I have always wondered how well one of my loony ideas for a team would work on shoddy, and eventually I decided to cook one up and test it. This team started with a custom built Blissey designed to stand against battle tower threats, (Yay Garchomp! Yay Latis!) but has since proved to be quite effective on Shoddy.
Team Building Process
Well, I said I started with this, Didn't I?
Blissey does all kinds of mean things with the build described later, but is a most effective switch in VS. Weavile not banded into fighting and any LO variety Weavile, a great revenge to scarf Flygon Outraging, and has all kinds of fun with anything running Satk. If you're wondering how she manages to do all this, it's because she runs counter. But as all Blissey do, she has a major issue with stab fighting physicals, so I needed something to switch into those.
Rotom was a clear pick, though W was determined upon later examination of my team. Specifically, I wanted a special attack that dealt with most fire types, and that left water as being the prime choice. Its bulky build fits in with my team's momentum perfectly, being designed to shift the tempo to my favor and cripple those physical fighting-types and Scizor. Now I needed a lead which could get the job done.
I decided to build this in the most taboo way possible to counter other leads. Bulky and scarfed, Azelf turns what everyone sees as a standard suicide lead into a monstrosity that is designed to ruin the enemy lead while providing useful services to the later battle, its levitate and explosion are able to net useful switches and kills which would not be possible without the extra bulk. And since everything in this team has been bulky so far, I might actually need an offensive threat or two.
DD 'nite makes a great theoretical addition to a team where bulk is king, and provides excellent coverage with its attacks, fire punch providing for an excellent way to alleviate lingering Scizor woes. He also makes delicious bait for my Blissey to have her way with once he falls. Unfortunately, his SR weakness makes it difficult to switch him in regularly and has since questioned his worth on this team.
Currently replaced with a scarf variant.
Agility Lucario has a devastating effect on teams softened by rocks and can easily set up after some preliminary scouting. After 1 boost, he outruns everything but the now trick scarfed Aerodactyl leads, and can easily make fodder from switch ins that would most certainly counter SD Lucario. This synergy with other bulky whittling types allows me to toss in yet another defender and get away with it, so I picked the most annoying thing I could find.
And Toxic Flinch was what I arrived at. Thank you Smog for what could quite possibly be the only thing more sinister than my Blissey.
Currently trying paraflinch.
The Details
Azelf @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
Naive 64 HP/192 Def/252 Spe
Flamethrower
Explosion
Stealth Rocks
Trick
After the weird spread of Evs, common counter leads find they are now in a bizarre circumstance. Infernape fails to kill after fakeout and fireblast, Machamp fails to deliver with payback and loses its prized lum, Metagross is now useful for exploding and little else, Taunt leads love receiving a scarf, as do all of the other slower leads barring some Bronzong. Occa Scizor and lead 'night give this Azelf its only problems, forcing delicate predictions, and lead Dragonite is unpredictable as to blocking it, for eating a meteor with Rotom is surely no fun. Jirachi leads allow me to flame them, baiting out a Heatran to be met by Blissey, while lead 'trans often dislike being made merely into revenge killers. More often than not, this Azelf is able to set up rocks and explode during a match, crippling most other leads and often taking another Poke out with it. Perhaps most hilarious is surviving by stealing the focus sash off of another suicide lead who explodes. Trick can wreck almost any Pokemon, easily flipping the tide of battle into your favor, and at least one should be on a team to counter a wall, or anything relying on setup, period.
"La Muerte"
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold 252 Def/132 SpD/124 Spe
Counter
Light Screen
Toxic
Softboiled
This creature is another bizarrely constructed war machine who feasts upon the tears of her foes. AgiliGross, Rock Polishers lacking superpower or hammer arm, scarfed revenge killers and banded ones alike are all slain without prejudice by this beast's counter. Light screen turns what would otherwise be an easy kill with focus blast into a no-go without special defense drops, and toxic brings down anything who tries to calm mind to +6 against it, which is surprisingly ineffective due to the light screen. Softboiled provides the immediate recovery needed to endure. Overall, this Blissey is often responsible for two KOs per match, one from slow death and one from counter, and honestly, who doesn't like a free light screen to allow a sweeper to set up with? A special mention: U-Turn. Enemy U-Turn scouting allows for me to counter the damage and immediately kill their counter selected to handle Blissey via counter.
