This is my version of a mega sableye + talonflame balanced team I've been working on. It's my first team I've created that has gotten me out of the lower ladder. There are a few reasons I've wanted to post this team here: 1. I wanted to know why it's been working so well. 2. I wanted to get some feedback. and 3. I want to know how I can make it better.
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play
Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Will-O-Wisp
Starting off with the duo all-stars, sableye and talonflame! I went with a standard utility set on sableye and a specially defensive set on talonflame. Coupled together, they make a very strong defensive core with a lot of pack to its punch to go along with it. They both cover each other's weaknesses to an extent. Sableye is weak to fairy-types and special attacking mons in general, both of which talonflame handles really well and a lot of times is able to set up on, and in return sableye is able to prevent hazards and handle a lot of physical mons well.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Next up on the team is the draco dropping monster, Latios! It's the life orb hp fire variant to handle steel types a little better. I wanted a mon to remove hazards in case sableye wasn't enough.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Heart Stamp
- Healing Wish
Next up is the wish maker, Jirachi! I wanted a mon that ensures fairies don't get out of hand, as well as just having a great all around mon. This scarf-rachi set allows me to not only check fairy-types, it acts as a revenge killer, momentum gainer with u-turn, or even a fast healing wish when the situation calls for it. Also, I use Heart Stamp as a second STAB to increasw the potential of a possible late game sweep.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Up next on the team is physically defensive Landorus-T. He's here to check zard x and heatran, both of which are huge threats to the previous mons. He's also my rock setter, and my way of dealing with birds in general, which is why he's rocking the Stone Edge. U-turn on a predicted switch, or just a slow u-turn in general gives me a lot of momentum
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Roar
- Scald
Last, but definitely not least, is Suicune! I decided to run the Crocune set in case any set up mons got out of hand, as well as being able to Calm Mind up on a forced switch and become a very scary mon to deal with. Also, Talonflame is able to freely switch in on any grass-types that want to switch in. Crocune is usually able to stall out most water types that try to stop it.
With this initial team, I noticed I was doing a lot better very low on the ladder, mostly due to the fact that a lot of players there don't know how to handle sableye. I did notice a few glaring weaknesses as I came across them:
1. I'm slightly vulnerable to dark type mons, although most are physically attacking mons which I can play around and deal with. Specially attacking mons like scarf hydreigon or special hoopa unbound can cause big problems for me.
2. Electric-types rip through my team. My only way to deal with mega manectric or life orb thundurus was to sack a mon, bring in a healthy landorus, take the hp ice, and OHKO afterwards. This means that everytime an electric type comes in, one of my mons DIE.
So I swapped out suicune for a specially defensive rotom-w. I had no need for a physically defensive rotom since I already had sableye and lando-t, and my only concern were specially attacking electric types anyways. I tried it out, and the first team I encountered was a rain team, which obliterated my hours of hard work.
I then spent a little bit of time to figure out what I needed and what to change and finally came up with this team composition. I won't reexplain mons that I reuse.
Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play
Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Will-O-Wisp
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Roar
- Scald
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
Introducing the first new member on the team, Ferrothorn! It's a standard set with Power Whip to able to check fairy types, as well as water and electric types that my original team struggled to do. I'm also running leftovers with protect for longevity. I'm on the fence with this decision, although I have yet to see any problems arise from this. He has a lot less utility compared to Jirachi, but he does the more important job of keeping my team from falling apart. He also completes a fire/water/grass core with talonflame and suicune, which turns into a very nasty defensive core with massive offensive potential.
Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Memento
Introducing the final addition to my team, Dugtrio! With Jirachi gone, I lacked a revenge killer. And with Ferrothorn in the back, I no longer needed another physically defensive mon in Landorus-T. I thought of putting a choice scarf on Landorus-T, but I still lacked a way to deal with a +1 zard x. In comes Dugtrio, filling in all these roles. I used a natural EdgeQuake combo to combat opposing Fire-type mons and bird mons as well. Sucker Punch gives me some extra priority, as well as increasing the potential for a late game sweep. Memento completes Dugtrio as a very diverse asset to my team, allowing me to debuff an opposing mon and give myself a huge momentum swing.
Final Notes/Thoughts:
1. I do still have to play around dark-types, which I'm okay with doing.
2. An opposing talonflame can potentially become a problem, as my only way of dealing with it is to weaken it with iron barbs from Ferro, and then Sucker Punching with Dugtrio.
3. Agility Mega Ampharos is a problem. My only hope is that I live a hit with suicune and Roar it out. Not the best solution as it comes in pretty freely against talonflame.
4. Latios/Latias is another problem. My only way of dealing with them is to keep my sableye healthy, or weaken them enough to where I can sucker punch with dugtrio.
I'm not too sure if I have any other obvious weaknesses I'm currently unaware of. I'm able to check a lot of the metagame with the combination of sableye + talonflame and the fire/water/grass defensive cores. I'm currently in the 1400 range and seem to be doing superb thus far and will be updating the team as I go.
All constructive criticism is welcome. Also I haven't toyed around with the EVs, rather I just used suggested spreads.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited:
