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
~ Spikes/Thunderwave
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
Mence loves SR, so a Stealth Rocker is vital. I'm not sure whether I should have Spikes or T-wave--Spikes gives me extra damage, but T-wave can provide paralysis support.
"Hotom" Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Bold
Levitate
252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball/HP Fighting
~ Overheat
~ Will-O-Wisp/HP Grass
With a Stealth Rocker comes a Spin-blocker. Hotom is also a great switch-in to lead Infernape, with an immunity to Fake Out and a resistance to everything except Pursuit. Shadow Ball is the suggested move, saying that Cresselia can be taken out, although I hardly ever see Cresselia anymore, so I might as well take HP Fighting for T-Tar. I was also thinking that my currently has a blaring weakness to Swampert... could I have HP Grass with Shadow Ball to take care of Swampert, or is the risk against T-Tar too much?
"Blissa" Blissey @ Leftovers
Calm
Natural Cure
252 Def, 40 SpA, 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Flamethrower/Ice Beam
~ Thunderwave/Flamethrower/Ice Beam/Seismic Toss/Wish/Protect
~ Softboiled
Blissa is still my (and everyone else's) best counter against any special threat apart from Infernape and Specs-PorygonZ. I've tried all three offensive moves: Seismic Toss is a no-go, as nobody else on my team sufficiently knocks out Rotom or Gengar; I've tried and tested Ice Beam, and I always seem to end up against some Empoleon; Flamethrower's been most successful for me, although I have to switch on Heatran. However, as my Jirachi (Wawachi) has Thunderwave, I think maybe I could replace T-wave with the other offensive, to be able to last on the countless times I've ended up one-on-one with just a Blissey. What's more, I could even stick in some form of extra Wish support, or Protect for those goddamm exploders.
"Rockstar" Starmie @ Leftovers
Timid
Natural Cure
136 HP, 156 Def, 216 Spe
~ Rapid Spin
~ Surf
~ Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
~ Recover/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
Of course, Mence can't work well with SR up, so I need a spinner. Whether I want Bolt or Beam is an issue. But I'm also thinking of sacrificing Recover: I find that whilst battling, I never seem to use it. Having a weapon against both Mence and G-Dos would be great.
"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, Wawachi gives Wish support in case Rockstar faints before getting a chance to spin. What's more, the paralysis support is great; it means I can also get an extra weapon for Blissa.
"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).
And so, to sum up the team:
I have a counter to most threats. Swampert and T-Tar is a big problem, as I have to either HP Grass his ass and give up on HP Fighting, or keep fighting against T-Tar and lose to Pert. My original team had a Zapdos instead of Hotom, and a Metagross instead of Arty; now that I've lost my phazer, I could have problems with set-uppers, like Crocune, and, once again, T-Tar.
"Arty" Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Jolly
Own Tempo
4 HP, 252 Def, 252 Spe
~ Spore
~ Spikes/Thunderwave
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
Mence loves SR, so a Stealth Rocker is vital. I'm not sure whether I should have Spikes or T-wave--Spikes gives me extra damage, but T-wave can provide paralysis support.
"Hotom" Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Bold
Levitate
252 HP, 168 Def, 88 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Shadow Ball/HP Fighting
~ Overheat
~ Will-O-Wisp/HP Grass
With a Stealth Rocker comes a Spin-blocker. Hotom is also a great switch-in to lead Infernape, with an immunity to Fake Out and a resistance to everything except Pursuit. Shadow Ball is the suggested move, saying that Cresselia can be taken out, although I hardly ever see Cresselia anymore, so I might as well take HP Fighting for T-Tar. I was also thinking that my currently has a blaring weakness to Swampert... could I have HP Grass with Shadow Ball to take care of Swampert, or is the risk against T-Tar too much?
"Blissa" Blissey @ Leftovers
Calm
Natural Cure
252 Def, 40 SpA, 216 SpD
~ Aromatherapy
~ Flamethrower/Ice Beam
~ Thunderwave/Flamethrower/Ice Beam/Seismic Toss/Wish/Protect
~ Softboiled
Blissa is still my (and everyone else's) best counter against any special threat apart from Infernape and Specs-PorygonZ. I've tried all three offensive moves: Seismic Toss is a no-go, as nobody else on my team sufficiently knocks out Rotom or Gengar; I've tried and tested Ice Beam, and I always seem to end up against some Empoleon; Flamethrower's been most successful for me, although I have to switch on Heatran. However, as my Jirachi (Wawachi) has Thunderwave, I think maybe I could replace T-wave with the other offensive, to be able to last on the countless times I've ended up one-on-one with just a Blissey. What's more, I could even stick in some form of extra Wish support, or Protect for those goddamm exploders.
"Rockstar" Starmie @ Leftovers
Timid
Natural Cure
136 HP, 156 Def, 216 Spe
~ Rapid Spin
~ Surf
~ Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
~ Recover/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
Of course, Mence can't work well with SR up, so I need a spinner. Whether I want Bolt or Beam is an issue. But I'm also thinking of sacrificing Recover: I find that whilst battling, I never seem to use it. Having a weapon against both Mence and G-Dos would be great.
"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, Wawachi gives Wish support in case Rockstar faints before getting a chance to spin. What's more, the paralysis support is great; it means I can also get an extra weapon for Blissa.
"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).
And so, to sum up the team:
I have a counter to most threats. Swampert and T-Tar is a big problem, as I have to either HP Grass his ass and give up on HP Fighting, or keep fighting against T-Tar and lose to Pert. My original team had a Zapdos instead of Hotom, and a Metagross instead of Arty; now that I've lost my phazer, I could have problems with set-uppers, like Crocune, and, once again, T-Tar.
