Hello everyone!
I've always been fond of balanced teams, so most of the teams I built are balanced. However, most of them are bad, until I came up with this team, which actually got me to mid ladder (at around 1650 - 1700). I'd like to share this team and hopefully to get some feedback to improve my team for the better.
To begin the thought process of my team, I started with one of my favorite mons: Mamoswine.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
A team without hazard setters is deemed to be a bad team, so I chose Mamo to be my entry hazard setter. The other three moves are pretty standard for Mamo: Icicle Crash and EQ for dealing massive damage, and Ice Shard to pick off mons. Max atk and life orb makes this mon a heavy-hitting mon that can OHKO a lot of top threat mons, including Heatran, Magearna, Lando-T, Zygarde, Koko, AV Bulu, and Ttar (Mega-Ttar can be taken down with Ice Shard after an EQ), meaning it would pressure the opponent to switch whenever they're facing this monstrosity, and can use this pressure to predict your opponent's choices. Though without a focus sash, I often still lead with this mon because it often forces out Lando-T as a lead.
After choosing Mamo, I then proceed to look for mons that can take a water, fire, and steel moves for Mamo; and what better mon there is other than Toxapex the wall itself.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
With the ability Regenerator and the move Recover, Tox can repeatedly take hits for Mamo when needed from mons including Gren/Ash gren, Keldeo, Victini (risks a bolt strike), Zard-Y (risks solar beam), and Mega-Scizor, and provide support with scald and t spikes. The EV spread makes it the sp def wall of my team, being able to take a lot of hits on the switch in, allowing me to scout for moves or simply to tank for others. There are a lot of times I use Pex as a check to scout moves from the common specs Ash-Gren: if it uses Water type moves, I double back to Mamo or other mons; if it uses Dark Pulse, I switch TTar in. The last move slot goes to Haze to prevent opposing mon from setting up on me.
Other than fire and water, I also need a mon that can take grass, fighting moves and immune to the common ground move, and with Hawlucha running all over the place, I decided to go with a defensive Zapdos as both my defensive wall and defogger.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog
With the EV spread and Bold nature, Zapdos can successfully take neutral or even super effective hits. Defog to help blow away all the hazards on the field, with two attacks to help either chip opposing enemies, take out mons like Mega-Scizor and Ferro, or simply hax them, and Roost to lengthen its longevity on the field. Since I do not plan on PP stalling, I decided to go with Static to punish fast physical attackers, most notably Kartana, Mega-Swampert, Hawlucha, and Mega-Scizor. If there's a Hawlucha or Mega-Pinsir on the opposing team, which are both huge offensive threat for my team, I simply keep my Zapdos healthy and send it out when necessary.
With these two mons covering for my Mamo, I soon realize that besides Mamo, I have no offensive pressure. I want a mon that can take hits on the switch in and set up for a sweep or wallbreak, which is why I chose Mega-Ttar for my next slot.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
Max Atk and Spd with a Jolly nature so that with a +1 from DD, it can outspeed max Spd Koko; but note that it cannot outspeed Ash-Gren. Though without any bulk investment, because of its natural bulk and a boost from Sand Stream, it can often take one or two neutral hits before going down, giving it plenty of opportunity to get a DD up. A +1 Stone Edge can often 2HKO a lot of common walls, including Pex, Mega-Venu, and Skarm. Fire Punch and Ice Punch to both provide coverage and surprise the enemy; there are many times that I simply take out the opposing team's Ferro, Lando-T, Zygarde, and Mega-Scizor in one hit or 2HKO without a boost. Note that although it can take hits, an Ash-Gren can outspeed it even at +1 Spd and OHKO with specs Hydro Pump in sand, so always go to Pex when facing Ash-Gren (unless you get to +2).
Now I need a mon for speed control, or more specifically, a Scarf user. There are a few scarfers out there, but I ultimately decided to choose Kartana cause I'm lacking a counter to all the Tapus and a Grass type coverage.
Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
Because I already have a defog Zapdos, I decided to use a 4-attack Scarf Kartana. Leaf Blade for grass type coverage for my team to better deal with water types than Zapdos and to stop Mega-Swampert from sweeping in rain; Smart Strike to deal with a lot of the Tapus running around; Sacred Sword for coverage and to deal with common checks for Kart like Heatran and Magnezone; and Knock Off to deal with Psychic types and stall teams. It is best used as a revenge killer and cannot switch into attacks often.
The last slot is a slot that took me quite some time to fill in. I first went with a secondary sweeper SD Jolly Mimikyu with Mimikyum-Z (just for a bit of fun), but find it extremely underwhelming since it can't OHKO a lot of mons even at +2. Also, with Mimikyu on my team, my team cannot deal with Will-o-wisp Mew since I have four physical attackers, and Kart's knock off cannot OHKO a Mew; my only switch-ins to Will-o-wisp Mew are Pex and Zapdos, which cannot deal any damage to it. I can only reside to using Zapdos to get a para with Discharge so that my mons can outspeed it and take it out before it cripples my team. With this Mew and a lack of firepower in mind, I turned to the powerful special attacker Blacephalon.
Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Overheat
- Trick
Since I already have a Scarfer, and my team is lacking a strong special attacker, I decided to use a Specs set on Blacephalon. A Specs Blace can often OHKO or 2HKO mons that don't resist its attacks, especially Specs Overheat, which can OHKO Kyurem-B, a huge threat to my team. Fire blast as an alternative since it won't drop SpA. Shadow Ball to deal huge damage for mons that take fire type moves, which can 3HKO Heatran and Pex, 2HKO Zygarde, and OHKO the annoying Mew, and Zard X and Y after Stealth Rock damage. As long as the opposing team does not have a Ttar, this mon can punch holes on a lot of mons switching-in. The last move Trick is used only when its firepower is no longer needed and crippling a stall is necessary. Although there are no Volt-turn users on my team, I often just predict my opponents' next moves and double into Blacephalon. It is a bit risky, but comes with huge rewards afterwards.
Thank you for reading :D All replies will be appreciated, including harsh criticisms.
I've always been fond of balanced teams, so most of the teams I built are balanced. However, most of them are bad, until I came up with this team, which actually got me to mid ladder (at around 1650 - 1700). I'd like to share this team and hopefully to get some feedback to improve my team for the better.
To begin the thought process of my team, I started with one of my favorite mons: Mamoswine.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
A team without hazard setters is deemed to be a bad team, so I chose Mamo to be my entry hazard setter. The other three moves are pretty standard for Mamo: Icicle Crash and EQ for dealing massive damage, and Ice Shard to pick off mons. Max atk and life orb makes this mon a heavy-hitting mon that can OHKO a lot of top threat mons, including Heatran, Magearna, Lando-T, Zygarde, Koko, AV Bulu, and Ttar (Mega-Ttar can be taken down with Ice Shard after an EQ), meaning it would pressure the opponent to switch whenever they're facing this monstrosity, and can use this pressure to predict your opponent's choices. Though without a focus sash, I often still lead with this mon because it often forces out Lando-T as a lead.
After choosing Mamo, I then proceed to look for mons that can take a water, fire, and steel moves for Mamo; and what better mon there is other than Toxapex the wall itself.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes
With the ability Regenerator and the move Recover, Tox can repeatedly take hits for Mamo when needed from mons including Gren/Ash gren, Keldeo, Victini (risks a bolt strike), Zard-Y (risks solar beam), and Mega-Scizor, and provide support with scald and t spikes. The EV spread makes it the sp def wall of my team, being able to take a lot of hits on the switch in, allowing me to scout for moves or simply to tank for others. There are a lot of times I use Pex as a check to scout moves from the common specs Ash-Gren: if it uses Water type moves, I double back to Mamo or other mons; if it uses Dark Pulse, I switch TTar in. The last move slot goes to Haze to prevent opposing mon from setting up on me.
