UPDATE 2013/11/12:
Added MCBarrett's suggestions to main post after testing.
So I love, love, love Meloetta. While criminally underused, I think she can provide a fantastic offensive pivot by herself, being able to switch from a special wall (especially with Assault Vest - she just eats special attacks for breakfast) to a fast physically offensive threat.
I fooled around with some gimmicky teams when I got into competitive battling centered on Meloetta at the end of Gen5, but never really had much success. I decided to try to build an actual, honest, competitive team, and this has netted me some success in PS. Looking for input from more experienced folks for feedback on common threats I've been trying to deal with, and things that I haven't anticipated yet due to inexperience/flux state of current meta.
Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 56 Atk / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Naive Nature
- Relic Song
- Close Combat
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
The star of the show, a pretty standard mixed Meloetta. I wanted to use Assault Vest over Life Orb to give her more staying power in the long run, especially for the increase in stall/tank-y Pokemon I've been noticing. Relic Song for STAB and form changing, and provides decent damage itself, with a sleep chance. Close Combat for general punishment - this set works fantastic against Heatran or specially defense TTar, and can do well against other walls that might try to switch in on Meloetta-A (either to absorb special attacks or to take advantage of psychic typing). Shadow Ball works as a great general-use move with excellent coverage. Thunderbolt helps with coverage and to deal with bulky waters (more on this later).
Generally, I find that people can't quite deal with Meloetta appropriately, or at least don't anticipate the form change and stat redistribution that happens with Relic Song. Switching in Meloetta against Gengar or Aegislash is especially satisfying, as she can absorb ghost-type attacks (Shadow Ball or Shadow Sneak) and typically OHKO, or severly punish, in return.
Edit, forgot to mention Leftovers might be viable on Meloetta as well. Wanted to try it first with Assault Vest, and I've been very happy with the results so far.
The next three spots were suggested by MCBarrett, and have worked well:
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 40 Def / 224 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect
- Substitute
Pretty standard SubToxic Gliscor - or the ultimate troll. Toxic, Protect, and Substitute form the basis of the set. He can stall out most non-Steel physicals, and occasionally the odd special. Earthquake for STAB and general attacking. Obviously, some weaknesses against Skarmory or any other levitate steels (?). Hasn't really been a huge issue, but the prevalence of steel typing has reduced his effectiveness over what I imagine it was in Gen5. Still, a great addition to, and has provided some much needed defense to, the team.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SAtk / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost
This monster of a bird has been a huge help against some of the more popular sets that people are running, and generally a great "Panic Button." Plus, if it comes down to it, he can occasionally get the OHKO on Greninja, or at least put him in Bullet Punch/Ice Shard range. Not much to say, priority LO-boosted Brave Bird does huge amounts of damage. Flare Blitz provides another STAB and coverage, albeit not with priority. Went for max attack, but with Talonflame's ability and naturally high Speed, maxing speed didn't seem necessary. The Health investment provides a little more bulk. Swords Dance and Roost are excellent options to use when forcing a switch - one SD boost can usually move Talonflame into sweeping territory, and Roost can greatly help recover LO and attack recoil (and heal of SR if needed).
Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
Rotom-W, how I hated facing you, but what a good swiss army knife you are. This guy kinda does a bit of everything - takes special attacks like a champ with his great typing, great physical bulk (and typing again), debuff physical sweepers, provide status to pesky steel types, and still do decent damage with Hydro Miss. Rest is the icing on the cake, and (with burn) what typically allows me to outlast the Rotom-W mirror. Never comes in and "wows" me, but always does something useful.
Still trying to work on the nature/EVs. Typing this in now, I didn't actually realize he was set as Timid (d'oh!), and I'm not sure the speed gets him much, except in the mirror. I'm thinking a greater investment in Def, with a bit of SAtk might not be a bad idea.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
MCBarrett's suggestion on the moveset here, and bulky Mega-Scizor has been a boon. Defog helps me TurnVolt freely and switch in Talonflame without fear, and Roost adds to his natural bulk and gives him some real staying power. Bullet Punch for priority and U-turn for U-turn (U-turn is awesome).
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
This guy. I needed something to deal with the dragons I occasionally run into or the odd wall, and hadn't really ever thought much of Mamoswine. I figured why not give it a try though - and man, does this monster hit hard. Pretty much annihilates most poke's, and has bulk that can stay in on most things not packing special water moves. While I loved Icicle Crash, MCBarrett's suggestion to switch to Icicle Spear hasn't lost too much damage when I need, while providing sub-breaking power to the team.
Been testing this, and its worked out much better than the prior version. I still have trouble with bulky waters, as neither Meloetta-A's Thunderbolt or Rotom-W's Volt Switch can really dent them enough. Fortunately, both can weather attacks fairly well, and I haven't seen too many bulky waters lately. Rotom-W is an obvious exception, and my only answer is really my own Rotom-W. ChestoResto really shines here, but if Rotom-W is weak/down, I don't have a lot of answers.
