I want to start this post by saying a few things:
1) This isn't a gimmick team.
1.5) Yes, this is an Entrain+Truant+Trap team.
2) This isn't a team I just started using five minutes ago. I used it last gen too, though I've made a few alterations this gen. I've reached 1675~ just using this team on pokemonshowdown, beating people who were aware of the trick.
3) I'm looking for feedback to shore up this team, I don't think Hitmonlee is ideal.
4) Here's a sample replay of me (1650 rating vs 1550 rating) http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-122130447 -- it's a very one-sided match, so it doesn't show-case this team's staying power in more dire situations, but it gives a basic idea of how it plays.
What is the core philosophy of this team? Trapping and putting your opponent in a tizzy. I have faced people, who when even aware of what Durant can do to them, get tricked into screwing up. The point of this team is not the Durant+Gothi/Dugtrio combo, but the threat it always poses. If you stay in after being entrained, you will very likely lose the match. Dugtrio can sweep teams unless they have lots of priority, Gothitelle can sweep teams unless they have lots of high damage-non priority attacks (a +2 Shadow Sneak from Aegislash CANNOT OHKO this Gothitelle without a crit, HP Fire at +4 is a guaranteed OHKO). Anything in between either lacks the damage to kill Gothitelle with Protect+leftovers recovery, or is so crippled even after Gothitelle is removed that the rest of the team cleans house.
For teams that don't allow entrain+trap to happen, this team is perfectly equipped to play out a stall battle - preventing opponent set-up and wearing down enemies by constant forced switching or trapping when they slip up.
Let's start with the Janitor Hitmonlee. His role is extremely straightforward but also the most tenuous right now - he's cleanup crew. He comes in, Fakes Out, then proceeds to knock things out. You save him until the very end because he's frail and a necessary check to many common sweeper threats. If you're forced to deploy him early, don't use fake out if you can help it. He's meant to threaten one of this team's greatest threats: Tyranitar. As well as make certain sweepers, like Latios (sweeper Latios builds are OHKO'd by knockoff and outsped with Unburden active). He can also handle ghost switch ins easily with knock off. His greatest foes are Sableye and Rotom-W -- and anyone bulky enough to wall him.
Unburden
Adamant
Normal Gem
252 Atk+
200 Hp
56 Spe
Close Combat
Earthquake
Fake Out
Knock Off
Earthquake is for Heatran/Aegislash, primarily, as well as things I don't want to do CC on because I can't afford stage drops. Fake Out is for harass and set-up. Knock Off is for everything I can't Close Combat, as already explained, it does OHKO damage to most ghost and psychic sweepers and in a worst case scenario removes one item from play. This move was way over buffed this gen in my opinion...
Hitmonlee's EVs are spread in a loose manner. I've not tried to optimize his speed/hp split, but I've been adjusting his spread as I play this team -- originally I was using Gengar this gen in this slot, for extra perish trapping annoyance, but I felt I was lacking a physical sweeper and too vulnerable to knock off / shadow sneak. So far, the current arrangement lets me live clutchly from Landorous Earth Power / Gengar Shadow Ball.
I use Hitmonlee over all other comparable fighting types (like M-Medicham or Mienshao) purely because of his speed - he's faster than them all and he's got sufficient attacking power and he can survive special hits well enough with HP investment (he can live 1-2 boosted shadow sneaks from Aegislash and with proper prediction can kill with Earthquake or with Knock Off).
I've considered more bulky fighting times like Conkeldur or Machamp but I feel like my team is already sufficiently tanky and speed is the only way to handle pokemon like +1 speed Dragonite/Gyrados (though to be fair, these pokemon resist most of Hitmonlee's attacking moves sufficiently well, so he doesn't excel at dispatching these threats...). I'd like feedback on what to do with this pokemon...
Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Whirlpool
- Seismic Toss
Politoed is my special defense tank. His primary role is to trap my opponents when they try to set up. He isn't too shabby against physical hits, but he isn't too great against special hits either - with max investment in SpDef, Choice Specs Keldeo can often get guaranteed 2HKOs unless I successfully bait him to Hydro Pump.
