This is an offensive team which utilizes Drought Ninetales to summon sunlight, but is not completely sun-oriented, although it does feature Venusaur. Besides turning Venusaur into an absolute monster, Sun also helps to nullify opponents’ Sandstorms, Hails, and Rains, doing which itself helps in shutting down threats like Landorus, Thundurus, Dragonite (if its running Hurricane), Politoed, T-Tar, Gyarados, Toxicroak etc, and weakening opposing attacks which benefit from weather and at the same time boost fire attacks on my team (as 4 of my 6 pokemon have Fire-type attacks). However, three of the six pokemon don’t rely on sun to fulfil their roles, although Conkeldurr and Salamence still benefit from the sun in various ways, but can still setup and sweep outside of sunlight (and that’s why they are in the team). This team has done pretty well in the Pokemon Online Wifi OU metagame, peaking at about 400 more than once, and rarely goes below 4000-5000 mark. There are still some issues with the team which hinder it sometimes, and I’ve described them towards the end of the RMT description.
Pokemon@ Item
Nature
EV spread:
Moves:
Description:
Ninetales@Leftovers
Modest Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 144 HP, 112 Spe
Moves:
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-Solar Beam
-Will-O-Wisp
Role description: Summons the sun. This Ninetales obviously has to engage in weather wars, and its moveset and EV spread is built to increase its chances of winning them. Sunny Day is to surprise incoming or slower Tyranitars or Politoeds, which has game-changing potential. Fire Blast is the main attacking option, and it goes very well with Solarbeam. The knowledge of Solarbeam mostly forces the opponent to switch out Politoed once I’ve used Sunny Day or have switched in on it, and with a bit of prediction on whom the opponent is going to switch in, I use Fire Blast, Solarbeam or Will-O-Wisp, which often results in opponent’s Starmie, Rotom-W, Breloom, Tornadus, Landorus, Gliscor etc. being OHKO’ed or taking a huge dent or at least getting crippled if they are physical attackers and I use Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp also ruins Tyranitar and it can never OHKO Ninetales unless Stone Edge critical hits. Leftovers maximize longevity. And finally, if this doesn’t work, it can always switch out, and Venusaur can OHKO Politoed, and Conkeldurr can scare T-Tar away. Even if Ninetales loses the weather war, all is not lost, as the game can still be won with the other guys who can destroy the opponent independent of weather.
Although its job is not to rampage through the opponent, it can still make it easier for the other four by winning the weather war, and taking down as many of opponent’s pokemon down as it can. It’s easy to see that Heatran walls it completely, as well as Blissey/Chansey, so I have to be wary of them and make correct decisions. Overall, running this Ninetales depends on the player as important game changing predictions are to be made, as well as on luck as Fire Blast and Will-O-Wisp both can miss in crucial situations. And one never knows when a burnt Tyranitar’s Stone Edge or Politoed’s Scald in sunlight critical hits and takes Ninetales out. Obviously, I have to contend with that probability factor, and maximize my chances instead by making correct predictions and taking correct decisions.
Forretress@Leftovers
Sassy Nature
EV Spread: 252 HP, 252SpDef, 4Def (switching to a specially defensive set was much more sensible, as Forretress didn't entice many physical attacks, and if he did, his 317 defense is still solid enough to take them.
Moves:
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Volt Switch
The team’s Stealth Rocker and spinner. It is the team lead against all weather teams. It mainly uses Stealth Rock on the first turn except when I anticipate Taunt and use Volt Switch instead. On second turn, it uses Toxic Spikes or Rapid Spin or Volt Switch depending on what I deem best. Leftovers maximize longevity.
Salamence@Lum Berry
Naive Nature
Ability: Intimidate
EV spread: 252 Att, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Blast (Fire Fang couldn't hit through Skarmory and took residual damage from Ferrothorn. Changing it to Fire Blast made it all the more better, and Salamence doesn't mind the SpDef loss.)
