No Weather At All

The 1 and Only Lady Gaga

Title says it all... at first I wanted to make a decent lead for a team but since Team Preview will probably make you scramble the order of your team, what the heck and just use what fits the team well. Though if anything, Gastrodon will be my lead of choice against weather teams (except hail), which are about half of all teams.

Gastrodon (F) @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp Atk / 252 Sp Def
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Storm Drain
~ Scald
~ Earthquake
~ Toxic
~ Recover

I seriously can't help but be heads over heels over Gastrodon. Matches up pretty well against Tyranitar and Hippowdon who can't do much to Gastrodon while Gastrodon can threaten a burn with Scald. Politoed will barely scratch it since it's STAB Water attacks can't touch Gastrodon due to Storm Drain, while Gastrodon can just Recover off the damage, assuming that it's the Choiced variants without Toxic. Gastrodon can even survive Energy Ball (Though in this case it's more prudent to switch out) from Life Orb Ninetales to KO back with Earthquake. Of course, Abomasnow is a problem but that is what your teammates are for. Not that weather really matters as I don't use it myself and therfore there won't be weather wars but point is, most people lead with their weather starter and most of them lose to Gastrodon. Weather aside, Gastrodon is still incredibly bulky, he can even survive a Life Orbbed Draco Meteor from Latios and Recover off the damage and proceed to Toxic-stall Latios.

Scizor (F) @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 Sp Def
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Technician
~ Swords Dance
~ Bullet Punch
~ Bug Bite
~ Roost

Of course, something that can do something about those Grass types that plague Gastrodon is a must, and Scizor fits the bill very nicely. The fact that Gastrodon resists Scizor's Fire weakness only gives me more of a reason to use Scizor here. I originally wanted to use the Choice Band set with U-turn, but I personally prefer longevity, and thus I use the Defensive Swords Dance set which can clean up in mid to late-game. Of course, if someone can persuade me to use the Choice Band set over this, I'm all ears.


Volcarona (F) @Life Orb
EVs: 252 Sp Atk / 4 Sp Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
Ability: Flame Body
~ Quiver Dance
~ Fiery Dance
~ Bug Buzz
~ Hidden Power [Rock]

I need a little more offense in my team, preferably special attacks since Scizor is already covering the physical side, so I decided to use the offensive Volcarona. The lack of longevity may be a disadvantage at times, but unlike Scizor, Volcarona doesn't exactly have an excellent typing nor recovery that is not dependant on weather, and therefore I believe the more offensive Quiver Dance set would be more well-suited. Volcarona can also break through Pokemon like Jirachi, Bronzong and Skarmory which give Scizor a lot of trouble, while Scizor returns the favour by being able to eliminate Chansey and Blissey which for obvious reasons give Volcarona a lot of trouble.


Ferrothorn (F) @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 Sp Def
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Iron Barbs
~ Spikes
~ Power Whip
~ Gyro Ball
~ Leech Seed

Of course, what sort of team doesn't have entry hazards? Volcarona can use entry hazards to get around Focus Sashes, and so can Scizor. Ferrothorn can easily supply Spikes with its numerous resistances and superb defenses. Power Whip and Gyro Ball are standard attacks, while Leech Seed is for recovery.


Donphan (F) @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sturdy
~ Stealth Rock
~ Rapid Spin
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Shard

Oh wait, no Stealth Rock? No Spinners as well? Volcarona will definitely need a teammate that can spin away Stealth Rock, otherwise it will be losing half its health when it switches in. Donphan fits the bill by also being able to set up Stealth Rock itself, while being able to hit back hard with STAB Earthquake from 372 Attack. Ice Shard is there for priority and to finish off weakened Pokemon, or 4x weak Dragons.


Jellicent (F) @Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 44 Sp Def
Nature: Bold
Ability: Water Absorb
~ Scald
~ Will-o-Wisp
~ Taunt
~ Recover

If I'm going to use Spikes and Stealth Rock, naturally I need a spinblocker. Jellicent works pretty well since it has great synergy with Ferrothorn. Moves are pretty self-explanatory.




Anyway... any suggestions for improvement? I noticed my team does not have any Flying resists, if there's something like Choice Banded Staraptor with Brave Bird, I'm screwed. Furthermore, Volcarona will not be so useful against rain teams as one of its STAB attacks will be halved in power. But if I replace anything, I will probably lose some of the usefulness of that particular Pokemon. Still, I'm no expert, and I can certainly use some suggestions for improvement.
 
Hey there,

Growth Venusaur will be quite difficult for your team to deal with. While you are pretty well covered against other popular weathers (Rain and Sand), Sun teams with their Grass/Fire coverages will be quite difficult to deal with. Since you have no ways to change weather on your own, it's pretty easy for Ninetales to set up permanent sunlight using Drought and then the abusers will start wrecking your team. Venusaur is arguably the deadliest pokemon your team can encounter. To fix up that weakness I think that you should swap your Scizor for an Heatran. Heatran covers pretty much everything Scizor could handle, bar Reuniclus, but Volcarona can deal with it to an extent. Heatran is an excellent answer to Sun teams with its Flash Fire ability and good special bulk as well as a x4 resistance to Grass. Here's the Heatran set you should use :

Heatran @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
Calm
EVs : 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
-Lava Plume
-Dragon Pulse
-Roar
-Toxic

Furthermore, I'd change Donphan's EV spread to 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def Impish, since that way it will be able to take one threats like Excadrill and Terrakion better. Your current spread is almost OHKOed by +2 Earthquake, which can mean bad news if there's a bug amount of Spikes on the field.