Drizzle is utterly useless on this team, in-fact it would help my opponents in many instances. Water Absorb is way more useful, because it can be used to discourage water attacks against Dugtrio. Politoed is extremely good at dealing with any slow, hyperdefensive pokemon. The only downside is Whirlpool's 85 accuracy and the lack of reliable recovery.
Politoed is the backbone of the team, he's pretty much switch-fodder for attacks my other pokemon can't afford to take. Perish Song is extremely reliable at shutting down baton pass teams, wall teams, and mega pokemon hiding behind substitute.
Durant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Entrainment
- Superpower
- X-Scissor
- Sleep Talk
Durant is ridiculous. What more do I need to say? With choice scarf, very few things out speed him. Super Power is for the rare occasion when fighting is necessary. Sleep Talk is for rare times when he's put to sleep and a handy surprise if opponents think he can't do anything.
Durant traps are difficult to deal with. For one. Durant forces switches because his entrain makes many pokemon useless.
If you kill Durant, and he entrain you in the same turn, Gothitelle or Dugtrio can come in and set-up. This means to beat Durant you need to kill him through misdirection. He needs to die on a switch in or while he's loafing around.
This means this team is most vulnerable to:
1) Mega pokemon transformations (this removes entrain)
2) U-Turn or Volt-Switch
3) Priority Taunt
4) Aegislash (or other pokemon which can't be entrained), Talonflame
5) Haze (by proxy, since you can set-up and then have that set-up negated by haze or clear smog)
6) Scarfed super-speedy pokemon with fire moves (very rare)
7) Magic Bounce
8) Burn status / residual switch damage
9) Bad timing
10) Perish song after set up
11) Toxic Spikes
12) Ghost pokemon
All of these things occur frequently in OU.
In general, in order to use Durant right, you need to keep him alive for an ideal entrain. If you entrain too soon and lose him in the process, you might just get hazed after taking out only one pokemon. If you're too gung ho about entrain-trapping, you'll just get u-turned or volt switched to death.
The key to victory is reading you opponent. That's why this team isn't a gimmick and isn't over powered - it's just like any pokemon team. You force your opponent to switch, because a perfectly timed entrain trap is a win. During an entrain trap, the ONLY things your opponent can do is A) suicide B) feint. No one carries B and few carry A (feint does basically no damage anyway). So if you time entrain + trap well, you WILL get +4 dugtrio or +4 gothitelle. And if you time it well, you will out sweep or out tank your opponent. And at some point or another your opponent MUST kill Durant to win the game, so in this way, Entrain Durant is a legitimate strategy and not a gimmick.
Of course it can be played around - duh - but this is what the team is about, mitigating the above 12 concerns and setting up a perfect sweeping situation. Politoed gives you control of a situation by forcing switches with Perish song, Porygon2 provides beastly physical tanking, and Hitmonlee scares away frail speedy threats. Durant itself is the vehicle of victory and the right use of him is essential to using this team correctly.
For instance, if my opponent has Rotom-W, I will always lead Porygon2. He will almost always attempt WoW or Trick Scarf on Turn 1 - if I switch to Durant, he tricks for a scarf or he burns him - former is a win, latter is a tie (Durant doesn't need to do damage and he dies slowly w/ burn and cannot be paralyzed now). If I predict Volt Switch, I'll go Dugtrio and force a switch, if I predict HydroPump, I'll trap him with Politoed and get a free perish song off.
This is the kind of flow Durant enables - a huge scare tactic and also a safe switch in. He can take physical hits well (though he will die from a powerful HydroPump from Rotom-W, few carry this set-up and would attempt it on a Porygon2). In general, Durant and Porygon2 work together in creating situations to entrain-trap, by being safe foils to each other (Durant is immune to toxic, which is a common response to Porygon2 -- Porygon2 is a safe switch in vs Talonflame, as he cannot usually 3HKO'd by either BB or FB). Scizor can barely scratch his cousin, which makes him a great counter even if he tries a Swords Dance.
