--Introduction--
Hey Everyone,
As you can probably tell already, this is my very first RMT, and actually my first post on the Smogon forums. I enjoy competitive Pokemon battling quite a bit, though I am more of a casual player, and I haven't been extremely successful on the ladder.
I used to ladder on the Smogon Server, but I'm currently on the Pokemon Online one - however, for the sake of ease and competitive spirit, I'd like any raters to rate my team based on Smogon standards (I hope to return to the server some time, but my IP Address from home was banned...it's a long story. Basically, a random player asked if anyone in the chat was under 13, and I said something along the lines of "ya im 8 and wat is this", which resulted in a permanent ban
. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as well- I'm not actually 8 years old - but my primary concern is improving my team).
ANYHOW, on to the team!
--Team Building Process--
To start things off, I wanted to use a theoretical combination of mine - Tyranitar and Terrakion. Both are monstrously powerful pokemon, and although they share many weaknesses because of their rock typing, they support each other as well (Tyranitar boosts Terrakion's SpDef in the sand, and helps weaken counters for it). I decided to use a Choice Banded Tyranitar, and a Choice Scarfed Terrakion. Tyranitar's massive attack weakened many of Terrakion's so called counters to the point where an extremely speedy Terrakion could clean up. Tyranitar's sand also acted as a countermeasure against other weather teams, and provided some defense in that regard.
I then added Gastrodon who served as a decent check against most rain teams. He also helps stop those annoying Volt Switch spammers, and can effectively deal with most Rotom-W (THE most annoying poke in the metagame, for me - it's just so whorey and bothers me...). Furthermore, his natural SpDef bulk allowed me to use him as a general counter against things like Scarf Hydregion, and most special attackers. A very solid asset to my team.
Skarmory was added to help mitigate physical attackers, and serve as a check against monsters like Haxorus. It also gave me a valuable pHazer and a spiker, which helped create the passive damage needed for Tyranitar and Terrakion to tear through teams.
Heatran was added as a Stealth Rock user and a general check against Sun teams, helping against threats like Volcarona. Celebi served as another check against Rain teams, and helped patch up some synergy weaknesses in the team, forming the infamous CeleTran core with Heatran. This was the first version of the team.
This is my current version of the team. I swapped Tyranitar for Banded Dragonite, as I wanted to maintain the raw power while adding priority to the team. Dragonite can still crush walls with his 600+ attack, while providing a one time check to stat boosters as well. I also noticed I was extremely weak to entry hazards, and swapped my Skarmory for a Forretress - although I lost instant recovery and a pHazer, I gained rapid spin and toxic spikes. My team is far from perfect though, so I'd really like your help in making this better!
--The Team Itself--
Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 180 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Waterfall
- ExtremeSpeed
Dragonite is an extremely powerful and useful member of the team. He acts as an excellent check against Sun teams in general, and has raw power. I chose to use Fire Punch and Waterfall to abuse opposing weather teams, and for general coverage. Furthermore, Fire Punch tends to hit the incoming steel types hard, and with Waterfall hitting Heatran, I have unresisted type coverage. Extremespeed is there for super powerful priority, and Outrage for decimating anything with a STAB . Although he can be worn down easily, he's a powerful member of the team, though I have considered changing him for the DD set at times.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
Scarfed Terrakion has been an amazing late game cleaner, and a general check against boosting sweepers. He hits an amazing speed stat, and is still an extremely powerful pokemon even without a life orb or choice band. Also, between Dragonite and Terrakion, I can use an effective "1-2 punch" strategy to defeat most opponents. Dragonite can Extremespeed, and then Terrakion can come in and clean up the weakened opponents. I am Adamant for the extra power, but I am seriously considering switching to Jolly for the sake of outspeeding Modest Max Speed Venusaur by one point. Venusaur is a dangerous threat to my team, and having Terrakion outspeed him would help, even with a power boost. Thoughts on this would help.