Other than fire and water, I also need a mon that can take grass, fighting moves and immune to the common ground move, and with Hawlucha running all over the place, I decided to go with a defensive Zapdos as both my defensive wall and defogger.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Defog
With the EV spread and Bold nature, Zapdos can successfully take neutral or even super effective hits. Defog to help blow away all the hazards on the field, with two attacks to help either chip opposing enemies, take out mons like Mega-Scizor and Ferro, or simply hax them, and Roost to lengthen its longevity on the field. Since I do not plan on PP stalling, I decided to go with Static to punish fast physical attackers, most notably Kartana, Mega-Swampert, Hawlucha, and Mega-Scizor. If there's a Hawlucha or Mega-Pinsir on the opposing team, which are both huge offensive threat for my team, I simply keep my Zapdos healthy and send it out when necessary.
With these two mons covering for my Mamo, I soon realize that besides Mamo, I have no offensive pressure. I want a mon that can take hits on the switch in and set up for a sweep or wallbreak, which is why I chose Mega-Ttar for my next slot.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
Max Atk and Spd with a Jolly nature so that with a +1 from DD, it can outspeed max Spd Koko; but note that it cannot outspeed Ash-Gren. Though without any bulk investment, because of its natural bulk and a boost from Sand Stream, it can often take one or two neutral hits before going down, giving it plenty of opportunity to get a DD up. A +1 Stone Edge can often 2HKO a lot of common walls, including Pex, Mega-Venu, and Skarm. Fire Punch and Ice Punch to both provide coverage and surprise the enemy; there are many times that I simply take out the opposing team's Ferro, Lando-T, Zygarde, and Mega-Scizor in one hit or 2HKO without a boost. Note that although it can take hits, an Ash-Gren can outspeed it even at +1 Spd and OHKO with specs Hydro Pump in sand, so always go to Pex when facing Ash-Gren (unless you get to +2).
Now I need a mon for speed control, or more specifically, a Scarf user. There are a few scarfers out there, but I ultimately decided to choose Kartana cause I'm lacking a counter to all the Tapus and a Grass type coverage.
Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
Because I already have a defog Zapdos, I decided to use a 4-attack Scarf Kartana. Leaf Blade for grass type coverage for my team to better deal with water types than Zapdos and to stop Mega-Swampert from sweeping in rain; Smart Strike to deal with a lot of the Tapus running around; Sacred Sword for coverage and to deal with common checks for Kart like Heatran and Magnezone; and Knock Off to deal with Psychic types and stall teams. It is best used as a revenge killer and cannot switch into attacks often.
The last slot is a slot that took me quite some time to fill in. I first went with a secondary sweeper SD Jolly Mimikyu with Mimikyum-Z (just for a bit of fun), but find it extremely underwhelming since it can't OHKO a lot of mons even at +2. Also, with Mimikyu on my team, my team cannot deal with Will-o-wisp Mew since I have four physical attackers, and Kart's knock off cannot OHKO a Mew; my only switch-ins to Will-o-wisp Mew are Pex and Zapdos, which cannot deal any damage to it. I can only reside to using Zapdos to get a para with Discharge so that my mons can outspeed it and take it out before it cripples my team. With this Mew and a lack of firepower in mind, I turned to the powerful special attacker Blacephalon.
Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Overheat
- Trick
Since I already have a Scarfer, and my team is lacking a strong special attacker, I decided to use a Specs set on Blacephalon. A Specs Blace can often OHKO or 2HKO mons that don't resist its attacks, especially Specs Overheat, which can OHKO Kyurem-B, a huge threat to my team. Fire blast as an alternative since it won't drop SpA. Shadow Ball to deal huge damage for mons that take fire type moves, which can 3HKO Heatran and Pex, 2HKO Zygarde, and OHKO the annoying Mew, and Zard X and Y after Stealth Rock damage. As long as the opposing team does not have a Ttar, this mon can punch holes on a lot of mons switching-in. The last move Trick is used only when its firepower is no longer needed and crippling a stall is necessary. Although there are no Volt-turn users on my team, I often just predict my opponents' next moves and double into Blacephalon. It is a bit risky, but comes with huge rewards afterwards.
Thank you for reading :D All replies will be appreciated, including harsh criticisms.