X-Scissor is kind of the man out here, I think Night Slash is actually a better move, because it's not resisted by ghosts. It's kind of silly, but I'm contemplating using it.
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hone Claws
- Protect
- Earthquake
Dugtrio is basic - Stone Edge for everything EQ can't hit. You might be tempted to say, 'Sucker Punch instead' -- but this makes him too easy to wall with Skarmory or other Rooster/Status types. +4 Stone Edge brings a defensive Skarmory to about 10% of life if it doesn't crit, which is fine anyway because of sturdy, and even better if SR is in play (see Porygon2).
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Protect
The big bad. Gothitelle is purely physically defensive -- this is so that it can live through abuse from Scizor, Konkeldur, Bisharp, Aegislash, M-Absol, M-Mawile, Weavile, etc..
You might doubt me, but with an impish 252 def set-up, Gothitelle will live through common Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, and U-Turn setups from most opponents. There are few Dark/Ghost pokemon that can actually OHKO Gothitelle without critting. This means Gothitelle can almost always get 3 knock-outs -- one against the trapped enemy, two against the overconfident revenge killer, maybe three if it's safe to protect-lefties. Landorus-T's U-Turn for instance can only 3HKO Gothitelle with protect-regen, letting me net extra knock outs if my opponent is foolish enough to try something like this. Scizor U-turn spam is more deadly, but if he stays in he will always die to HP Fire.
Gothitelle can also be handy without +4 stages, HP fire can trap and 2-4HKO Ferrorthorn depending on his set-up. Any damage Gothitelle receives in the early game can easily be healed when you trap someone, you can just delay protect spamming to regen to full - yes this is really annoying and frustrating for your opponent.
I have considered Psyshock for obvious counters like Blissey/Chansey, but the problem here is the 10 power does make a difference in some cases. Because I have 0 EVs in SpA, some pokemon that resist psychic and HP fire... Well, you get the idea. Besides, Psychic is useful against physically defensive M-Venusaur. Even with Toxic in play, Gothitelle can kill Chansey/Blissey, though it usually requires a SpD drop or a crit -- but this usually happens in 4-5 psychics.
In a worst case scenario I can always switch Gothitelle out -- if you're skilled enough you can keep durant alive for two or three entrain traps, which sounds insane, but it happens. Your opponent never expects you to give up a +4 boost, but it's not a crushing defeat if you have to.
In general, Gothitelle is a power-house. And with Dugtrio's help, they can assist Politoed in getting Perish song kills. She's extremely tanky against physical hits -- which is currently dominating this generation.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Magic Coat
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Porygon2 is overpowered. You cannot setup most things against this beast. Even with 0 EVs in SpD, he tanks special hits well. With max investment in defense, he can tank +2 Outrage from Dragons, eat CB bullet punches like they were nothing... and he's immune to shadow sneak/shadow ball. Magic Coat is what makes him my usual lead pokemon - this turns SR against your opponent, prevents taunt, and overall forces a switch against your usual support/tricky pokemon.
Trace is ideal - it intimidates your opponents on switch in, or copies magic bounce (yum), or copies unaware.... it basically does everything well! The only downside with this is you cannot bring Porygon2 in after entraining truant - yes, I've been dumb enough to do this by mistake.
If I expect a knock off I tend to switch to durant, who can usually work fine without a choice scarf.
==
So, I'm looking for feedback on this! I think I've gushed enough about this team, so I'm looking for suggestions for improvement. Hitmonlee specifically. And maybe my EV spreads aren't ideal on my team, though I think Porygon2 is perfect as he is. He's ridiculously secure.
In general, if you make a few bad predictions in a row, this team is sunk. It's not catastrophic to lose Durant or Poryong2 early, but this team performs much better when you keep everyone alive as long as possible. Protect, Perish trap, etc. facilitate this slow death kind of play style -- the more turns each battle takes the more an opportunities for mistakes from your opponent. For instance, against some leads, it's fine to sit there spamming magic coat, even if you know you'll lose the PP war against Stealth Rock -- it gives you time to scout a move set or make an opponent bored with you. Sometimes it even forces a switch or lets you sneak in free recovers or hits.
