First Glance
I've been working with the bulk of this team for a while now, but I'm having trouble getting it to feel like the team has real synergy. The team focus is based around Slowbro and Breloom getting in and wreaking havoc with their bulk (or effective bulk in Breloom's case) and strong offensive potential. The problems I'm having are based around the fact that it seems like half the battles I'm in I feel overmatched and I was hoping I could get some good feedback about ways to patch up my weak points.
Team in Detail
Arcanine @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 160 HP/255 Atk/ 95 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Flare Blitz
-Crunch
-Extremespeed
-Toxic
When this team first was created, I lived with a Staraptor lead based on the fact that it had intimidate and could promptly U-Turn away into an appropriate counter or pokemon with setup potential with the opponent basically forced to switch. Recently, I've tried working this Arcanine with much greater success. Though it can't stop Stealth Rocks from coming up on most common leads, many of them that stick around don't survive long enough to do anything else. Azelf and Celebi are beaten by Crunch/ES, Ninjask is hampered by ES if it plans on using substitute, plus passing an intimidate is always helpful. Bronzong is beaten by Flare Blitz, and any status leads (Breloom and Smeargle especially) are smashed by Blitz with the Lum keeping Arcanine healthy. Coming across leads like Aerodactyl and Metagross, I typically switch to Slowbro to keep Arcanine from getting OHKOed by a potential Earthquake.
The beauty of this set is that if an oppenent tries to switch in a bulky water (or a DD Gyarados) expecting a switch, they eat a Toxic and it becomes a waiting game. The main issue I've had with this set is that Heatran walls it hopelessly, though Slowbro does a relatively good job of dealing with him.
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 212 HP/198 Def/100 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
-Calm Mind
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Slack Off
Slowbro is the lone pokemon I've been using since I started battling comptetively. It's a bulky water that has toughness from both sides and a great recovery move. The EVs and nature may seem a bit strange, but this is directly mirrored from the Slowbro I have in my Platinum cartridge, and I continue to use them since I'm using Shoddy to help me build a team I could actually train and use in the real game. After a couple Calm Minds, Slowbro really becomes an offensive powerhouse that's only let down by his abysmal speed. Even without a single boost, he takes a number of attacks to the chin and fires back an OHKO on all dragons not named Kingdra with an Ice Beam (assuming they don't have a Yache). Type coverage only lacks in beating bulky waters, but Breloom typically takes care of that role when necessary. Toxic is a real problem for this set, but this set doesn't particularly mind a paralysis since it's so slow anyway and even prefers a burn since it blocks other statuses without real risk of fainting. I've found that once Slowbro goes down, my team becomes much more threatened. Being weak to U-Turn may seem like this is Scizor bait, but Choice Band U-Turns are short of an OHKO, and proper prediction (i.e. Slack Off at Scizor's appearance to heal on the switch) can mend the damage before it becomes a problem.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 100 HP/234 Atk/168 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Spore
-Substiture
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
My own variation of the Spore puncher, this Breloom is devastating if the opponent doesn't know how to beat it. Again, EVs are strange, but this relates to the argument above. The strategy is simple: switch Breloom into anything slower than it that doesn't threaten it (Blissey, Swampert, Tentacruel), Spore, Substitute, strike. Even if I can only get a single Focus Punch in on a Flying type before being forced to switch to a counter, that hit can do a substantial amount of damage coming off Breloom's incredible attack. Most bulky waters are OHKOed or 2HKOed by a powerful Seed Bomb. Swampert gets special mention for being slower than Breloom but still falling to Seed Bomb, which typically preserves the Substitute for a free Focus Punch on whatever is sent out next. This set is bothered by ghosts due to the fighting immunity, but most apart from Rotom-H can be beaten by Seed Bomb. Zapdos with Heat Wave also poses a strong threat, but swapping to Slowbro on the wave and another swap to Electivire on a potential electric attack can act as a setup bait for a totally different threat.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Destiny Bond
I've often wondered about the usefulness of this Gengar, but OHKOing non-scarfed Rotom formes, most Latias, almost all steel types (assuming Focus Blast lands) and unboosted Gyarados is enough for me to keep him around. Admittedly, Destiny Bond has really fallen off in usefulness in the past month or so, but there are occasions where it helps (Calm Mind boosters that have gotten too powerful). This Gengar is walled by Blissey, but she typically becomes bait for Breloom to switch in and begin the pain. The real problems with Gengar that I've experienced are his inevitable defeat to Scizor, either through Bullet punch if I anticipate a Pursuit, or vice versa. The speed that Gengar brings to the table is the main factor keeping him around on my team, since all other pokemon I use are below base 100.