-Earthquake
We all know what Salamence is capable of. This is the typical DD set, with Fire Blast to take care of Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Forretress, Jirachi and other defensive Steel types, as well as Breloom. The boost from sun also helps Fire Fang turning it into a respectable 97.5 BP move. EQ and Dragon Claw and coverage moves as always, and Lum berry is to avoid status conditions. Once it gets going, it is extremely hard to stop unless, Ice moves, especially Ice Shard come in the way, in which case I have to switch it out. It acts as both a mid-game or late-game sweeper. :)
Conkeldurr@Leftovers
Adamant Nature
EV spread: 252 Att, 120 HP, 136 SpD
Moves:
-Bulk Up
-Mach Punch
-Drain Punch
-Stone Edge
The MVP of the team - with Venusaur just short of the title - Conkeldurr is the most fearsome pokemon on this team. After using a Bulk Up, or acquiring basic poison or burn, it can take on most pokemon in the OU tier, even non-Draco Meteor, non-Psychic Latios/Latias , non-Acrobatics stalling Gliscor (with the right strategy) and Jellicent and Gengar (if I anticipate Disable, I use Mach Punch to preserve Stone Edge). And once it gains momentum, oh boy. Mach Punch and Drain Punch do what they do – make best use of priority, and heal off any damage, respectively. Stone Edge is to hit anything else hard, with its positives being the high critical hit rate and BP, and negatives being PP and inaccuracy. Mostly people actually like to burn/poison/paralyze Conkeldurr, which mostly backfires on them.
Also of note, after one Bulk Up, Conkeldurr can easily take out Terrakion with a Drain Punch, another monster in OU, while healing off any damage from Close Combat.
Heatran@Air Balloon
Timid Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Substitute (blocks status better than Taunt, and also takes care of Smeargle/Breloom trying to put it to sleep)
-Magma Storm
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Ice
This is the Magma Storm set from Smogon movesets, with Air Balloon instead of Leftovers which gives it temporary immunity from ground attacks. This allows it to check pokemon that threaten it with ground attacks, such as Dragonite, Gliscor, Salamence and opposite Heatrans and answer back with appropriate attacks. Magma Storm, although a bit inaccurate, is a great move in the sun, and the trapping ability comes in handy. Taunt is to cripple Chansey/Blissey before switching out, and stopping other few pokemon from setting up. Earth Power is for opposite Heatran’s and HP Ice is crucial against Gliscor, Dragonite and Salamence, as the latter two can switch in on Heatran and proceed to setup and destroy the team.
Potential changes: Fire Blast instead of Magma Storm.
Venusaur@Life Orb
Modest Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Growth
-Sleep Powder
-Energy Ball
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Venusaur would be the MVP of the team if it weren’t for the fact that it is very mediocre without sun. But inside sun, he is an absolute monster, and is capable of taking out everything which doesn’t outspeed it (which only a few pokemon do, particularly Choice Scarf Terrakion and Latios and some other boosted ones which exceed 516 Speed), or cannot KO it with priority Ice Shard or isn’t Heatran. The best thing Venusaur can do to Heatran is to put it to sleep – which itself has chances of missing – and switch out making way for my Heatran, Conkeldurr or Salamence. Growth obviously boosts its Special Attack to monstrous levels, Sleep Powder after success gives Venusaur a chance to use Growth. Energy Ball is the preferred STAB instead of Solarbeam as it doesn’t become a liability without sun, and can still KO a weakened Politoed/Tyranitar which does not have Ice Beam, or ifit has, it is slower and decides to stay in. HP Fire is a coverage move, and it takes out Skarmory, Ferrothorn etc, and after a boost or two, anything that doesn’t resist it and resists Energy Ball, like Tornadus. Venusaur basically functions as a late game sweeper, when the weather war is settled.
Team leads, decided by Team Preview:
Forretress: It is the team lead almost always, particularly when opponent packs a weather inducer.
Ninetales: I send it as lead only against teams which do not have weather inducers, and I see a potential early sweep for Venusaur. This happens considerably lesser than the former though.
Conkeldurr: Only when the team I’m facing has a Smeargle or Ninjask both of which are almost guaranteed to be leads (unless on the same team). Mach Punch takes away a chunk of health from Smeargle so it can be finished off easily later, and preferably by Stealth Rock. Stone Edge for Ninjask, and at the same time, Bulk Up when it uses Protect (which is mostly easily predictable). The main aim is to minimize the opponent’s chances of successfully being able to Baton Pass boosts to another pokemons.
Salamence: almost never, as Salamence functions as a mid or late-game sweeper, there is no point in sending it as a lead unless the opposing team is very poorly built and I see an opportunity to demolish it completely.
Heatran: I would prefer to switch it in on an incoming Fire/Ground move than as a lead.
Venusaur: Same as Salamence.