1) This isn't a gimmick team.
1.5) Yes, this is an Entrain+Truant+Trap team.
2) This isn't a team I just started using five minutes ago. I used it last gen too, though I've made a few alterations this gen. I've reached 1675~ just using this team on pokemonshowdown, beating people who were aware of the trick.
3) I'm looking for feedback to shore up this team, I don't think Hitmonlee is ideal.
4) Here's a sample replay of me (1650 rating vs 1550 rating) http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-122130447 -- it's a very one-sided match, so it doesn't show-case this team's staying power in more dire situations, but it gives a basic idea of how it plays.
What is the core philosophy of this team? Trapping and putting your opponent in a tizzy. I have faced people, who when even aware of what Durant can do to them, get tricked into screwing up. The point of this team is not the Durant+Gothi/Dugtrio combo, but the threat it always poses. If you stay in after being entrained, you will very likely lose the match. Dugtrio can sweep teams unless they have lots of priority, Gothitelle can sweep teams unless they have lots of high damage-non priority attacks (a +2 Shadow Sneak from Aegislash CANNOT OHKO this Gothitelle without a crit, HP Fire at +4 is a guaranteed OHKO). Anything in between either lacks the damage to kill Gothitelle with Protect+leftovers recovery, or is so crippled even after Gothitelle is removed that the rest of the team cleans house.
For teams that don't allow entrain+trap to happen, this team is perfectly equipped to play out a stall battle - preventing opponent set-up and wearing down enemies by constant forced switching or trapping when they slip up.
Let's start with the Janitor Hitmonlee. His role is extremely straightforward but also the most tenuous right now - he's cleanup crew. He comes in, Fakes Out, then proceeds to knock things out. You save him until the very end because he's frail and a necessary check to many common sweeper threats. If you're forced to deploy him early, don't use fake out if you can help it. He's meant to threaten one of this team's greatest threats: Tyranitar. As well as make certain sweepers, like Latios (sweeper Latios builds are OHKO'd by knockoff and outsped with Unburden active). He can also handle ghost switch ins easily with knock off. His greatest foes are Sableye and Rotom-W -- and anyone bulky enough to wall him.
Unburden
Adamant
Normal Gem
252 Atk+
200 Hp
56 Spe
Close Combat
Earthquake
Fake Out
Knock Off
Earthquake is for Heatran/Aegislash, primarily, as well as things I don't want to do CC on because I can't afford stage drops. Fake Out is for harass and set-up. Knock Off is for everything I can't Close Combat, as already explained, it does OHKO damage to most ghost and psychic sweepers and in a worst case scenario removes one item from play. This move was way over buffed this gen in my opinion...
Hitmonlee's EVs are spread in a loose manner. I've not tried to optimize his speed/hp split, but I've been adjusting his spread as I play this team -- originally I was using Gengar this gen in this slot, for extra perish trapping annoyance, but I felt I was lacking a physical sweeper and too vulnerable to knock off / shadow sneak. So far, the current arrangement lets me live clutchly from Landorous Earth Power / Gengar Shadow Ball.
I use Hitmonlee over all other comparable fighting types (like M-Medicham or Mienshao) purely because of his speed - he's faster than them all and he's got sufficient attacking power and he can survive special hits well enough with HP investment (he can live 1-2 boosted shadow sneaks from Aegislash and with proper prediction can kill with Earthquake or with Knock Off).
I've considered more bulky fighting times like Conkeldur or Machamp but I feel like my team is already sufficiently tanky and speed is the only way to handle pokemon like +1 speed Dragonite/Gyrados (though to be fair, these pokemon resist most of Hitmonlee's attacking moves sufficiently well, so he doesn't excel at dispatching these threats...). I'd like feedback on what to do with this pokemon...
Politoed (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Whirlpool
- Seismic Toss
Politoed is my special defense tank. His primary role is to trap my opponents when they try to set up. He isn't too shabby against physical hits, but he isn't too great against special hits either - with max investment in SpDef, Choice Specs Keldeo can often get guaranteed 2HKOs unless I successfully bait him to Hydro Pump.
