I've always thought of myself as an okay battler. I just don't know how good I really am because I can't build a good team to save my life. I find it ironic that I have all the patience in the world when I'm battling yet I can't put in the time and effort to make a decent team--mainly because that hasn't worked for me in the past. Still, I've had several teams that have had moderate success on Shoddy, but they have all had glaring issues. This one is no different...
Team at a glance:
>>couldn't find the animated Wash Rotom icon... >_<
I've always liked teams full of resistances and having a switch for every type of attack. Related to this is covering type weaknesses. Since I wanted a quick and easy-to-build team to start from, I focused on "duos" of Pokemon that covered each other's weaknesses.
"CeleTran" was an obvious starting point; that provided such a duo on the Special Attacking side. However, I wanted one on the physical side, as well. That led me to Salamence and Lucario.
With those four out of the way, a need for dedicated walls arose. I tried to find a physical and special wall that covered each other, but that quickly went by the wayside. One thing I thought for sure was that one had to function as a lead while the other would be a Rest-Talker. Hippowdon came to mind as a lead, and with that came the strategy of using Stealth Rock and Sandstorm to assist my four sweepers. Keeping the Rocks in play would be integral to this objective, thus a Spin Blocker was also necessary to me. Wash Rotom became a nice option as a Spin Blocker and Rest-Talker all in one. (I also wanted the Electric attack available.)
There's the methodology of the team building. Now here's the actual team in detail:
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/16 Atk/152 Def/88 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Ice Fang
I wish I could say there was something else to say about this Hippo other than "Standard," but this is the standard Physical Wall set. I should particularly note Ice Fang because I've caught many a Skymin trying to switch in on a predicted Earthquake with it (78% minimum to 0/0 Skymin). It amazes me how much it happens...
---
Rotom-w @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/56 Def/200 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Will-o-Wisp
- Discharge
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This is the Rest-Talker / Spin Blocker that spreads status. Will-o-Wisp helps it take physical hits while Discharge helps the team compensate for some speed issues.
EV-wise I had originally optimized the defenses (Calm 252/120/132, iirc), but a few battles quickly led me to believe that I needed to focus more on the Special side. The EVs could still use work, I suppose.
---
Salamence (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
Oh CBMence, what CAN'T you hit hard? (Sassy Bronzong notwithstanding) The Salamence Platinum Discussion thread inspired me to run this set. This has worked out best as late-game cleanup.
---
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
<<Insert comment about set being standard here.>> I wanted Mence to hit hard right away with CB while Luke would have a little more flexibility. I originally had Ice Punch in the last slot for those Gliscor switch-ins and whatnot, but Cress quickly emerged as a hard-to-get-rid-of problem so Crunch got the nod as another option for dealing with her.
---
Celebi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
The team so far looks a little on the slow side, right? Well, Celebi really helps with that. Grass Knot for late-game sweeping possibilities, Psychic for Gengar (non-Scarved), HP Ice for Skymin and Mence, and Earth Power for Heatran--and I'm faster than all of them! :DDD
---
Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 28 HP/228 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Speak of the devil. Here's the fast sweeper of the team. It's no wonder that the majority of Heatran used are Scarved--IT WORKS. I wouldn't change this for the world. I did change the EVs to hit 406 and beat Skymin, though (Naive for extra Explosion power); I'm glad I did.
---
There's the team. I've had particular troubles with fast sweepers; notables include Weavile, Kingdra, and some Skymin that manage to elude Hippo's Ice Fang. (Seriously, it's too obvious of a switch.) Paralysis should be my best friend when it comes to that, but with Rotom as the only source, it's not something I can rely on, you know? I'm sure there are also other issues with the team I've yet to encounter...
EDIT: The change in ScarfTran now prevents Skymin from sweeping, but I still have trouble switching into sweepers. I haven't tested the Scarf Celebi, but hopefully it will reduce that need. Then again, maybe the defensive Celebi set I had in mind is still a good idea...
If you read all that, I thank you for caring. Any ideas?
Team at a glance:
>>couldn't find the animated Wash Rotom icon... >_<
I've always liked teams full of resistances and having a switch for every type of attack. Related to this is covering type weaknesses. Since I wanted a quick and easy-to-build team to start from, I focused on "duos" of Pokemon that covered each other's weaknesses.
"CeleTran" was an obvious starting point; that provided such a duo on the Special Attacking side. However, I wanted one on the physical side, as well. That led me to Salamence and Lucario.
With those four out of the way, a need for dedicated walls arose. I tried to find a physical and special wall that covered each other, but that quickly went by the wayside. One thing I thought for sure was that one had to function as a lead while the other would be a Rest-Talker. Hippowdon came to mind as a lead, and with that came the strategy of using Stealth Rock and Sandstorm to assist my four sweepers. Keeping the Rocks in play would be integral to this objective, thus a Spin Blocker was also necessary to me. Wash Rotom became a nice option as a Spin Blocker and Rest-Talker all in one. (I also wanted the Electric attack available.)
There's the methodology of the team building. Now here's the actual team in detail:
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/16 Atk/152 Def/88 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Ice Fang
I wish I could say there was something else to say about this Hippo other than "Standard," but this is the standard Physical Wall set. I should particularly note Ice Fang because I've caught many a Skymin trying to switch in on a predicted Earthquake with it (78% minimum to 0/0 Skymin). It amazes me how much it happens...
---
Rotom-w @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/56 Def/200 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Will-o-Wisp
- Discharge
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This is the Rest-Talker / Spin Blocker that spreads status. Will-o-Wisp helps it take physical hits while Discharge helps the team compensate for some speed issues.
EV-wise I had originally optimized the defenses (Calm 252/120/132, iirc), but a few battles quickly led me to believe that I needed to focus more on the Special side. The EVs could still use work, I suppose.
---
Salamence (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
Oh CBMence, what CAN'T you hit hard? (Sassy Bronzong notwithstanding) The Salamence Platinum Discussion thread inspired me to run this set. This has worked out best as late-game cleanup.
---
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
<<Insert comment about set being standard here.>> I wanted Mence to hit hard right away with CB while Luke would have a little more flexibility. I originally had Ice Punch in the last slot for those Gliscor switch-ins and whatnot, but Cress quickly emerged as a hard-to-get-rid-of problem so Crunch got the nod as another option for dealing with her.
---
Celebi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
The team so far looks a little on the slow side, right? Well, Celebi really helps with that. Grass Knot for late-game sweeping possibilities, Psychic for Gengar (non-Scarved), HP Ice for Skymin and Mence, and Earth Power for Heatran--and I'm faster than all of them! :DDD
---
Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 28 HP/228 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Speak of the devil. Here's the fast sweeper of the team. It's no wonder that the majority of Heatran used are Scarved--IT WORKS. I wouldn't change this for the world. I did change the EVs to hit 406 and beat Skymin, though (Naive for extra Explosion power); I'm glad I did.
---
There's the team. I've had particular troubles with fast sweepers; notables include Weavile, Kingdra, and some Skymin that manage to elude Hippo's Ice Fang. (Seriously, it's too obvious of a switch.) Paralysis should be my best friend when it comes to that, but with Rotom as the only source, it's not something I can rely on, you know? I'm sure there are also other issues with the team I've yet to encounter...
EDIT: The change in ScarfTran now prevents Skymin from sweeping, but I still have trouble switching into sweepers. I haven't tested the Scarf Celebi, but hopefully it will reduce that need. Then again, maybe the defensive Celebi set I had in mind is still a good idea...
If you read all that, I thank you for caring. Any ideas?