Prominent threats (only those with which this team commonly runs into trouble):
Latios:
Landorus:
Tornadus:
Stoutland:
Gliscor:
Blissey/
Chansey::
If you feel, there are other prominent threats to this team (except Politoed and Tyranitar), tell me, and I'll post/update my strategies for them.
Concerns:
1. This team relies very heavily on inaccurate moves. Fire Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Stone Edge, Fire Fang (although rarely), Sleep Powder and Magma Storm sometimes miss in crucial situations which cost this team the game. But there are reasons why I use them over other options. Fire Blast gives more power to the team in sun than Flamethrower, and I prefer a 8PP 270BP move than a 16 PP 213.75BP move. Will-O-Wisp is there to cripple T-Tar and other physical tanks or sweepers, and other status inducing options such as Hypnosis and Toxic would be inaccurate as well, and anyway I don’t need them as Venusaur has Sleep Powder, and Forry is running Toxic Spikes. I could have Protect, but it doesn’t help me achieve what I am trying to do. Stone Edge is very very important for Conkeldurr to be able to take out pokemon such as Dragonite or Salamence which switch in and try to setup in front of Conkeldurr. I prefer it over Payback. Although Fire Blast appears a superior option to Magma Storm with its higher accuracy and same BP, the additional trapping damage that Magma Storm does is invaluable, specially against pokemon with Sturdy and Blissey/Chansey if I have no physical options left.
2. This team has poor coverage in that most damaging moves might be hard hitting, but the ‘super effective’ coverage is much less. All in all, the team has moves of only 9 out of the 17 types – of which Volt Switch and Rapid Spin on Forretress do little damage - at its disposal, which sometimes is a hindering factor as with some of the team members fainted the lack of attacking options becomes more and more noticeable. But its hard to change a lot on the movesets, and besides perhaps Taunt and Earth Power on Heatran, all moves see common use, and anyway hit hard even for neutral damage. It is difficult to change these two as well, as without them I would be left totally vulnerable to opposing stallers, walls and Heatrans.
3. This might be rare for most teams, but this team completely struggles against Sigilyph. I have lost almost all the games in which opponents used their Sigilyphs to the best. It is most-difficult-to-counter pokemon for the team, and even if it somehow is countered, it has already taken out most of the team.
Alternatives: I have tried using Starmie with Rapid Spin, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Surf instead of Forretress and using Stealth Rock instead of Taunt on Heatran but that didn’t work well. I lacked a reliable lead against most teams, specifically Rain-teams, and although Starmie did help on offense very much, I wasn’t able to even setup Stealth Rock in most cases. Other than that, I didn’t found changing any pokemon or its moveset very useful.
Importable:
Please rate this team, and I'd love any suggestions which could help improve it.
Team history:
1. The team was built around Chandelure at first, it being my favourite pokemon at that time, and I added Ninetales to support it with Drought, and consequentially Venusaur to take advantage of it.
2. I wanted a Dragon-type with diverse coverage and strong physical movepool, and I chose Salamence due to his higher speed and Intimidate which would be an additional defensive asset against physically strong teams and pokemons.
3. I wanted a hazard-inducer and preferred that it should also function as a Rapid Spinner simultaneously, and I picked up Forretress. (at that time, I gave it Spikes, and not Stealth Rock.)
4. I thought a bulky Water-type to support Ninetales and Chandelure would do good, so I picked up Jellicent.
5. After a few battles of testing, I perceived Jellicent’s utility was turning out to be very little of all the team members, so I tried Calm Mind Latios which failed too.
6. I rechecked my team completely in an effort to replace all the pokemon, items and moves which weren’t seeing enough use on the team. Chandelure and Latios/Jellicent stood out.
7. After trying out potential offensive combinations to replace the two in my mind, I decided Conkeldurr and Heatran would be the best as both showed they could do their offensive jobs without the sun. I preferred the Bulk Up and Magma Storm sets respectively over all others as they offered just the right balance of offense and defense.
8. Finally, Spikes was replaced by Stealth Rock on Forretress as it could be setup quickly and was necessary for Dragonite and Volcarona both of which otherwise ravaged the team, and Leftovers was replaced by Air Balloon on Heatran as it made it a great revenge killer against Dragonite, Salamence, Landorus, Gliscor and opposing Heatrans.
1. The team was built around Chandelure at first, it being my favourite pokemon at that time, and I added Ninetales to support it with Drought, and consequentially Venusaur to take advantage of it.
