So guys, since TheGoomy posted his infamous Larvesta RMT, I've been obsessed with the little critter. It can effectively counter many huge physical (and some special) pokemon in the current, over-predictable metagame. As such, I wanted to try it out. However, I found that the team was pure stall, and that it required a lot of upper level kinds of plays and didn't really have any solid win conditions (SD Gliscor was its best chance at winning). It was also extremely weak to fast Electric types, Heatran, Charizard Y, Manaphy, T-tar, among others, and I wanted to make a team that only exhibited a few weaknesses while having some level of innovation. This is the team I came up with:
#Hero (Larvesta) @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
LordGoodra (Goodra) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 168 HP / 80 Atk / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Counter
Heatrammick (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 136 SpA / 124 SpD
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Roar
Fairies :3 (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Protect
PornStar (Lopunny) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Return
MirrorWings (Skarmory) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Counter
- Roost
- Defog
- Drill Peck
Explaining this team is somewhat difficult, but I'll try my best:
For starters, Larvesta is so difficult to explain why it works in this tier, that I'm going to let you just read what TheGoomy had to say on it: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/larvesta-is-a-hero.3540630/#post-6265481
The next thing I wanted to do is find a pokemon that worked as a suitable check for Thunderus, Raikou, Manectric, and Heatran. While others may work (such as sp def Tyranitar, and alternate pokemon to this one), one seemed a lot more fun for me, and that's Goodra. Most people don't see it often anymore, and forget that it has a MASSIVE movepool and decent mixed stats. Ice Beam is for Garchomp and Landorus-T leads that are DEFINITELY stealth rockers. If scarf or something else, Skarmory will be your switch in. Otherwise, Ice Beam takes them straight out. It can also deal with Thundy and friends (though it must watch out for mixed mons). T-bolt is for Azumarill switch-ins, and for bulky waters such as Manaphy (your best answer is to switch to unaware Clefable before it gets out of hand, Keldeo switch-ins, and some variants of Slowbro. Earthquake serves one purpose, and that's to hit Heatran. It can pick off some things at low health, but you can mess with EV's so that it gets the ohko on all Heatran's if you wish, but weakening it is key. Last, is the gimmick of this team...Counter. It works through assault vest. Goodra is usually bulky enough to live neutral physical attacks; use it wisely however. Goodra's main strength is anti-metagame, so you can free this last slot up for other moves if you so wish.
Next is Heatran. It has Fire Blast for STAB, Flash Cannon for Clefable, and Roar to keep them from being too greedy. Stealth Rocks was originally on Skarm, but I found it easier to set them up with Heatran.
Clefable is your standard Unaware spread, because this team sometimes struggles with stat-boosters. Some of the biggest nuisances are CroCune, Cro-Bro, CM Keldeo, Manaphy, Other Clefable, Sableye, etc. Unaware makes them all useless to an extent, and usually you can one v one them. It's also a good switch in for Latios most of the time, as its physically bulky and Draco doesnt effect it.
Lopunny, ah my friend Lopunny. THIS is your win condition most games. It's fast, it's strong, it has priority, it has powerful STAB, and great coverage with Ice Punch. It can plow through offensive teams late-game, which is why its so great for this team. There's no gimmicks with this mon, so it's pretty straight forward in explaining.
The last mon is Skarmory. I originally needed a defogger with SR, because talonflame is usually a problem. While I took SR off Skarm, it still fits the bill. It has defog so that the team doesnt take passive damage, and Larvesta is actually useful. It has roost to recover damage against physical attackers while they take damage from Rocky Helmet. Here's my "gimmick": Counter AGAIN on skarm. Why? Because it can defog on Bisharp, and then after it goes for knock off, it will kill with Counter. Mega Pinsir can't do shit against this set. Azumarill can't do much either. Lastly, there's drill peck. You could have something else like taunt instead, but honestly, Mega Venusaur can be a problem, so at least you have something to hit it with.
THREATS: Stall-Breaker Talonflame, Well-played Keldeo, Mega Venusaur, Mixed Thunderus.
The first mon on the list, I still have no really good answer for. It can taunt me, preventing SR, it can burn most of my team, and Brave Bird/Acrobatics will eventually 1v1 my team. This is why if you are honestly struggling with Talonflame, you could use T-Tar instead of Goodra, but then Keldeo is THAT much more of a threat.
A well-played Keldeo can beat me on most days. However, if you manage to get up a Calm Mind with Clefable, or its end game and you have locked it into scald/hydro with Goodra, then you can beat it. However, it demands a lot of focus.
My team really doesn't have much of an answer to Venusaur. The best option is to burn it with Larvesta, and then whittle it down with Skarmory. However, offensive Mega Saur can throw this team for a loop.
Most mixed mon's mean it's hard to switch in, and Mixed Thunderus is one of those mons. Normally, Goodra straight up counters, but if you aren't able to tell it's mixed, it could hit you with a superpower and greatly weaken you.