The Problem: Due to the unique style of this Blissey, I thought I'd provide specific details on its breaking points. TTar forces a difficult choice between switching out and potentially eating a powerful pursuit or letting it get a free dance, which when combined with the second dance on my switch is most assuredly game over. Breloom almost always finds its way in against Blissey as well, forcing me to choose who to eat the spore with, often who to die with breaking the sub, and who to remove the Breloom with. All other threats are survivable so long as Rotom can provide a switch Vs. fighting, and in cyclical switch-out and switch-in patterns, mixing up counters when the aggressor expects Rotom to reappear provides for an excellent answer.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Levitate
Timid 252 HP/168 Def/88 Spe
Discharge
Hydro Pump
Will o' Wisp
Shadow Ball
A prime partner to switch into anything too scary for Blissey to handle, barring DD Tar. Will o' Wisp turns a Banded Scizor into being unable to 3-KO with pursuit, and shows similar effects on many other physical attackers. Discharge provides for the always-fun Paralyze hax, and Hydro Pump is always good for scouting out switches, as many times Heatran will try to nom a Will o' Wisp only to catch pain and suffering. Gengar scares this thing out directly into Blissey, who lovingly caresses 'gar into death by Struggle. DD Tar will be baked, and then there will be cake unless it is holding a Lum, in which case problems arise. Water types are handled, most by discharge and Swampert by Will o' Wisp.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Inner Focus
Adamant 252 Atk/216 Spe/40 SpD
Agility
Close Combat
Crunch
Ice Punch
Making his appearance on forced switches, this Luke packs a nasty surprise for common SD counters. After a single boost, the only thing likely capable of outrunning this monster is a scarfed jolly Aerodactyl, providing an ironic counter to all the beauty that my lead accomplished. Metagross which has not been weakened, Gyarados, and Milotic are able to effectively halt Luke's progress, but anything does that is able to survive one hit and attack back after the defense drops. Zapdos could potentially give it problems, but usually after being forced out once already the stealth rocks on the second round bring it easily into range. Luke's purpose is to end the match, so insufficient scouting should not be a problem. Unfortunately, trick room teams nullify the profound effect it has on battle, though he no longer requires the agility to outrun anything.
(?)
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Jolly 252 Atk/176 Spe/80 Def
Thunderpunch
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Earthquake
This thing was designed to follow a light screen, set up, and sweep. Its bulk allows it to soak a hit from Flash fire boosted specs Heatran and OHKO back with quake. Unfortunately, it is preyed upon too often by lucky statuses, crits, and other unforeseen problems for me to get an accurate bead on its overall effectiveness. The speed is necessary for a few pokemon, notably Breloom with +0 and no scarf Starmie after +1. In theory, it is an evil creature stopped only by Gyarados, Weavile, Ice shard, and scarfed revenge killers, and in practice it baits those wonderfully, the Gyarados being dealt with by Rotom, the rest by Jirachi or Blissey. After baiting once though, its 50% health from the second rocking lets most anything handle it.
This brings in the concern of placing roost over dance, and in that case, Flygon would be a better choice as he provides an electric immunity that I am missing, while Gyarados' intimidate and typing would work well to stop potential sweeps in their tracks.
Edit:
Currently, this spread gives him a touch of physical bulk while still preserving enough speed to outrun base 130s, which is handy for slapping Jolteon and Aerodactyl threats, CS Heatran, and non-jolly +1 Gyara variants. It also provides an elegant answer to my Infernape problems.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Jolly 164 HP/168 Atk/176 Spe
Iron Head
Fire Punch
Substitute
Body Slam
Stolen from Smog #11's OU RMT is Reyscarface's Jirachi build, though the EVs are tooled to provide for a faster, balanced pixie. With the nature of this team being to hand out pestilence to chip away at defenders, toxic and flinch provide too excellent of means to pass up. Sorry for being unoriginal here, but what this thing does with this team can be described as nothing short of dirty. It deals with Breloom in a superior way to the scenario mentioned with Blissey and puts an expiration date on all sweepers who would find themselves setting up, while flinching away at most any other Pokemon. Backed by a light screen, it also is particularly effective at removing calm mind sweepers should Blissey receive a trick, while setting up with substitute to scout the Pokemon to follow.