2. I wanted a Dragon-type with diverse coverage and strong physical movepool, and I chose Salamence due to his higher speed and Intimidate which would be an additional defensive asset against physically strong teams and pokemons.
3. I wanted a hazard-inducer and preferred that it should also function as a Rapid Spinner simultaneously, and I picked up Forretress. (at that time, I gave it Spikes, and not Stealth Rock.)
4. I thought a bulky Water-type to support Ninetales and Chandelure would do good, so I picked up Jellicent.
5. After a few battles of testing, I perceived Jellicent’s utility was turning out to be very little of all the team members, so I tried Calm Mind Latios which failed too.
6. I rechecked my team completely in an effort to replace all the pokemon, items and moves which weren’t seeing enough use on the team. Chandelure and Latios/Jellicent stood out.
7. After trying out potential offensive combinations to replace the two in my mind, I decided Conkeldurr and Heatran would be the best as both showed they could do their offensive jobs without the sun. I preferred the Bulk Up and Magma Storm sets respectively over all others as they offered just the right balance of offense and defense.
8. Finally, Spikes was replaced by Stealth Rock on Forretress as it could be setup quickly and was necessary for Dragonite and Volcarona both of which otherwise ravaged the team, and Leftovers was replaced by Air Balloon on Heatran as it made it a great revenge killer against Dragonite, Salamence, Landorus, Gliscor and opposing Heatrans.
Pokemon@ Item
Nature
EV spread:
Moves:
Description:
Ninetales@Leftovers
Modest Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 144 HP, 112 Spe
Moves:
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-Solar Beam
-Will-O-Wisp
Role description: Summons the sun. This Ninetales obviously has to engage in weather wars, and its moveset and EV spread is built to increase its chances of winning them. Sunny Day is to surprise incoming or slower Tyranitars or Politoeds, which has game-changing potential. Fire Blast is the main attacking option, and it goes very well with Solarbeam. The knowledge of Solarbeam mostly forces the opponent to switch out Politoed once I’ve used Sunny Day or have switched in on it, and with a bit of prediction on whom the opponent is going to switch in, I use Fire Blast, Solarbeam or Will-O-Wisp, which often results in opponent’s Starmie, Rotom-W, Breloom, Tornadus, Landorus, Gliscor etc. being OHKO’ed or taking a huge dent or at least getting crippled if they are physical attackers and I use Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp also ruins Tyranitar and it can never OHKO Ninetales unless Stone Edge critical hits. Leftovers maximize longevity. And finally, if this doesn’t work, it can always switch out, and Venusaur can OHKO Politoed, and Conkeldurr can scare T-Tar away. Even if Ninetales loses the weather war, all is not lost, as the game can still be won with the other guys who can destroy the opponent independent of weather.
Although its job is not to rampage through the opponent, it can still make it easier for the other four by winning the weather war, and taking down as many of opponent’s pokemon down as it can. It’s easy to see that Heatran walls it completely, as well as Blissey/Chansey, so I have to be wary of them and make correct decisions. Overall, running this Ninetales depends on the player as important game changing predictions are to be made, as well as on luck as Fire Blast and Will-O-Wisp both can miss in crucial situations. And one never knows when a burnt Tyranitar’s Stone Edge or Politoed’s Scald in sunlight critical hits and takes Ninetales out. Obviously, I have to contend with that probability factor, and maximize my chances instead by making correct predictions and taking correct decisions.
Forretress@Leftovers
Sassy Nature
EV Spread: 252 HP, 252SpDef, 4Def (switching to a specially defensive set was much more sensible, as Forretress didn't entice many physical attacks, and if he did, his 317 defense is still solid enough to take them.
Moves:
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Volt Switch
The team’s Stealth Rocker and spinner. It is the team lead against all weather teams. It mainly uses Stealth Rock on the first turn except when I anticipate Taunt and use Volt Switch instead. On second turn, it uses Toxic Spikes or Rapid Spin or Volt Switch depending on what I deem best. Leftovers maximize longevity.
Salamence@Lum Berry
Naive Nature
Ability: Intimidate
EV spread: 252 Att, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Blast (Fire Fang couldn't hit through Skarmory and took residual damage from Ferrothorn. Changing it to Fire Blast made it all the more better, and Salamence doesn't mind the SpDef loss.)