Good luck!
 
A far more prominent threat would be excadrill, as that straight 6-0's this team at +2, OHKOing donphan (assuming no sturdy), to be honest this team seems quite poorly thought out and you would be better off taking it back to the drawing board rather than attempting changes.

Sun teams and Dragmag also walk all over this, you don't even have a ground resist / immune.
 
Good team, but i dont like the bulkyscizor. It should have max attack if your running an all out attacking moveset. Plus adamant on the bulky?Havent seen that.
 
Hey there.

Alright, there are a couple of threats that can completely decimate your team: Excadrill, DD Dragonite, Bulk Up Conkeldurr, and sun teams in general.

First off, I agree with Jirachi's suggestion of running a specially defensive Heatran over Scizor. Not only does Heatran stop sun teams, but it provides you with a phazer that can rack up SR + Spikes damage on the opponent. Although, I suggest that you run Toxic over Dragon Pulse, as it lets Heatran hinder bulky waters such as Gastrodon that would otherwise wall it, and is very useful in tandem with Protect (which also nets you an extra turn of Leftovers recovery). Heatran also forms a superb specially defensive core with Gastrodon, allowing you to defeat almost every special attacker in the metagame. It also defeats most variants of DD Dragonite.

Now, Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Excadrill are still major threats that must be dealt with. Even bulking up Donphan will not work, as with no reliable form of recovery, it will fail you in the end. Also, by bulking up Donphan, you lose out on attacking power that could be used to severely damage Jellicent switch-ins. Jellicent and Gastrodon both serve similar roles on your team, although Gastrodon is more needed in order to stop Thundurus, who will sweep you otherwise. Therefore, I suggest that you replace it with a Gliscor.

Swords Dance Gliscor
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 Speed
Nature: Poison Heal
Ability: Sturdy
~ Protect
~ Swords Dance
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Fang

SD Gliscor can prove to be a fearsome sweeper late game, while still being able to easily counter the likes of Excadrill and Conkeldurr. Protect is chosen over Taunt in order to scout the moves of Choiced pokes such as Landorus, and to provide extra Poison Heal recover. Donphan already serves as your Rapid Spinner, so Taunt isnt needed as much to prevent entry hazards.

Overall, nice team. Hope I helped, and good luck!
 
Aside from Volcarona, you have aboslutely no Nasty Plot Celebi check on your team. Calm Mind Virizion could put you in an equally difficult situation. I suggest you re-think a lot of the members on your team. It's hard to rate or make a suggestion without switching half of the team out.
 
ShakeItUp said:
Hey there.

Alright, there are a couple of threats that can completely decimate your team: Excadrill, DD Dragonite, Bulk Up Conkeldurr, and sun teams in general.

First off, I agree with Jirachi's suggestion of running a specially defensive Heatran over Scizor. Not only does Heatran stop sun teams, but it provides you with a phazer that can rack up SR + Spikes damage on the opponent. Although, I suggest that you run Toxic over Dragon Pulse, as it lets Heatran hinder bulky waters such as Gastrodon that would otherwise wall it, and is very useful in tandem with Protect (which also nets you an extra turn of Leftovers recovery). Heatran also forms a superb specially defensive core with Gastrodon, allowing you to defeat almost every special attacker in the metagame. It also defeats most variants of DD Dragonite.

Now, Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Excadrill are still major threats that must be dealt with. Even bulking up Donphan will not work, as with no reliable form of recovery, it will fail you in the end. Also, by bulking up Donphan, you lose out on attacking power that could be used to severely damage Jellicent switch-ins. Jellicent and Gastrodon both serve similar roles on your team, although Gastrodon is more needed in order to stop Thundurus, who will sweep you otherwise. Therefore, I suggest that you replace it with a Gliscor.

Swords Dance Gliscor
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 Speed
Nature: Poison Heal
Ability: Sturdy
~ Protect
~ Swords Dance
~ Earthquake
~ Ice Fang

SD Gliscor can prove to be a fearsome sweeper late game, while still being able to easily counter the likes of Excadrill and Conkeldurr. Protect is chosen over Taunt in order to scout the moves of Choiced pokes such as Landorus, and to provide extra Poison Heal recover. Donphan already serves as your Rapid Spinner, so Taunt isnt needed as much to prevent entry hazards.

Overall, nice team. Hope I helped, and good luck!
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Noted, but now I am left without a spinblocker; is it advisable to keep one? If so I'll have to replace one team member with a Ghost type.
 
Lady Gaga said:
Noted, but now I am left without a spinblocker; is it advisable to keep one? If so I'll have to replace one team member with a Ghost type.
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Nah, you'll be fine. Substituting a ghost in over another pokemon would just ruin your synergy and make you weak to many more threats. A spin-blocker isn't worth sacrificing synergy for.
 
Shokwav said:
Earth Power over Earthquake on Gastrodon.

Nice sig. :)
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Earthquake is better in most circumstances actually. It lets Gastrodon hurt pokemon like specially defense Jirachi and Tentacruel much harder. It also lets Gastrodon be a much bigger annoyance to Volcarona; it also wrecks CM Jirachi, who can do some major damage to Gastrodon if it runs Psyshock.
 
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