Edit:
Testing Paraflinch currently. Current insight into it is paralyze on switch often wrecks many revenge killers, and luck hacking can really break apart sweepers. Unfortunately, I can no longer toxic flinch threats like CM Suicune, and Iron Head lacks the power to really stop bulky waters alone, even with 70% chance for them to go nowhere. I also lose the ability to kill Zapdos switches, barring more hax than should be relied upon, where only a handfull of flinch + subbing would break them down with toxic.
Comments and Other Stuff
I would imagine that anyone could find something to comment about concerning this set, but it should be noted that it flows against the common metagame's and anti-metagame's tempo, pulling common threats onto my territory. With everything it is seemingly missing, such as a bulky water, revenge killer, spinner, or a status-eater, it could be argued that it is gimmicky, but it still works surprisingly well in repeat matches. I am considering switching out the DDnite for something more effective also, though into what I cannot say, and will at least consider changes to the other setup
As to specific threats, nothing specifically counters my team more than luck. Individual threats need to switch in at precise moments with a team who has systematically removed my counters. Skarmory hurts, though once it whirlwinds out the wrong Pokemon it is forcibly removed, and if anyone lets anything get two free dances up their team will have problems with it. Special defense drops in conjunction with crits while light screen is down are about all that are allowed to kill Blissey, as even +1 offensive Gyarados is countered rougly 79% of the time factoring in stealth rocks damage (requires lucky max damage or flinch), and usually they will not stick around dancing while they have a toxic timer ticking. Scarfing a Machamp lead can backfire later if Rotom drops, forcing me to stop hitting myself to get around it. Agility Lucario would do terrible naughty things to my team, which is ironic considering I utilize one. Highly offensive leads, like Scizor and Dragonite, also made me have to predict dangerously.
Welp, I think that's that. What do you y'all think?
Team Building Process
Well, I said I started with this, Didn't I?
Blissey does all kinds of mean things with the build described later, but is a most effective switch in VS. Weavile not banded into fighting and any LO variety Weavile, a great revenge to scarf Flygon Outraging, and has all kinds of fun with anything running Satk. If you're wondering how she manages to do all this, it's because she runs counter. But as all Blissey do, she has a major issue with stab fighting physicals, so I needed something to switch into those.
Rotom was a clear pick, though W was determined upon later examination of my team. Specifically, I wanted a special attack that dealt with most fire types, and that left water as being the prime choice. Its bulky build fits in with my team's momentum perfectly, being designed to shift the tempo to my favor and cripple those physical fighting-types and Scizor. Now I needed a lead which could get the job done.
I decided to build this in the most taboo way possible to counter other leads. Bulky and scarfed, Azelf turns what everyone sees as a standard suicide lead into a monstrosity that is designed to ruin the enemy lead while providing useful services to the later battle, its levitate and explosion are able to net useful switches and kills which would not be possible without the extra bulk. And since everything in this team has been bulky so far, I might actually need an offensive threat or two.
DD 'nite makes a great theoretical addition to a team where bulk is king, and provides excellent coverage with its attacks, fire punch providing for an excellent way to alleviate lingering Scizor woes. He also makes delicious bait for my Blissey to have her way with once he falls. Unfortunately, his SR weakness makes it difficult to switch him in regularly and has since questioned his worth on this team.
Currently replaced with a scarf variant.
Agility Lucario has a devastating effect on teams softened by rocks and can easily set up after some preliminary scouting. After 1 boost, he outruns everything but the now trick scarfed Aerodactyl leads, and can easily make fodder from switch ins that would most certainly counter SD Lucario. This synergy with other bulky whittling types allows me to toss in yet another defender and get away with it, so I picked the most annoying thing I could find.
And Toxic Flinch was what I arrived at. Thank you Smog for what could quite possibly be the only thing more sinister than my Blissey.