-Earthquake
We all know what Salamence is capable of. This is the typical DD set, with Fire Blast to take care of Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Forretress, Jirachi and other defensive Steel types, as well as Breloom. The boost from sun also helps Fire Fang turning it into a respectable 97.5 BP move. EQ and Dragon Claw and coverage moves as always, and Lum berry is to avoid status conditions. Once it gets going, it is extremely hard to stop unless, Ice moves, especially Ice Shard come in the way, in which case I have to switch it out. It acts as both a mid-game or late-game sweeper. :)
Conkeldurr@Leftovers
Adamant Nature
EV spread: 252 Att, 120 HP, 136 SpD
Moves:
-Bulk Up
-Mach Punch
-Drain Punch
-Stone Edge
The MVP of the team - with Venusaur just short of the title - Conkeldurr is the most fearsome pokemon on this team. After using a Bulk Up, or acquiring basic poison or burn, it can take on most pokemon in the OU tier, even non-Draco Meteor, non-Psychic Latios/Latias , non-Acrobatics stalling Gliscor (with the right strategy) and Jellicent and Gengar (if I anticipate Disable, I use Mach Punch to preserve Stone Edge). And once it gains momentum, oh boy. Mach Punch and Drain Punch do what they do – make best use of priority, and heal off any damage, respectively. Stone Edge is to hit anything else hard, with its positives being the high critical hit rate and BP, and negatives being PP and inaccuracy. Mostly people actually like to burn/poison/paralyze Conkeldurr, which mostly backfires on them.
Also of note, after one Bulk Up, Conkeldurr can easily take out Terrakion with a Drain Punch, another monster in OU, while healing off any damage from Close Combat.
Heatran@Air Balloon
Timid Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Substitute (blocks status better than Taunt, and also takes care of Smeargle/Breloom trying to put it to sleep)
-Magma Storm
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power Ice
This is the Magma Storm set from Smogon movesets, with Air Balloon instead of Leftovers which gives it temporary immunity from ground attacks. This allows it to check pokemon that threaten it with ground attacks, such as Dragonite, Gliscor, Salamence and opposite Heatrans and answer back with appropriate attacks. Magma Storm, although a bit inaccurate, is a great move in the sun, and the trapping ability comes in handy. Taunt is to cripple Chansey/Blissey before switching out, and stopping other few pokemon from setting up. Earth Power is for opposite Heatran’s and HP Ice is crucial against Gliscor, Dragonite and Salamence, as the latter two can switch in on Heatran and proceed to setup and destroy the team.
Potential changes: Fire Blast instead of Magma Storm.
Venusaur@Life Orb
Modest Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Moves:
-Growth
-Sleep Powder
-Energy Ball
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Venusaur would be the MVP of the team if it weren’t for the fact that it is very mediocre without sun. But inside sun, he is an absolute monster, and is capable of taking out everything which doesn’t outspeed it (which only a few pokemon do, particularly Choice Scarf Terrakion and Latios and some other boosted ones which exceed 516 Speed), or cannot KO it with priority Ice Shard or isn’t Heatran. The best thing Venusaur can do to Heatran is to put it to sleep – which itself has chances of missing – and switch out making way for my Heatran, Conkeldurr or Salamence. Growth obviously boosts its Special Attack to monstrous levels, Sleep Powder after success gives Venusaur a chance to use Growth. Energy Ball is the preferred STAB instead of Solarbeam as it doesn’t become a liability without sun, and can still KO a weakened Politoed/Tyranitar which does not have Ice Beam, or ifit has, it is slower and decides to stay in. HP Fire is a coverage move, and it takes out Skarmory, Ferrothorn etc, and after a boost or two, anything that doesn’t resist it and resists Energy Ball, like Tornadus. Venusaur basically functions as a late game sweeper, when the weather war is settled.
Team leads, decided by Team Preview:
Forretress: It is the team lead almost always, particularly when opponent packs a weather inducer.
Ninetales: I send it as lead only against teams which do not have weather inducers, and I see a potential early sweep for Venusaur. This happens considerably lesser than the former though.
Conkeldurr: Only when the team I’m facing has a Smeargle or Ninjask both of which are almost guaranteed to be leads (unless on the same team). Mach Punch takes away a chunk of health from Smeargle so it can be finished off easily later, and preferably by Stealth Rock. Stone Edge for Ninjask, and at the same time, Bulk Up when it uses Protect (which is mostly easily predictable). The main aim is to minimize the opponent’s chances of successfully being able to Baton Pass boosts to another pokemons.
Salamence: almost never, as Salamence functions as a mid or late-game sweeper, there is no point in sending it as a lead unless the opposing team is very poorly built and I see an opportunity to demolish it completely.