Forretress (M) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Payback
Forretress is a standard physical wall, entry hazard user, and spinner. I'll normally assess which of the two hazards are more valuable with Team Preview, and proceed to set those up over the course of the match. Forretress can also handily wall things like Haxorus, and provides me with a Sturdy (pun intended) physical wall. Rapid spin is a significant help, and is almost always my top priority with him, to preserve Dragonite's multiscale. Payback is to hit spinblocking ghosts, though I frankly don't find myself using it much.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SAtk / 36 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Celebi is a unique pokemon, and it's meteoric rise is certainly justified. Oftentimes, I find HP fire somewhat lackluster, but with several nasty plot boosts, it can still dent things like Jirachi and KO pesky Scizors, Ferrothorns, and Forretresses. Outspeeding Scizor and KOing with HP fire has netted quite a few surprise KOs. The EVs are designed to give power and bulk (as noted from the analysis), and Celebi is often a useful tool against rain teams. I often use Celebi as a secondary check to Rotom-W, who can either trick or use a surprise HP Grass on Gastrodon. Between the two of them, it's effectively neutered. Politoed and Tyranitar both take heavy damage from Giga Drain, and the HP healed is a nice bonus. I tend to have Gyrados problems, but Celebi can also check non-bounce variants.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Heatran is awesome. Air Balloon provides many opportunities for me to switch in, and the special type coverage is just amazing. I'll surprise dragons and gliscor with HP Ice, and Fire Blast/Earth Power are just generally powerful and useful moves to have. Although it isn't a bulky varient, Heatran's natural bulk often allows me to set up Stealth Rock, and he singlehandedly threatens most sun teams. Oftentimes, I'll lead with Heatran, no matter what the situation. Against rain teams who often lead with Politoed, I'll still lead with Heatran to bait the surf/scald, and switch to Gastrodon to gain some momentum/spread toxic. Between Gastrodon, Celebi, and Heatran, I form an effective defensive core that's tough to break.
Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
Gastrodon is my general special wall, and does a handy job of walling major threats. Special Dragonite Varients, Hydregion, Starmie, Rotom-W, Latias, etc. are all handily dealt with by Gastrodon. I believe he can survive a specs Latios Draco Meteor, recover up, and then survive the -2 one as a testament to his bulk. He spreads toxic and wears down bulky threats, while still having some offensive prowess. I have considered putting ice beam on him, but I just don't know what to replace, or anything for that matter. He's also the third part of my defensive core.
--Threat List--
It's been hard to isolate my threats, but some well built rain stall teams are tough for me to break. Gyrados and Venusaur tend to be powerful threats in their respective weathers, and powerful fighting types also cause a bit of trouble. Any help in isolating threats would be appreciated, since it's hard for me to focus on specific things.
I'm very flexible, and I am willing to change any member of the team, though I hope the purpose of the team has been made clear. I essentially use a core of Gastrodon, Celebi, Heatran, and Forretress to set up entry hazards and wear down opposing threats. Afterwards, Terrakion and Dragonite can come in and clean up, and also check dangerous threats in the process.
I peaked at around 1300 on the Smogon Server, with some casual games, though I haven't had much time to invest seriously. I might have been able to go higher, but not much higher, for I did run into teams that were much better than mine. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you all for taking the time to read this.
I AM
Hey Everyone,
As you can probably tell already, this is my very first RMT, and actually my first post on the Smogon forums. I enjoy competitive Pokemon battling quite a bit, though I am more of a casual player, and I haven't been extremely successful on the ladder.
I used to ladder on the Smogon Server, but I'm currently on the Pokemon Online one - however, for the sake of ease and competitive spirit, I'd like any raters to rate my team based on Smogon standards (I hope to return to the server some time, but my IP Address from home was banned...it's a long story. Basically, a random player asked if anyone in the chat was under 13, and I said something along the lines of "ya im 8 and wat is this", which resulted in a permanent ban
. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as well- I'm not actually 8 years old - but my primary concern is improving my team). ANYHOW, on to the team!
--Team Building Process--
To start things off, I wanted to use a theoretical combination of mine - Tyranitar and Terrakion. Both are monstrously powerful pokemon, and although they share many weaknesses because of their rock typing, they support each other as well (Tyranitar boosts Terrakion's SpDef in the sand, and helps weaken counters for it). I decided to use a Choice Banded Tyranitar, and a Choice Scarfed Terrakion. Tyranitar's massive attack weakened many of Terrakion's so called counters to the point where an extremely speedy Terrakion could clean up. Tyranitar's sand also acted as a countermeasure against other weather teams, and provided some defense in that regard.
I then added Gastrodon who served as a decent check against most rain teams. He also helps stop those annoying Volt Switch spammers, and can effectively deal with most Rotom-W (THE most annoying poke in the metagame, for me - it's just so whorey and bothers me...). Furthermore, his natural SpDef bulk allowed me to use him as a general counter against things like Scarf Hydregion, and most special attackers. A very solid asset to my team.
Skarmory was added to help mitigate physical attackers, and serve as a check against monsters like Haxorus. It also gave me a valuable pHazer and a spiker, which helped create the passive damage needed for Tyranitar and Terrakion to tear through teams.
Heatran was added as a Stealth Rock user and a general check against Sun teams, helping against threats like Volcarona. Celebi served as another check against Rain teams, and helped patch up some synergy weaknesses in the team, forming the infamous CeleTran core with Heatran. This was the first version of the team.