Drizzle is utterly useless on this team, in-fact it would help my opponents in many instances. Water Absorb is way more useful, because it can be used to discourage water attacks against Dugtrio. Politoed is extremely good at dealing with any slow, hyperdefensive pokemon. The only downside is Whirlpool's 85 accuracy and the lack of reliable recovery.
Politoed is the backbone of the team, he's pretty much switch-fodder for attacks my other pokemon can't afford to take. Perish Song is extremely reliable at shutting down baton pass teams, wall teams, and mega pokemon hiding behind substitute.
Durant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Entrainment
- Superpower
- X-Scissor
- Sleep Talk
Durant is ridiculous. What more do I need to say? With choice scarf, very few things out speed him. Super Power is for the rare occasion when fighting is necessary. Sleep Talk is for rare times when he's put to sleep and a handy surprise if opponents think he can't do anything.
Durant traps are difficult to deal with. For one. Durant forces switches because his entrain makes many pokemon useless.
If you kill Durant, and he entrain you in the same turn, Gothitelle or Dugtrio can come in and set-up. This means to beat Durant you need to kill him through misdirection. He needs to die on a switch in or while he's loafing around.
This means this team is most vulnerable to:
1) Mega pokemon transformations (this removes entrain)
2) U-Turn or Volt-Switch
3) Priority Taunt
4) Aegislash (or other pokemon which can't be entrained), Talonflame
5) Haze (by proxy, since you can set-up and then have that set-up negated by haze or clear smog)
6) Scarfed super-speedy pokemon with fire moves (very rare)
7) Magic Bounce
8) Burn status / residual switch damage
9) Bad timing
10) Perish song after set up
11) Toxic Spikes
12) Ghost pokemon
All of these things occur frequently in OU.
In general, in order to use Durant right, you need to keep him alive for an ideal entrain. If you entrain too soon and lose him in the process, you might just get hazed after taking out only one pokemon. If you're too gung ho about entrain-trapping, you'll just get u-turned or volt switched to death.
The key to victory is reading you opponent. That's why this team isn't a gimmick and isn't over powered - it's just like any pokemon team. You force your opponent to switch, because a perfectly timed entrain trap is a win. During an entrain trap, the ONLY things your opponent can do is A) suicide B) feint. No one carries B and few carry A (feint does basically no damage anyway). So if you time entrain + trap well, you WILL get +4 dugtrio or +4 gothitelle. And if you time it well, you will out sweep or out tank your opponent. And at some point or another your opponent MUST kill Durant to win the game, so in this way, Entrain Durant is a legitimate strategy and not a gimmick.
Of course it can be played around - duh - but this is what the team is about, mitigating the above 12 concerns and setting up a perfect sweeping situation. Politoed gives you control of a situation by forcing switches with Perish song, Porygon2 provides beastly physical tanking, and Hitmonlee scares away frail speedy threats. Durant itself is the vehicle of victory and the right use of him is essential to using this team correctly.
For instance, if my opponent has Rotom-W, I will always lead Porygon2. He will almost always attempt WoW or Trick Scarf on Turn 1 - if I switch to Durant, he tricks for a scarf or he burns him - former is a win, latter is a tie (Durant doesn't need to do damage and he dies slowly w/ burn and cannot be paralyzed now). If I predict Volt Switch, I'll go Dugtrio and force a switch, if I predict HydroPump, I'll trap him with Politoed and get a free perish song off.
This is the kind of flow Durant enables - a huge scare tactic and also a safe switch in. He can take physical hits well (though he will die from a powerful HydroPump from Rotom-W, few carry this set-up and would attempt it on a Porygon2). In general, Durant and Porygon2 work together in creating situations to entrain-trap, by being safe foils to each other (Durant is immune to toxic, which is a common response to Porygon2 -- Porygon2 is a safe switch in vs Talonflame, as he cannot usually 3HKO'd by either BB or FB). Scizor can barely scratch his cousin, which makes him a great counter even if he tries a Swords Dance.