Added MCBarrett's suggestions to main post after testing.
So I love, love, love Meloetta. While criminally underused, I think she can provide a fantastic offensive pivot by herself, being able to switch from a special wall (especially with Assault Vest - she just eats special attacks for breakfast) to a fast physically offensive threat.
I fooled around with some gimmicky teams when I got into competitive battling centered on Meloetta at the end of Gen5, but never really had much success. I decided to try to build an actual, honest, competitive team, and this has netted me some success in PS. Looking for input from more experienced folks for feedback on common threats I've been trying to deal with, and things that I haven't anticipated yet due to inexperience/flux state of current meta.
Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 56 Atk / 252 SAtk / 200 Spd
Naive Nature
- Relic Song
- Close Combat
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
The star of the show, a pretty standard mixed Meloetta. I wanted to use Assault Vest over Life Orb to give her more staying power in the long run, especially for the increase in stall/tank-y Pokemon I've been noticing. Relic Song for STAB and form changing, and provides decent damage itself, with a sleep chance. Close Combat for general punishment - this set works fantastic against Heatran or specially defense TTar, and can do well against other walls that might try to switch in on Meloetta-A (either to absorb special attacks or to take advantage of psychic typing). Shadow Ball works as a great general-use move with excellent coverage. Thunderbolt helps with coverage and to deal with bulky waters (more on this later).
Generally, I find that people can't quite deal with Meloetta appropriately, or at least don't anticipate the form change and stat redistribution that happens with Relic Song. Switching in Meloetta against Gengar or Aegislash is especially satisfying, as she can absorb ghost-type attacks (Shadow Ball or Shadow Sneak) and typically OHKO, or severly punish, in return.
Edit, forgot to mention Leftovers might be viable on Meloetta as well. Wanted to try it first with Assault Vest, and I've been very happy with the results so far.
The next three spots were suggested by MCBarrett, and have worked well:
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 40 Def / 224 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect
- Substitute
Pretty standard SubToxic Gliscor - or the ultimate troll. Toxic, Protect, and Substitute form the basis of the set. He can stall out most non-Steel physicals, and occasionally the odd special. Earthquake for STAB and general attacking. Obviously, some weaknesses against Skarmory or any other levitate steels (?). Hasn't really been a huge issue, but the prevalence of steel typing has reduced his effectiveness over what I imagine it was in Gen5. Still, a great addition to, and has provided some much needed defense to, the team.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SAtk / 160 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost
This monster of a bird has been a huge help against some of the more popular sets that people are running, and generally a great "Panic Button." Plus, if it comes down to it, he can occasionally get the OHKO on Greninja, or at least put him in Bullet Punch/Ice Shard range. Not much to say, priority LO-boosted Brave Bird does huge amounts of damage. Flare Blitz provides another STAB and coverage, albeit not with priority. Went for max attack, but with Talonflame's ability and naturally high Speed, maxing speed didn't seem necessary. The Health investment provides a little more bulk. Swords Dance and Roost are excellent options to use when forcing a switch - one SD boost can usually move Talonflame into sweeping territory, and Roost can greatly help recover LO and attack recoil (and heal of SR if needed).
Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
Rotom-W, how I hated facing you, but what a good swiss army knife you are. This guy kinda does a bit of everything - takes special attacks like a champ with his great typing, great physical bulk (and typing again), debuff physical sweepers, provide status to pesky steel types, and still do decent damage with Hydro Miss. Rest is the icing on the cake, and (with burn) what typically allows me to outlast the Rotom-W mirror. Never comes in and "wows" me, but always does something useful.
Still trying to work on the nature/EVs. Typing this in now, I didn't actually realize he was set as Timid (d'oh!), and I'm not sure the speed gets him much, except in the mirror. I'm thinking a greater investment in Def, with a bit of SAtk might not be a bad idea.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
MCBarrett's suggestion on the moveset here, and bulky Mega-Scizor has been a boon. Defog helps me TurnVolt freely and switch in Talonflame without fear, and Roost adds to his natural bulk and gives him some real staying power. Bullet Punch for priority and U-turn for U-turn (U-turn is awesome).
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
This guy. I needed something to deal with the dragons I occasionally run into or the odd wall, and hadn't really ever thought much of Mamoswine. I figured why not give it a try though - and man, does this monster hit hard. Pretty much annihilates most poke's, and has bulk that can stay in on most things not packing special water moves. While I loved Icicle Crash, MCBarrett's suggestion to switch to Icicle Spear hasn't lost too much damage when I need, while providing sub-breaking power to the team.
Been testing this, and its worked out much better than the prior version. I still have trouble with bulky waters, as neither Meloetta-A's Thunderbolt or Rotom-W's Volt Switch can really dent them enough. Fortunately, both can weather attacks fairly well, and I haven't seen too many bulky waters lately. Rotom-W is an obvious exception, and my only answer is really my own Rotom-W. ChestoResto really shines here, but if Rotom-W is weak/down, I don't have a lot of answers.
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