Currently trying paraflinch.
The Details
Azelf @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
Naive 64 HP/192 Def/252 Spe
Flamethrower
Explosion
Stealth Rocks
Trick
After the weird spread of Evs, common counter leads find they are now in a bizarre circumstance. Infernape fails to kill after fakeout and fireblast, Machamp fails to deliver with payback and loses its prized lum, Metagross is now useful for exploding and little else, Taunt leads love receiving a scarf, as do all of the other slower leads barring some Bronzong. Occa Scizor and lead 'night give this Azelf its only problems, forcing delicate predictions, and lead Dragonite is unpredictable as to blocking it, for eating a meteor with Rotom is surely no fun. Jirachi leads allow me to flame them, baiting out a Heatran to be met by Blissey, while lead 'trans often dislike being made merely into revenge killers. More often than not, this Azelf is able to set up rocks and explode during a match, crippling most other leads and often taking another Poke out with it. Perhaps most hilarious is surviving by stealing the focus sash off of another suicide lead who explodes. Trick can wreck almost any Pokemon, easily flipping the tide of battle into your favor, and at least one should be on a team to counter a wall, or anything relying on setup, period.
"La Muerte"
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold 252 Def/132 SpD/124 Spe
Counter
Light Screen
Toxic
Softboiled
This creature is another bizarrely constructed war machine who feasts upon the tears of her foes. AgiliGross, Rock Polishers lacking superpower or hammer arm, scarfed revenge killers and banded ones alike are all slain without prejudice by this beast's counter. Light screen turns what would otherwise be an easy kill with focus blast into a no-go without special defense drops, and toxic brings down anything who tries to calm mind to +6 against it, which is surprisingly ineffective due to the light screen. Softboiled provides the immediate recovery needed to endure. Overall, this Blissey is often responsible for two KOs per match, one from slow death and one from counter, and honestly, who doesn't like a free light screen to allow a sweeper to set up with? A special mention: U-Turn. Enemy U-Turn scouting allows for me to counter the damage and immediately kill their counter selected to handle Blissey via counter.
The Problem: Due to the unique style of this Blissey, I thought I'd provide specific details on its breaking points. TTar forces a difficult choice between switching out and potentially eating a powerful pursuit or letting it get a free dance, which when combined with the second dance on my switch is most assuredly game over. Breloom almost always finds its way in against Blissey as well, forcing me to choose who to eat the spore with, often who to die with breaking the sub, and who to remove the Breloom with. All other threats are survivable so long as Rotom can provide a switch Vs. fighting, and in cyclical switch-out and switch-in patterns, mixing up counters when the aggressor expects Rotom to reappear provides for an excellent answer.
Rotom-W @ Leftovers
Levitate
Timid 252 HP/168 Def/88 Spe
Discharge
Hydro Pump
Will o' Wisp
Shadow Ball
A prime partner to switch into anything too scary for Blissey to handle, barring DD Tar. Will o' Wisp turns a Banded Scizor into being unable to 3-KO with pursuit, and shows similar effects on many other physical attackers. Discharge provides for the always-fun Paralyze hax, and Hydro Pump is always good for scouting out switches, as many times Heatran will try to nom a Will o' Wisp only to catch pain and suffering. Gengar scares this thing out directly into Blissey, who lovingly caresses 'gar into death by Struggle. DD Tar will be baked, and then there will be cake unless it is holding a Lum, in which case problems arise. Water types are handled, most by discharge and Swampert by Will o' Wisp.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Inner Focus
Adamant 252 Atk/216 Spe/40 SpD
Agility
Close Combat
Crunch
Ice Punch
Making his appearance on forced switches, this Luke packs a nasty surprise for common SD counters. After a single boost, the only thing likely capable of outrunning this monster is a scarfed jolly Aerodactyl, providing an ironic counter to all the beauty that my lead accomplished. Metagross which has not been weakened, Gyarados, and Milotic are able to effectively halt Luke's progress, but anything does that is able to survive one hit and attack back after the defense drops. Zapdos could potentially give it problems, but usually after being forced out once already the stealth rocks on the second round bring it easily into range. Luke's purpose is to end the match, so insufficient scouting should not be a problem. Unfortunately, trick room teams nullify the profound effect it has on battle, though he no longer requires the agility to outrun anything.