This is my current version of the team. I swapped Tyranitar for Banded Dragonite, as I wanted to maintain the raw power while adding priority to the team. Dragonite can still crush walls with his 600+ attack, while providing a one time check to stat boosters as well. I also noticed I was extremely weak to entry hazards, and swapped my Skarmory for a Forretress - although I lost instant recovery and a pHazer, I gained rapid spin and toxic spikes. My team is far from perfect though, so I'd really like your help in making this better!
--The Team Itself--
Dragonite (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 180 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Waterfall
- ExtremeSpeed
Dragonite is an extremely powerful and useful member of the team. He acts as an excellent check against Sun teams in general, and has raw power. I chose to use Fire Punch and Waterfall to abuse opposing weather teams, and for general coverage. Furthermore, Fire Punch tends to hit the incoming steel types hard, and with Waterfall hitting Heatran, I have unresisted type coverage. Extremespeed is there for super powerful priority, and Outrage for decimating anything with a STAB . Although he can be worn down easily, he's a powerful member of the team, though I have considered changing him for the DD set at times.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
Scarfed Terrakion has been an amazing late game cleaner, and a general check against boosting sweepers. He hits an amazing speed stat, and is still an extremely powerful pokemon even without a life orb or choice band. Also, between Dragonite and Terrakion, I can use an effective "1-2 punch" strategy to defeat most opponents. Dragonite can Extremespeed, and then Terrakion can come in and clean up the weakened opponents. I am Adamant for the extra power, but I am seriously considering switching to Jolly for the sake of outspeeding Modest Max Speed Venusaur by one point. Venusaur is a dangerous threat to my team, and having Terrakion outspeed him would help, even with a power boost. Thoughts on this would help.
Forretress (M) @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Payback
Forretress is a standard physical wall, entry hazard user, and spinner. I'll normally assess which of the two hazards are more valuable with Team Preview, and proceed to set those up over the course of the match. Forretress can also handily wall things like Haxorus, and provides me with a Sturdy (pun intended) physical wall. Rapid spin is a significant help, and is almost always my top priority with him, to preserve Dragonite's multiscale. Payback is to hit spinblocking ghosts, though I frankly don't find myself using it much.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SAtk / 36 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Celebi is a unique pokemon, and it's meteoric rise is certainly justified. Oftentimes, I find HP fire somewhat lackluster, but with several nasty plot boosts, it can still dent things like Jirachi and KO pesky Scizors, Ferrothorns, and Forretresses. Outspeeding Scizor and KOing with HP fire has netted quite a few surprise KOs. The EVs are designed to give power and bulk (as noted from the analysis), and Celebi is often a useful tool against rain teams. I often use Celebi as a secondary check to Rotom-W, who can either trick or use a surprise HP Grass on Gastrodon. Between the two of them, it's effectively neutered. Politoed and Tyranitar both take heavy damage from Giga Drain, and the HP healed is a nice bonus. I tend to have Gyrados problems, but Celebi can also check non-bounce variants.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Heatran is awesome. Air Balloon provides many opportunities for me to switch in, and the special type coverage is just amazing. I'll surprise dragons and gliscor with HP Ice, and Fire Blast/Earth Power are just generally powerful and useful moves to have. Although it isn't a bulky varient, Heatran's natural bulk often allows me to set up Stealth Rock, and he singlehandedly threatens most sun teams. Oftentimes, I'll lead with Heatran, no matter what the situation. Against rain teams who often lead with Politoed, I'll still lead with Heatran to bait the surf/scald, and switch to Gastrodon to gain some momentum/spread toxic. Between Gastrodon, Celebi, and Heatran, I form an effective defensive core that's tough to break.
Gastrodon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
Gastrodon is my general special wall, and does a handy job of walling major threats. Special Dragonite Varients, Hydregion, Starmie, Rotom-W, Latias, etc. are all handily dealt with by Gastrodon. I believe he can survive a specs Latios Draco Meteor, recover up, and then survive the -2 one as a testament to his bulk. He spreads toxic and wears down bulky threats, while still having some offensive prowess. I have considered putting ice beam on him, but I just don't know what to replace, or anything for that matter. He's also the third part of my defensive core.
--Threat List--
It's been hard to isolate my threats, but some well built rain stall teams are tough for me to break. Gyrados and Venusaur tend to be powerful threats in their respective weathers, and powerful fighting types also cause a bit of trouble. Any help in isolating threats would be appreciated, since it's hard for me to focus on specific things.
I'm very flexible, and I am willing to change any member of the team, though I hope the purpose of the team has been made clear. I essentially use a core of Gastrodon, Celebi, Heatran, and Forretress to set up entry hazards and wear down opposing threats. Afterwards, Terrakion and Dragonite can come in and clean up, and also check dangerous threats in the process.
I peaked at around 1300 on the Smogon Server, with some casual games, though I haven't had much time to invest seriously. I might have been able to go higher, but not much higher, for I did run into teams that were much better than mine. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you all for taking the time to read this.
I AM
