Ever since I started Pokemon in ADV, Salamence has been my favourite. Whether it was ripping teams up with HP Flying, ripping teams up with DDclaw or ripping teams up with Outrage, I've always enjoyed destroying with Mence. So why not build a team around him?
"Arty" Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Jolly
Own Tempo
4 HP, 252 Def, 252 Spe
~ Spore
~ U-Turn
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
Mence loves SR, so a Stealth Rocker is vital. U-Turn is so that I won't be deadened by Taunt, and my main sweeper, Mence, doesn't really get any significant KOs from Spikes. Taunt works on slower leads, like Swampert, Bronzong and Hippowdon (although I would probably Spore Hippowdon first) and Stealth Rock for most other leads. For Abomasnow or Infernape, I switch in Rotom-h.
"Hotom" Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Bold
Levitate
252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Will-O-Wisp
~ Overheat
~ HP Grass
With a Stealth Rocker comes a Spin-blocker. Rotom-h is also a great switch-in to lead Infernape, with an immunity to Fake Out and a resistance to everything except Pursuit. I have replaced Shadow Ball from the standard set with Will-O-Wisp to deal with most physical Pokemon, especially as my Rotom-h won't be a good counter to any Pokemon weak to Shadow Ball, save Cresselia, which is rarely seen anyway. HP Grass is to fight off Swampert, which the rest of my team has a glaring weakness to.
"Blissa" Blissey @ Leftovers
Calm
Natural Cure
252 Def, 40 SpA, 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Flamethrower
~ Protect
~ Softboiled
Blissey is still my (and everyone else's) best counter against any special threat apart from Infernape and Specs-PorygonZ. Flamethrower is the tried and true best offensive move for Blissey, hitting everyone that needs hitting well with 24 PP except Heatran. Aromatherapy is the cleric move, and Softboiled is basically compulsory on a Pokemon like Blissey. I have forgo-ed a status move for Protect, to deal with all those Exploding Heatran, and trickbanding Rotom and Latias. Plus, I have brilliant status moves coming from both Rotom-h and Jirachi.
"Rockstar" Starmie @ Leftovers
Timid
Natural Cure
136 HP, 156 Def, 216 Spe
~ Rapid Spin
~ Surf
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
Of course, Mence can't work well with SR up, so I need a spinner. The sacrifice of Recover for Ice Beam may seem to be a surprise, but I find that whilst using the team, I rarely ever use Recover, due to Starmie's less than brilliant defenses, and the fact that I have enough firepower to smash up most threats. This set kills both G-dos and Mence, as well as the less common Flygon.
"Wawachi" Jirachi @ Leftovers
Impish
Serene Grace
240 HP, 160 Def, 76 SpD, 32 Spe
~ Wish
~ U-Turn
~ Thunderwave
~ Iron Head
No Mence is complete without Wawachi. Covering each other's weaknesses nicely, Jirachi gives Wish support, which is what I need for a defensive Rotom-h without Rest, as well as a Mence that might be hit by SR. Thunderwave and Iron Head are classic flinchhax, and U-Turn, arguably the best move in the game, can scout out those Gyarados and Swampert that believe they can land some hits on me.
"Salvo" Salamence @ Life Orb
Naughty
Intimidate
232 Att, 24 SpA, 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Outrage
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Blast
Salvo says hi. +1 Outrage, with the Life Orb, 2HKOs every Pokemon in OU, and I don't really need to worry much about Ice Fang Steelix (in fact, it might not even OHKO, in which case the Steelix would be screwed anyway). Fire Blast is the perfect move for angry steel-types, and Earthquake is standard fare for Mence.
And so, to sum up the team:
My biggest problem is the fact that my team members rely on each and every other. Smeargle is the only Pokemon I can safely sacrifice, as long as I have SR up. Rotom-h is my key counter to Swampert, Scizor and many other deadly threats that would otherwise overwhelm my team. If, say, I ended up against Swampert, Scizor, Lucario and a Tyranitar with Pursuit, I'd be pretty damn stuck if they predict their Pursuit right, or I miss with Will-O-Wisp. Blissey is my one and only defense against status that would otherwise cripple my team. Starmie must be kept alive as long as the opponent's SR is usable, and Jirachi's Wish support is what keeps everyone, including Mence, healthy and ready to fight.
Nevertheless, as long as I can stay in control, the battles should go well. (It does; my rating on shoddy has increased from 1298 to 1460 using just this team). I notice that almost all of the time, I end up in some big switching contest, where we just keep switching between two counters. So a lot of the time my battles are decided by prediction. And quite a bit of hax, too; hax from Will-O-Wisp hitting all the time, flinchhax from Jirachi and that extra burn from Blissey. I believe that this is a solid team, for me, at least.