(?)
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Jolly 252 Atk/176 Spe/80 Def
Thunderpunch
Dragon Claw
Fire Punch
Earthquake
This thing was designed to follow a light screen, set up, and sweep. Its bulk allows it to soak a hit from Flash fire boosted specs Heatran and OHKO back with quake. Unfortunately, it is preyed upon too often by lucky statuses, crits, and other unforeseen problems for me to get an accurate bead on its overall effectiveness. The speed is necessary for a few pokemon, notably Breloom with +0 and no scarf Starmie after +1. In theory, it is an evil creature stopped only by Gyarados, Weavile, Ice shard, and scarfed revenge killers, and in practice it baits those wonderfully, the Gyarados being dealt with by Rotom, the rest by Jirachi or Blissey. After baiting once though, its 50% health from the second rocking lets most anything handle it.
This brings in the concern of placing roost over dance, and in that case, Flygon would be a better choice as he provides an electric immunity that I am missing, while Gyarados' intimidate and typing would work well to stop potential sweeps in their tracks.
Edit:
Currently, this spread gives him a touch of physical bulk while still preserving enough speed to outrun base 130s, which is handy for slapping Jolteon and Aerodactyl threats, CS Heatran, and non-jolly +1 Gyara variants. It also provides an elegant answer to my Infernape problems.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Jolly 164 HP/168 Atk/176 Spe
Iron Head
Fire Punch
Substitute
Body Slam
Stolen from Smog #11's OU RMT is Reyscarface's Jirachi build, though the EVs are tooled to provide for a faster, balanced pixie. With the nature of this team being to hand out pestilence to chip away at defenders, toxic and flinch provide too excellent of means to pass up. Sorry for being unoriginal here, but what this thing does with this team can be described as nothing short of dirty. It deals with Breloom in a superior way to the scenario mentioned with Blissey and puts an expiration date on all sweepers who would find themselves setting up, while flinching away at most any other Pokemon. Backed by a light screen, it also is particularly effective at removing calm mind sweepers should Blissey receive a trick, while setting up with substitute to scout the Pokemon to follow.
Edit:
Testing Paraflinch currently. Current insight into it is paralyze on switch often wrecks many revenge killers, and luck hacking can really break apart sweepers. Unfortunately, I can no longer toxic flinch threats like CM Suicune, and Iron Head lacks the power to really stop bulky waters alone, even with 70% chance for them to go nowhere. I also lose the ability to kill Zapdos switches, barring more hax than should be relied upon, where only a handfull of flinch + subbing would break them down with toxic.
Comments and Other Stuff
I would imagine that anyone could find something to comment about concerning this set, but it should be noted that it flows against the common metagame's and anti-metagame's tempo, pulling common threats onto my territory. With everything it is seemingly missing, such as a bulky water, revenge killer, spinner, or a status-eater, it could be argued that it is gimmicky, but it still works surprisingly well in repeat matches. I am considering switching out the DDnite for something more effective also, though into what I cannot say, and will at least consider changes to the other setup
As to specific threats, nothing specifically counters my team more than luck. Individual threats need to switch in at precise moments with a team who has systematically removed my counters. Skarmory hurts, though once it whirlwinds out the wrong Pokemon it is forcibly removed, and if anyone lets anything get two free dances up their team will have problems with it. Special defense drops in conjunction with crits while light screen is down are about all that are allowed to kill Blissey, as even +1 offensive Gyarados is countered rougly 79% of the time factoring in stealth rocks damage (requires lucky max damage or flinch), and usually they will not stick around dancing while they have a toxic timer ticking. Scarfing a Machamp lead can backfire later if Rotom drops, forcing me to stop hitting myself to get around it. Agility Lucario would do terrible naughty things to my team, which is ironic considering I utilize one. Highly offensive leads, like Scizor and Dragonite, also made me have to predict dangerously.
Welp, I think that's that. What do you y'all think?