X-Scissor is kind of the man out here, I think Night Slash is actually a better move, because it's not resisted by ghosts. It's kind of silly, but I'm contemplating using it.
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hone Claws
- Protect
- Earthquake
Dugtrio is basic - Stone Edge for everything EQ can't hit. You might be tempted to say, 'Sucker Punch instead' -- but this makes him too easy to wall with Skarmory or other Rooster/Status types. +4 Stone Edge brings a defensive Skarmory to about 10% of life if it doesn't crit, which is fine anyway because of sturdy, and even better if SR is in play (see Porygon2).
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Protect
The big bad. Gothitelle is purely physically defensive -- this is so that it can live through abuse from Scizor, Konkeldur, Bisharp, Aegislash, M-Absol, M-Mawile, Weavile, etc..
You might doubt me, but with an impish 252 def set-up, Gothitelle will live through common Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, and U-Turn setups from most opponents. There are few Dark/Ghost pokemon that can actually OHKO Gothitelle without critting. This means Gothitelle can almost always get 3 knock-outs -- one against the trapped enemy, two against the overconfident revenge killer, maybe three if it's safe to protect-lefties. Landorus-T's U-Turn for instance can only 3HKO Gothitelle with protect-regen, letting me net extra knock outs if my opponent is foolish enough to try something like this. Scizor U-turn spam is more deadly, but if he stays in he will always die to HP Fire.
Gothitelle can also be handy without +4 stages, HP fire can trap and 2-4HKO Ferrorthorn depending on his set-up. Any damage Gothitelle receives in the early game can easily be healed when you trap someone, you can just delay protect spamming to regen to full - yes this is really annoying and frustrating for your opponent.
I have considered Psyshock for obvious counters like Blissey/Chansey, but the problem here is the 10 power does make a difference in some cases. Because I have 0 EVs in SpA, some pokemon that resist psychic and HP fire... Well, you get the idea. Besides, Psychic is useful against physically defensive M-Venusaur. Even with Toxic in play, Gothitelle can kill Chansey/Blissey, though it usually requires a SpD drop or a crit -- but this usually happens in 4-5 psychics.
In a worst case scenario I can always switch Gothitelle out -- if you're skilled enough you can keep durant alive for two or three entrain traps, which sounds insane, but it happens. Your opponent never expects you to give up a +4 boost, but it's not a crushing defeat if you have to.
In general, Gothitelle is a power-house. And with Dugtrio's help, they can assist Politoed in getting Perish song kills. She's extremely tanky against physical hits -- which is currently dominating this generation.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Magic Coat
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Porygon2 is overpowered. You cannot setup most things against this beast. Even with 0 EVs in SpD, he tanks special hits well. With max investment in defense, he can tank +2 Outrage from Dragons, eat CB bullet punches like they were nothing... and he's immune to shadow sneak/shadow ball. Magic Coat is what makes him my usual lead pokemon - this turns SR against your opponent, prevents taunt, and overall forces a switch against your usual support/tricky pokemon.
Trace is ideal - it intimidates your opponents on switch in, or copies magic bounce (yum), or copies unaware.... it basically does everything well! The only downside with this is you cannot bring Porygon2 in after entraining truant - yes, I've been dumb enough to do this by mistake.
If I expect a knock off I tend to switch to durant, who can usually work fine without a choice scarf.
==
So, I'm looking for feedback on this! I think I've gushed enough about this team, so I'm looking for suggestions for improvement. Hitmonlee specifically. And maybe my EV spreads aren't ideal on my team, though I think Porygon2 is perfect as he is. He's ridiculously secure.
In general, if you make a few bad predictions in a row, this team is sunk. It's not catastrophic to lose Durant or Poryong2 early, but this team performs much better when you keep everyone alive as long as possible. Protect, Perish trap, etc. facilitate this slow death kind of play style -- the more turns each battle takes the more an opportunities for mistakes from your opponent. For instance, against some leads, it's fine to sit there spamming magic coat, even if you know you'll lose the PP war against Stealth Rock -- it gives you time to scout a move set or make an opponent bored with you. Sometimes it even forces a switch or lets you sneak in free recovers or hits.
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