"Arty" Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Jolly
Own Tempo
4 HP, 252 Def, 252 Spe
~ Spore
~ U-Turn
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
Mence loves SR, so a Stealth Rocker is vital. U-Turn is so that I won't be deadened by Taunt, and my main sweeper, Mence, doesn't really get any significant KOs from Spikes. Taunt works on slower leads, like Swampert, Bronzong and Hippowdon (although I would probably Spore Hippowdon first) and Stealth Rock for most other leads. For Abomasnow or Infernape, I switch in Rotom-h.
"Hotom" Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Bold
Levitate
252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Will-O-Wisp
~ Overheat
~ HP Grass
With a Stealth Rocker comes a Spin-blocker. Rotom-h is also a great switch-in to lead Infernape, with an immunity to Fake Out and a resistance to everything except Pursuit. I have replaced Shadow Ball from the standard set with Will-O-Wisp to deal with most physical Pokemon, especially as my Rotom-h won't be a good counter to any Pokemon weak to Shadow Ball, save Cresselia, which is rarely seen anyway. HP Grass is to fight off Swampert, which the rest of my team has a glaring weakness to.
"Blissa" Blissey @ Leftovers
Calm
Natural Cure
252 Def, 40 SpA, 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Flamethrower
~ Protect
~ Softboiled
Blissey is still my (and everyone else's) best counter against any special threat apart from Infernape and Specs-PorygonZ. Flamethrower is the tried and true best offensive move for Blissey, hitting everyone that needs hitting well with 24 PP except Heatran. Aromatherapy is the cleric move, and Softboiled is basically compulsory on a Pokemon like Blissey. I have forgo-ed a status move for Protect, to deal with all those Exploding Heatran, and trickbanding Rotom and Latias. Plus, I have brilliant status moves coming from both Rotom-h and Jirachi.
"Rockstar" Starmie @ Leftovers
Timid
Natural Cure
136 HP, 156 Def, 216 Spe
~ Rapid Spin
~ Surf
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
Of course, Mence can't work well with SR up, so I need a spinner. The sacrifice of Recover for Ice Beam may seem to be a surprise, but I find that whilst using the team, I rarely ever use Recover, due to Starmie's less than brilliant defenses, and the fact that I have enough firepower to smash up most threats. This set kills both G-dos and Mence, as well as the less common Flygon.
"Wawachi" Jirachi @ Leftovers
Impish
Serene Grace
240 HP, 160 Def, 76 SpD, 32 Spe
~ Wish
~ U-Turn
~ Thunderwave
~ Iron Head
No Mence is complete without Wawachi. Covering each other's weaknesses nicely, Jirachi gives Wish support, which is what I need for a defensive Rotom-h without Rest, as well as a Mence that might be hit by SR. Thunderwave and Iron Head are classic flinchhax, and U-Turn, arguably the best move in the game, can scout out those Gyarados and Swampert that believe they can land some hits on me.
"Salvo" Salamence @ Life Orb
Naughty
Intimidate
232 Att, 24 SpA, 252 Spe
~ Dragon Dance
~ Outrage
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Blast
Salvo says hi. +1 Outrage, with the Life Orb, 2HKOs every Pokemon in OU, and I don't really need to worry much about Ice Fang Steelix (in fact, it might not even OHKO, in which case the Steelix would be screwed anyway). Fire Blast is the perfect move for angry steel-types, and Earthquake is standard fare for Mence.
And so, to sum up the team:
My biggest problem is the fact that my team members rely on each and every other. Smeargle is the only Pokemon I can safely sacrifice, as long as I have SR up. Rotom-h is my key counter to Swampert, Scizor and many other deadly threats that would otherwise overwhelm my team. If, say, I ended up against Swampert, Scizor, Lucario and a Tyranitar with Pursuit, I'd be pretty damn stuck if they predict their Pursuit right, or I miss with Will-O-Wisp. Blissey is my one and only defense against status that would otherwise cripple my team. Starmie must be kept alive as long as the opponent's SR is usable, and Jirachi's Wish support is what keeps everyone, including Mence, healthy and ready to fight.
Nevertheless, as long as I can stay in control, the battles should go well. (It does; my rating on shoddy has increased from 1298 to 1460 using just this team). I notice that almost all of the time, I end up in some big switching contest, where we just keep switching between two counters. So a lot of the time my battles are decided by prediction. And quite a bit of hax, too; hax from Will-O-Wisp hitting all the time, flinchhax from Jirachi and that extra burn from Blissey. I believe that this is a solid team, for me, at least.
