Pass chains and Ninjask.
Heatran is one of the most important members of the team, crippling stuff whilst setting up Stealth Rock and blazing stuff into the ground. It's also an effective counter for non-CB Weavile, unless they're Swords Dancers that have a Life Orb (and even then, there's a good chance Brick Break won't OHKO). The quad-Ice resistance is key to this team, as well, what with Salamence and Flygon. Since most people expect Heatran to be choiced in some way or another, it has great surprise value.
Azelf @ Expert Belt
Levitate/Timid
EVs: 40 HP/252 SpAtk/216 Speed
~Nasty Plot
~Flamethrower
~Psychic
~Grass Knot
Azelf is a good Special Sweeper, but it isn't as useful as the other Pokemon on this team. I can't put my finger on it, but it just can't sweep as easily as I'd like. If Gengar can clear Blissey away then it has a good chance, it just doesn't seem to work too well.
40 HP puts Azelf at 301 HP, enough to survive 3 Seismic Tosses from Blissey. It also garuntees survival from Choice Band Weavile's Pursuit, as long as I stay in. Max Special Attack is a given on a Special Sweeper. The Speed EVs put Azelf at 352, enough to beat Gengar.
Nasty Plot makes Azelf dangerous if I can get one off. Psychic, Flamethrower and Grass Knot hits pretty much everything in the game not called Heatran or Houndoom. I quite liked HP Fighting when I had it, Grass Knot does way more to Swampert though (who I have a weakness to otherwise).
Azelf is usually quite good in late-game situations, it's just not as useful as the other Pokemon. If anyone has some suggestions for a replacement, I'd be glad to hear them.
Salamence @ Life Orb
Intimidate/Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
~Dragon Dance
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~Fire Blast
The dreaded DDMence makes an appearance on my team, and what a fine specimen of a Physical Sweeper he is. I usually save Mence for mid-late game shenanigans, where I can grab a DD and fire off an Outrage to destroy the opponent's remaining team.
Max Attack and Speed for optimal sweeping. I had 270 Speed at one point, but always being outsped by enemy ScarfTrans was no fun at all.
Dragon Dance is pretty much a given on Dragon Dance Salamence, lol. Outrage gets insane power and accuracy. Earthquake destroys all grounded Steels that resist Outrage and Fire Blast is for Skarm. It can also finish off a Bronzong.
As the most powerful Physical threat this team has, Mence is pretty much a staple. I have, however, thought about switching him out for Scizor since Scizor would remedy the Weavile weakness as well as providing more resistances.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Levitate/Adamant
EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Speed
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~U-turn
~Stone Edge
One of the best revenge killers in the metagame in my opinion, Flygon uses his great Speed, surprising power and useful array of resistances to bring something unique to my team.
Max Attack with Adamant is needed to give Flygon that aforementioned power. With Max Attack and Adamant, Flygon can 2HKO Blissey with Outrage and deal more damage to Gyarados with Stone Edge. 176 Speed EVs gets Flygon to 420 Speed, enough to beat Choice Scarf Heatran and several Speed uppers (the ones that rest at 270 Speed). The rest goes in HP to help Flygon take a few hits. Without the extra HP, CB Tyranitar's Stone Edge would have a greater chance of 2HKOing for example.
Dragon/Ground is great offensive typing (as well as defensive) and Flygon gets the moves to use it. Outrage and Earthquake really hurt everything that doesn't resist them. U-turn is for scouting, and it's surprisingly useful. Stone Edge allows me to revenge kill Gyarados, or come in on a Dragon Dance to hit it very hard (unless the Gyarados is Jolly, which is very rare).
A great Pokemon, Flygon is another staple to the team. However, he doesn't have the same insane power as Salamence does.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure/Calm
EVs: 252 Def/80 SpA/176 SpDef
~Wish
~Protect
~Flamethrower
~Seismic Toss/Ice Beam
Special wall. Standard Bliss, doesn't need much explanation. In fact, I'm going to skip straight to the moveset dilemma.
Flamethrower isn't moving from the set. It roasts Scizors who think they can come in a SD up on Blissey, as well as hitting Heracross hard. It's the final moveslot that I'm having problems with. Seismic Toss is a good move in general for Blissey, and I need it to deal with Starmie. Ice Beam however will give my team the much-needed Ice attack. It'll hit the Dragons really hard, and I often wish I had Ice Beam to hit Salamence as it comes in and DDs up.
Problems
Gyarados: I don't have very good methods of dealing with it. If it grabs a DD and it runs Max Speed with Adamant, only Flygon outspeeds it (who can't OHKO with Stone Edge).
Weavile: Only one thing deals with Weavile for sure, and that's Heatran. Swords Dance Weavile has a good chance of mowing this team down if it has Ice Shard. Life Orb Weaviles put me in a similar dilemma, although they can't kill Heatran. Choice Weaviles aren't as big of a problem; Heatran resists both STAB moves and I have two Pokemon to resist Brick Break and one that's immune.
Starmie: If it has Recover, it can pretty much own my team. If not, Blissey can stall it out even without Seismic Toss. Otherwise there's not much I can do.