Electivire @ Expert Belt
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 50 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 206 SpA
Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower
-Ice Punch
-Earthquake
What I consider to be a standard MixVire. Getting a Motor Drive really kicks this thing into overdrive (naturally) since its speed and power help it beat sweepers with a weakness to its impressive coverage. With such a strong emphasis on Slowbro, Electivire is a natural complement. Admittedly, his power is strongly lacking on the types not on the super effective list, which makes this set strangely effective on tough pokemon like Skarmory, Foretress, or Metagross, but not nearly as effective on pokemon like Gengar, or bulky grounds like Hippowdon and Gliscor. Forgoing Cross Chop for Flamethrower really hurts Scizor (a common threat) at the cost of beating Blissey (a less common pokemon that is typically bested by Breloom). The Rotom formes really hurt this set with their resistance to his lone STAB and the potential to fire back a Will-O-Wisp or even an outright Shadow Ball. Even so, the sweeping potential for this set is very high and I've seen myself taken from being down 1-4 to a victory carried solely on the back of an unboosted Electivire.
Drapion @ BlackSludge
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP/ 12 Atk/ 244 SpD
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
-Crunch
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Whirlwind
To be honest, this is really where the team needs help. Drapion is primarily a status absorber / Toxic Spike remover with the ability to scout out the opponent's team. He has some usefulness when it comes to beating Rotoms, which a number of my team has trouble with, but the lack of entry hazards make me question the usefulness of Whirlwind, though a Whirlwind coming off 95 base speed as a result of Sleep Talk is a nice way to gain a free turn on slower foes. Drapion also acts as a tough sponge for attacks that I can't afford to hit any of my frail sweepers.
Main issues:
-Usefulness of Drapion
-Heatran, if Slowbro is down. Even if not, Heatran that carry Toxic are a nightmare
-DD Gyarados after a boost
-Swords Dance Scizor. Electivire can potentially survive a +2 Bullet Punch and fire back an OHKO, but if Scizor hits +4 it's game over
Thanks for looking!
I've been working with the bulk of this team for a while now, but I'm having trouble getting it to feel like the team has real synergy. The team focus is based around Slowbro and Breloom getting in and wreaking havoc with their bulk (or effective bulk in Breloom's case) and strong offensive potential. The problems I'm having are based around the fact that it seems like half the battles I'm in I feel overmatched and I was hoping I could get some good feedback about ways to patch up my weak points.
Team in Detail
Arcanine @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 160 HP/255 Atk/ 95 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Flare Blitz
-Crunch
-Extremespeed
-Toxic
When this team first was created, I lived with a Staraptor lead based on the fact that it had intimidate and could promptly U-Turn away into an appropriate counter or pokemon with setup potential with the opponent basically forced to switch. Recently, I've tried working this Arcanine with much greater success. Though it can't stop Stealth Rocks from coming up on most common leads, many of them that stick around don't survive long enough to do anything else. Azelf and Celebi are beaten by Crunch/ES, Ninjask is hampered by ES if it plans on using substitute, plus passing an intimidate is always helpful. Bronzong is beaten by Flare Blitz, and any status leads (Breloom and Smeargle especially) are smashed by Blitz with the Lum keeping Arcanine healthy. Coming across leads like Aerodactyl and Metagross, I typically switch to Slowbro to keep Arcanine from getting OHKOed by a potential Earthquake.
The beauty of this set is that if an oppenent tries to switch in a bulky water (or a DD Gyarados) expecting a switch, they eat a Toxic and it becomes a waiting game. The main issue I've had with this set is that Heatran walls it hopelessly, though Slowbro does a relatively good job of dealing with him.