That's about it. Here's a few examples of this team on the middle of the ladder:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-240309060
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-242283647 (warning, 100 turn battle)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-240296679
To be fair, this team is still hard to work with, and you won't get too many ladder points, but the better the opponents, the better this team works.
#Hero (Larvesta) @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
LordGoodra (Goodra) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 168 HP / 80 Atk / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Counter
Heatrammick (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 136 SpA / 124 SpD
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Roar
Fairies :3 (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Protect
PornStar (Lopunny) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Return
MirrorWings (Skarmory) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Counter
- Roost
- Defog
- Drill Peck
Explaining this team is somewhat difficult, but I'll try my best:
For starters, Larvesta is so difficult to explain why it works in this tier, that I'm going to let you just read what TheGoomy had to say on it: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/larvesta-is-a-hero.3540630/#post-6265481
The next thing I wanted to do is find a pokemon that worked as a suitable check for Thunderus, Raikou, Manectric, and Heatran. While others may work (such as sp def Tyranitar, and alternate pokemon to this one), one seemed a lot more fun for me, and that's Goodra. Most people don't see it often anymore, and forget that it has a MASSIVE movepool and decent mixed stats. Ice Beam is for Garchomp and Landorus-T leads that are DEFINITELY stealth rockers. If scarf or something else, Skarmory will be your switch in. Otherwise, Ice Beam takes them straight out. It can also deal with Thundy and friends (though it must watch out for mixed mons). T-bolt is for Azumarill switch-ins, and for bulky waters such as Manaphy (your best answer is to switch to unaware Clefable before it gets out of hand, Keldeo switch-ins, and some variants of Slowbro. Earthquake serves one purpose, and that's to hit Heatran. It can pick off some things at low health, but you can mess with EV's so that it gets the ohko on all Heatran's if you wish, but weakening it is key. Last, is the gimmick of this team...Counter. It works through assault vest. Goodra is usually bulky enough to live neutral physical attacks; use it wisely however. Goodra's main strength is anti-metagame, so you can free this last slot up for other moves if you so wish.
Next is Heatran. It has Fire Blast for STAB, Flash Cannon for Clefable, and Roar to keep them from being too greedy. Stealth Rocks was originally on Skarm, but I found it easier to set them up with Heatran.
Clefable is your standard Unaware spread, because this team sometimes struggles with stat-boosters. Some of the biggest nuisances are CroCune, Cro-Bro, CM Keldeo, Manaphy, Other Clefable, Sableye, etc. Unaware makes them all useless to an extent, and usually you can one v one them. It's also a good switch in for Latios most of the time, as its physically bulky and Draco doesnt effect it.
Lopunny, ah my friend Lopunny. THIS is your win condition most games. It's fast, it's strong, it has priority, it has powerful STAB, and great coverage with Ice Punch. It can plow through offensive teams late-game, which is why its so great for this team. There's no gimmicks with this mon, so it's pretty straight forward in explaining.
The last mon is Skarmory. I originally needed a defogger with SR, because talonflame is usually a problem. While I took SR off Skarm, it still fits the bill. It has defog so that the team doesnt take passive damage, and Larvesta is actually useful. It has roost to recover damage against physical attackers while they take damage from Rocky Helmet. Here's my "gimmick": Counter AGAIN on skarm. Why? Because it can defog on Bisharp, and then after it goes for knock off, it will kill with Counter. Mega Pinsir can't do shit against this set. Azumarill can't do much either. Lastly, there's drill peck. You could have something else like taunt instead, but honestly, Mega Venusaur can be a problem, so at least you have something to hit it with.
THREATS: Stall-Breaker Talonflame, Well-played Keldeo, Mega Venusaur, Mixed Thunderus.
The first mon on the list, I still have no really good answer for. It can taunt me, preventing SR, it can burn most of my team, and Brave Bird/Acrobatics will eventually 1v1 my team. This is why if you are honestly struggling with Talonflame, you could use T-Tar instead of Goodra, but then Keldeo is THAT much more of a threat.
A well-played Keldeo can beat me on most days. However, if you manage to get up a Calm Mind with Clefable, or its end game and you have locked it into scald/hydro with Goodra, then you can beat it. However, it demands a lot of focus.
My team really doesn't have much of an answer to Venusaur. The best option is to burn it with Larvesta, and then whittle it down with Skarmory. However, offensive Mega Saur can throw this team for a loop.
Most mixed mon's mean it's hard to switch in, and Mixed Thunderus is one of those mons. Normally, Goodra straight up counters, but if you aren't able to tell it's mixed, it could hit you with a superpower and greatly weaken you.
That's about it. Here's a few examples of this team on the middle of the ladder:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-240309060
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-242283647 (warning, 100 turn battle)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-240296679
To be fair, this team is still hard to work with, and you won't get too many ladder points, but the better the opponents, the better this team works.