Heatran: I would prefer to switch it in on an incoming Fire/Ground move than as a lead.
Venusaur: Same as Salamence.
Prominent threats (only those with which this team commonly runs into trouble):
- Choice Scarf/Specs: This Latios hurts the team a lot, since it outspeeds Salamence (and if with Choice Scarf, even a +1 Speed Salamence) and therefore renders the usage of Dragon Claw futile if it is running Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse (a -2 SpA Draco Meteor OHKOs Salamence as well), and it is hard to switch into anything else as that no other Pokemon is a pure counter to it except Salamence: Venusaur can only do as much as put it to sleep, and in most cases the opponent switch and let another pokemon take the status and switch in Latios back again in which case Venusaur can do little. Heatran can 2HKO/3HKO it with HP Ice, but again it risks losing its Air Balloon and Latios can switch out and come back again to threaten it with Surf. Conkeldurr after a Bulk Up can take a Psyshock hit and mostly KO (always with SR damage) with Stone Edge + Mach Punch, but that again is hit-or-miss situation given Stone Edge treacherous accuracy. Ninetales can burn it but I don't prefer keeping it on the field against Latios. The only sure-shot way to OHKO is +2 Dragon Dance by Salamence, or praying that Draco Meteor misses which happens rarely.
- Rock Polish / Swords Dance -
- Choice Scarf -
- Substitute + 3 Attacks -
- Rain Abuser
- Choice Specs
- Choice Band
- Swords Dance
- Substitute + Protect -
- AcroBat
- Defensive
- Support
If you feel, there are other prominent threats to this team (except Politoed and Tyranitar), tell me, and I'll post/update my strategies for them.
Concerns:
1. This team relies very heavily on inaccurate moves. Fire Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Stone Edge, Fire Fang (although rarely), Sleep Powder and Magma Storm sometimes miss in crucial situations which cost this team the game. But there are reasons why I use them over other options. Fire Blast gives more power to the team in sun than Flamethrower, and I prefer a 8PP 270BP move than a 16 PP 213.75BP move. Will-O-Wisp is there to cripple T-Tar and other physical tanks or sweepers, and other status inducing options such as Hypnosis and Toxic would be inaccurate as well, and anyway I don’t need them as Venusaur has Sleep Powder, and Forry is running Toxic Spikes. I could have Protect, but it doesn’t help me achieve what I am trying to do. Stone Edge is very very important for Conkeldurr to be able to take out pokemon such as Dragonite or Salamence which switch in and try to setup in front of Conkeldurr. I prefer it over Payback. Although Fire Blast appears a superior option to Magma Storm with its higher accuracy and same BP, the additional trapping damage that Magma Storm does is invaluable, specially against pokemon with Sturdy and Blissey/Chansey if I have no physical options left.
2. This team has poor coverage in that most damaging moves might be hard hitting, but the ‘super effective’ coverage is much less. All in all, the team has moves of only 9 out of the 17 types – of which Volt Switch and Rapid Spin on Forretress do little damage - at its disposal, which sometimes is a hindering factor as with some of the team members fainted the lack of attacking options becomes more and more noticeable. But its hard to change a lot on the movesets, and besides perhaps Taunt and Earth Power on Heatran, all moves see common use, and anyway hit hard even for neutral damage. It is difficult to change these two as well, as without them I would be left totally vulnerable to opposing stallers, walls and Heatrans.
3. This might be rare for most teams, but this team completely struggles against Sigilyph. I have lost almost all the games in which opponents used their Sigilyphs to the best. It is most-difficult-to-counter pokemon for the team, and even if it somehow is countered, it has already taken out most of the team.
Alternatives: I have tried using Starmie with Rapid Spin, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Surf instead of Forretress and using Stealth Rock instead of Taunt on Heatran but that didn’t work well. I lacked a reliable lead against most teams, specifically Rain-teams, and although Starmie did help on offense very much, I wasn’t able to even setup Stealth Rock in most cases. Other than that, I didn’t found changing any pokemon or its moveset very useful.
Importable:
Heatran (F) @ Air Balloon Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Ninetales (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SAtk / 112 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Salamence (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
- Stone Edge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Ninetales (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SAtk / 112 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- SolarBeam
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Salamence (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
Conkeldurr (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
- Stone Edge
Please rate this team, and I'd love any suggestions which could help improve it.
