nevereverland
Hello again Smogon, I'm back looking to see what you guys think of my latest team. I've been doing very, very well with it so far - roughly a 5:1 win ratio, and I feel the majority of my losses are due to simple misplays on my part. It has a very solid offensive core of setup sweepers with very wide coverage as well as a sturdy defensive backbone with its type variety. I've seen a lot of success with this so far, and even my friends who are not as veteran battlers have played this team to decent success. Nevertheless, I feel like the team could be further optimized, so I'd love to see what you guys think and how it could be improved.
teambuilding
With this team, I wanted to create a solid offensive core including Diancie-Mega. From there, I added in Manaphy, Talonflame and Hawlucha to round out the main offense of the team. I then added in Ferrothorn and Landorus-T to complement them and open up favorable matchups for any member of the offensive core. Ferrothorn creates great setup opportunities for Talonflame and Manaphy, while Landorus sees to it that Diancie and Hawlucha aren't so easily killed by Earthquakes, Talonflames and other revenge killers. The main purpose of the team is to identify which sweeper the opposing team has a glaring weakness to, get them setup safely through Landorus and Ferrothorn, and have them punch holes through however much it can and leave the scraps up to the others to finish off.
the team
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Protect
- Earth Power
- Moonblast
The original Pokemon I built this team around. You know, just 'cause she's pretty cool and pretty good. EVs are ripped from Smogon's "Offensive" set; 32 Atk to secure the OHKO on Defensive Zapdos after Stealth Rock, which sounds like a pretty good deal since my team is fairly weak to it, depending on which coverage moves it brings. Diancie was intended to serve as the team's main "setup" offense in most cases; her role was generally to punch holes through the walls that Talonflame, Hawlucha and Manaphy would otherwise have trouble taking on in a healthy one-on-one. Though, since I typically find more opportunities to simply setup with the other boosting sweepers, she has found more of a role closer to luring in Scizors, Bisharps and Metagrosses for Manaphy or Talonflame to burn and setup on. She also serves as a backup endgame cleaner if I had to save the others for very specific kills. She is also vital in that she is my only reliable answer to Mega Manectric, Zapdos, and Talonflame among a few others that don't come to mind.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
Landorus is my lead and Stealth Rock setter in the vast majority of matchups, except specifically against other dedicated leads like other Landorus, Garchomps and Skarmories. He is running a fairly offensively oriented set however, to keep offensive pressure as this team relies very heavily on it. He also plays the main pivot role on the team, and since I feel that slower U-turns are more suited for the team I may consider running a more defensive set. He is also utilized heavily for his ability to draw in Water- and Ice-type attackers and status for Manaphy and Ferrothorn to absorb and retaliate. He, along with Talonflame, are also my main answer to strong physical attackers due to Intimidate and Talonflame's Will-O-Wisp.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
Ferrothorn forms the second part of my defensive backbone along with Landorus. In addition to that, he is also chiefly utilized to force switches to their Fire-type or Fighting-type attackers in which, depending on their switch, can be abused by each and every one of my sweepers to set up on. I opted to run a more offensive moveset with two STAB moves, similar to Landorus in that I wanted to always have some pressure offensively in some way to discourage other setup sweepers. I could use some help on this set though, I feel as if it's fairly suboptimal.
Manaphy @ Lum Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
Manaphy is the first of my three boosting setup sweepers and is a main option alongside Diancie to start punching holes through the opposing team to prime the other sweepers for a clean finish. After it gets a solid switch-in opportunity from either Landorus or Ferrothorn, it tends to draw in Electric-type attackers such as Manectric and bulky Grass-types like Venusaur, in which case I'll usually pivot out back to Ferrothorn or Talonflame respectively, and proceed to setup once again. I chose a Lum Berry set in order to absorb Toxics and Thunder Waves, but after some number of games I'm considering switching to a Wacan Berry in order to bait and easily KO Manectrics who can be rough to deal with if Diancie has prior damage.
Hawlucha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick
The amount of games this little shitter has won me is off the charts; it seems like with his banishment to BL, most people have forgotten about him and are thus unprepared to the havoc this bird wreaks upon the earth. I try to bring Hawlucha in on defensive/stall Pokemon such as Sableye, Slowbro and such who usually rely on status moves like Will-O-Wisp in order to slow Hawlucha down, in which case I set up Substitute, and Swords Dance until it's broken. Then, Substitute again to proc Sitrus Berry, Unburden boost, and Acrobatics boost - and from there on, bar any Talonflames, it's a clean sweep. 12 HP to get an even number so two Substitutes breaks the 50% threshold. This dude is just savage.
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
- Roost
The ever-ubiquitous Smogonbird makes an appearance in this team with a bulky SD set, designed to cripple would-be physical checks/counters and easen up the playfield for Diancie, Manaphy and Hawlucha. I typically only aim for an opening sweep attempt with Talonflame if a very obvious opportunity presents itself, such as a Mega Sableye, Serperior, or any other Pokemon that would be easy to setup on and guarantees at least one Swords Dance. Otherwise, very straightforward Talonflame; I don't typically save him for endgame sweeps as much as I do with Diancie or Hawlucha, but he occasionally finds himself in that role if Hawlucha dies prematurely.
So yeah, that's basically it. Give it a whirl, tell me how much the team sucks or how much you like it. And as always, critique and optimization help is always welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read it, if you've made it this far. Have a good one.
