alright take 2
i've noticed in the past that i tend to make teams consisting of 6 individual really good ideas that making up one team that is a really bad idea. so i tried to put some thought into the entirety of my team this time and here's what i got:
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Blaze
Atk 64, Spe 192, SpA 252
Naive
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- i've recently been experimenting with anti-leads. despite having good success with a Lucario, there were some really annoying matchups that it couldn't handle. after doing some digging into other anti-leads, i settled on Infernape. my only qualm with it is its lack of a priority attack (given that Fake Out is absolutely useless after the first turn). i haven't decided whether it's worth dumping an attack for Mach Punch. basically the only common leads i've found that counter this are Swampert, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Hippowdon, but save maybe 'Pert the rest of my team can handle them without breaking a sweat.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
HP 252, Def 252, SpD 4
Calm
- Wish
- Toxic
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- i used to refuse to use Blissey because i've always been offensive-minded, until it started to wreck my teams. so now it's fighting for me. it can completely stop special sweepers (obviously) and it's bulky enough to take a physical beating (save fighting or crits). it's used mostly to heal itself (and others on a switch) with Wish and to spread status. i seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Toxic, and currently i am debating swapping it out for Protect to make Blissey last longer. basically i lose the opportunity to spread my favorite poison and stall-kill, but it might be worth it in the long run?
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Inner Focus
HP 224, Atk 84, Spe 200
Adamant
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roost
- i opted for the bulkier of the two dragons for this team, seeing as i have enough fragility as it is. naturally setting up DDance is the initial focus of this set, but it can hold its own even without it. i am weighing switching my speed EV's to defense/special defense since Dragonite is not exactly a speedster to begin with and the Dragon Dances will take care if it; not entirely sure if it's worth the loss in speed, since it makes my set entirely dependent on the number of Dragon Dances i get off.
Metagross @ Leftovers
Clear Body
HP 112, Atk 252, Def 12, Spd 132
Adamant
- Agility
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- it seems like Agiligross has fallen out of style recently, but i've always been a fan. as far as late-game sweepers go, it holds its own without an Agility, and with one it's virtually unstoppable. i chose Ice Punch over Thunderpunch to counter the influx of dragons, and it generally seems to be more useful late in the match. it does come at the cost of leaving me no answer to Gyarados and some other bulky waters, though.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Natural Cure
HP 4, Spe 252, SpA 252
Timid
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Starmie is my oh so fragile special sweeper on this team. truth be told, i'm not completely sold on Rapid Spin with this set. i fell like Recover would be more useful, and would make me hate Life Orb less (don't those 10% always seem to come back and bite you in the a** at the worst possible time?). given that my team as a whole has a fairly decent immunity to Toxic Spikes, trading Rapid Spin wouldn't be a huge loss.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Pressure
HP 248, Def 228, Spe 32
Bold
- Heat Wave
- Toxic
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Zapdos is my pseudo physical wall (is there such a thing?). it runs like the physically defensive Zapdos set, but i use it more to toxic-stall than straight out attack (which may make Blissey's Toxic redundant). i realize this guy may not seem so impressive in theory, but i have had surprisingly good success with it. it is almost always unexpected, as people expect me to zap them (haha) on a switch and then i get to spread toxic to their attempted counter. it trades the ability to OHKO Gyarados with Thunderbolt, but as far as i've seen Gyarados can't OHKO it either. throw in Roost and it can really be a pain to kill. paralysis doesn't have much affect on it either, given that it is not intended to be fast and sweep.
Yeah so i guess overall, i'm looking for some feedback, obvious holes, oversights and the like. if anyone has any suggestions for the options i pointed out that would be much appreciated.
i've noticed in the past that i tend to make teams consisting of 6 individual really good ideas that making up one team that is a really bad idea. so i tried to put some thought into the entirety of my team this time and here's what i got:
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Blaze
Atk 64, Spe 192, SpA 252
Naive
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- i've recently been experimenting with anti-leads. despite having good success with a Lucario, there were some really annoying matchups that it couldn't handle. after doing some digging into other anti-leads, i settled on Infernape. my only qualm with it is its lack of a priority attack (given that Fake Out is absolutely useless after the first turn). i haven't decided whether it's worth dumping an attack for Mach Punch. basically the only common leads i've found that counter this are Swampert, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Hippowdon, but save maybe 'Pert the rest of my team can handle them without breaking a sweat.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
HP 252, Def 252, SpD 4
Calm
- Wish
- Toxic
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- i used to refuse to use Blissey because i've always been offensive-minded, until it started to wreck my teams. so now it's fighting for me. it can completely stop special sweepers (obviously) and it's bulky enough to take a physical beating (save fighting or crits). it's used mostly to heal itself (and others on a switch) with Wish and to spread status. i seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Toxic, and currently i am debating swapping it out for Protect to make Blissey last longer. basically i lose the opportunity to spread my favorite poison and stall-kill, but it might be worth it in the long run?
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Inner Focus
HP 224, Atk 84, Spe 200
Adamant
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roost
- i opted for the bulkier of the two dragons for this team, seeing as i have enough fragility as it is. naturally setting up DDance is the initial focus of this set, but it can hold its own even without it. i am weighing switching my speed EV's to defense/special defense since Dragonite is not exactly a speedster to begin with and the Dragon Dances will take care if it; not entirely sure if it's worth the loss in speed, since it makes my set entirely dependent on the number of Dragon Dances i get off.
Metagross @ Leftovers
Clear Body
HP 112, Atk 252, Def 12, Spd 132
Adamant
- Agility
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- it seems like Agiligross has fallen out of style recently, but i've always been a fan. as far as late-game sweepers go, it holds its own without an Agility, and with one it's virtually unstoppable. i chose Ice Punch over Thunderpunch to counter the influx of dragons, and it generally seems to be more useful late in the match. it does come at the cost of leaving me no answer to Gyarados and some other bulky waters, though.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Natural Cure
HP 4, Spe 252, SpA 252
Timid
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Starmie is my oh so fragile special sweeper on this team. truth be told, i'm not completely sold on Rapid Spin with this set. i fell like Recover would be more useful, and would make me hate Life Orb less (don't those 10% always seem to come back and bite you in the a** at the worst possible time?). given that my team as a whole has a fairly decent immunity to Toxic Spikes, trading Rapid Spin wouldn't be a huge loss.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Pressure
HP 248, Def 228, Spe 32
Bold
- Heat Wave
- Toxic
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Zapdos is my pseudo physical wall (is there such a thing?). it runs like the physically defensive Zapdos set, but i use it more to toxic-stall than straight out attack (which may make Blissey's Toxic redundant). i realize this guy may not seem so impressive in theory, but i have had surprisingly good success with it. it is almost always unexpected, as people expect me to zap them (haha) on a switch and then i get to spread toxic to their attempted counter. it trades the ability to OHKO Gyarados with Thunderbolt, but as far as i've seen Gyarados can't OHKO it either. throw in Roost and it can really be a pain to kill. paralysis doesn't have much affect on it either, given that it is not intended to be fast and sweep.
Yeah so i guess overall, i'm looking for some feedback, obvious holes, oversights and the like. if anyone has any suggestions for the options i pointed out that would be much appreciated.