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 212 HP/198 Def/100 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
-Calm Mind
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Slack Off
Slowbro is the lone pokemon I've been using since I started battling comptetively. It's a bulky water that has toughness from both sides and a great recovery move. The EVs and nature may seem a bit strange, but this is directly mirrored from the Slowbro I have in my Platinum cartridge, and I continue to use them since I'm using Shoddy to help me build a team I could actually train and use in the real game. After a couple Calm Minds, Slowbro really becomes an offensive powerhouse that's only let down by his abysmal speed. Even without a single boost, he takes a number of attacks to the chin and fires back an OHKO on all dragons not named Kingdra with an Ice Beam (assuming they don't have a Yache). Type coverage only lacks in beating bulky waters, but Breloom typically takes care of that role when necessary. Toxic is a real problem for this set, but this set doesn't particularly mind a paralysis since it's so slow anyway and even prefers a burn since it blocks other statuses without real risk of fainting. I've found that once Slowbro goes down, my team becomes much more threatened. Being weak to U-Turn may seem like this is Scizor bait, but Choice Band U-Turns are short of an OHKO, and proper prediction (i.e. Slack Off at Scizor's appearance to heal on the switch) can mend the damage before it becomes a problem.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 100 HP/234 Atk/168 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Spore
-Substiture
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
My own variation of the Spore puncher, this Breloom is devastating if the opponent doesn't know how to beat it. Again, EVs are strange, but this relates to the argument above. The strategy is simple: switch Breloom into anything slower than it that doesn't threaten it (Blissey, Swampert, Tentacruel), Spore, Substitute, strike. Even if I can only get a single Focus Punch in on a Flying type before being forced to switch to a counter, that hit can do a substantial amount of damage coming off Breloom's incredible attack. Most bulky waters are OHKOed or 2HKOed by a powerful Seed Bomb. Swampert gets special mention for being slower than Breloom but still falling to Seed Bomb, which typically preserves the Substitute for a free Focus Punch on whatever is sent out next. This set is bothered by ghosts due to the fighting immunity, but most apart from Rotom-H can be beaten by Seed Bomb. Zapdos with Heat Wave also poses a strong threat, but swapping to Slowbro on the wave and another swap to Electivire on a potential electric attack can act as a setup bait for a totally different threat.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spe/ 252 SpA
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Destiny Bond
I've often wondered about the usefulness of this Gengar, but OHKOing non-scarfed Rotom formes, most Latias, almost all steel types (assuming Focus Blast lands) and unboosted Gyarados is enough for me to keep him around. Admittedly, Destiny Bond has really fallen off in usefulness in the past month or so, but there are occasions where it helps (Calm Mind boosters that have gotten too powerful). This Gengar is walled by Blissey, but she typically becomes bait for Breloom to switch in and begin the pain. The real problems with Gengar that I've experienced are his inevitable defeat to Scizor, either through Bullet punch if I anticipate a Pursuit, or vice versa. The speed that Gengar brings to the table is the main factor keeping him around on my team, since all other pokemon I use are below base 100.
Electivire @ Expert Belt
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 50 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 206 SpA
Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower
-Ice Punch
-Earthquake
What I consider to be a standard MixVire. Getting a Motor Drive really kicks this thing into overdrive (naturally) since its speed and power help it beat sweepers with a weakness to its impressive coverage. With such a strong emphasis on Slowbro, Electivire is a natural complement. Admittedly, his power is strongly lacking on the types not on the super effective list, which makes this set strangely effective on tough pokemon like Skarmory, Foretress, or Metagross, but not nearly as effective on pokemon like Gengar, or bulky grounds like Hippowdon and Gliscor. Forgoing Cross Chop for Flamethrower really hurts Scizor (a common threat) at the cost of beating Blissey (a less common pokemon that is typically bested by Breloom). The Rotom formes really hurt this set with their resistance to his lone STAB and the potential to fire back a Will-O-Wisp or even an outright Shadow Ball. Even so, the sweeping potential for this set is very high and I've seen myself taken from being down 1-4 to a victory carried solely on the back of an unboosted Electivire.
Drapion @ BlackSludge
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP/ 12 Atk/ 244 SpD
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
-Crunch
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Whirlwind
To be honest, this is really where the team needs help. Drapion is primarily a status absorber / Toxic Spike remover with the ability to scout out the opponent's team. He has some usefulness when it comes to beating Rotoms, which a number of my team has trouble with, but the lack of entry hazards make me question the usefulness of Whirlwind, though a Whirlwind coming off 95 base speed as a result of Sleep Talk is a nice way to gain a free turn on slower foes. Drapion also acts as a tough sponge for attacks that I can't afford to hit any of my frail sweepers.
Main issues:
-Usefulness of Drapion
-Heatran, if Slowbro is down. Even if not, Heatran that carry Toxic are a nightmare
-DD Gyarados after a boost
-Swords Dance Scizor. Electivire can potentially survive a +2 Bullet Punch and fire back an OHKO, but if Scizor hits +4 it's game over
Thanks for looking!
