XY RU Parahax Regenerators

[kizzo212]

Team at first glance:

I've managed to get 10:0 so far with this team in RU, but I want to make sure its as good as can be before i start taking on people with higher ratings. As the name suggests, its primarily based on pokemon with the Regenerator ability and paralyzing the opponent. This is the first time I've done a RMT so tell me if I've missed anything.


Team:

Ambipom @ Life Orb

Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Low Kick

Everyone seemed to be saying that Ambipom was rubbish and you shouldn't use it, so the obvious choice was to make a RU team with it in. Main idea is it uses Fake Out then U-turns out, with Knock Off for ghost types and Low Kick for steel and rock types. For some reason I haven't given it Return or Double Hit, but hasn't really been something I've missed.


Amoonguss @ Black Sludge

Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Stun Spore

The next thing I decided to do was add Amoongus and Slowking. It was something I had in one of my UU teams and it worked well. Amoongus is my physically defensive wall, with Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain to deal damage, and Spore and Stun Spore to inflict status. It's main role in the team other than walling is to spread paralysis, especially to ground types, which Thunder Wave cannot do. It also has Spore to get electric types since there is no way of paralyzing them. I haven't included Synthesis or Foul Play as I've never really needed them. I'm considering Clear Smog, but Set-up hasnt been a problem for my team yet.


Slowking @ Leftovers

Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Thunder Wave

Slowking pairs well with Amoongus to form a defensive Regenerator core, being able to deal with the fire and psychic types that trouble Amoongus. At first i had it as a specially defensive wall, but I decided to give it offensive presence, which has worked reasonable well. Not much to say about it really.


Banette @ Banettite

Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Destiny Bond
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp

The mega for my team is Banette, which I feel is quite underrated. It's main purpose is to hit hard with Shadow Claw and Knock Off, whilst having WoW if I need to cripple a threatening physical attacker. Prankster Destiny Bond generally allows for a free kill, as long as Banette is slower than the opponent, as it can attack then D-bond straight after, meaning the opponent will either be taken down with Destiny Bond or killed by Banette's attacks. However, this doesn't work too well with all the Paralysis. I am considering replacing either WoW or D-Bond with Taunt, as it is something I lack in my team.


Clawitzer @ Choice Specs

Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Water Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Ice Beam

Clawitzer is the main offensive presence and wall-breaker of my team. Once most of the opposing team is paralysed and anything else poses little threat, it can generally easily sweep through. Wall's can stop the rest of my team well, and Clawitzer can 2HKO most of them. I am considering replacing Specs with Expert Belt as its coverage is decent and somtimes the Specs mean I have to switch out, which isn't too much of a deal for my team. Looking at my team, it can hit everything super effectively other than itself.


Audino @ Leftovers

Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Thunder Wave
- Return
- Heal Bell

I thought it would be even more fun to have a third Regenerator on the team, so I decided to also include Audino. It's main role is a cleric, and is also my special wall, partially the reason why I didn't make Slowking specially defensive. It's useful for walling special attackers such as Psychic types with Shadow Ball that pose a threat to both Amoongus and Slowking. Also its only weakness is fighting, which Amoongus and Slowking both resist. Heal Bell is mostly useful for removing Poison from Slowking or Audino itself, and Paralysis and Burn from Ampibom or Banette. It also has Wish to support Banette, Clawitzer and Ambipom if needed, as well as Amoongus and Slowking if the move they are going to switch into will bring them down to low health. Thunder Wave is there to cripple and return prevents it from being taunt bait, as well as being able to break weaker Pokemon's substitutes.


Threats

So far in my first ten matches I haven't really had any problems, but the main threat seems to be wall-breakers. As I pointed out, Clawitzer can hit the majority of my team super-effectively, 2HKOing my 3 defensive Pokemon with a Life Orb or Expert Belt.

The team also has no Pokemon that resist Flying, Ground, Rock, Dragon and Fairy type moves. However, none of my Pokemon are weak to the latter 4. Amoongus (and also Slowking to an extent) can easily deal with rock and ground types as they are mostly physical attackers, and Audino can deal with special Fairy and Dragon type attackers pretty well, as well as both types being pretty rare. Flying Types are more of an issue, but if I can paralyse them, Clawitzer can Ice beam them, or Ambipom could finish them off with Fake Out if they are frail and have taken damage, which applies to Swellow and Fletchinder which paralysis would either be hard to inflict on Swellow and would not particularly stop Fletchinder except for the 25% chance of it not being able to move.

Another Pokemon that could cause problems is Zangoose. Similar to Swellow, once Toxic Orb activates I wont be able to stop it with paralysis, and it can tear through my team with hazards on the field and some damage already done to my team. The main salvation would be a Fake Out from Ambipom (if it is still hanging around), or the miracle of it not having a dark type move to deal with Banette.

Speaking of Banette, if needed it could sacrifice itself with Destiny Bond to stop such threats, but would either have to switch in whilst a wallbreaker/sweeper was setting up, or coming in as a revenge killer, which would effectively lose me two pokemon.

Another problem for my team is Taunt users. This troubles Amoongus and Audino most, and also Banette and Slowking a little, but I generally have the offensive presence to deal with them.

My team has no Spinner or Defogger, but this does not trouble my regenerator Pokemon much, and the issue of Toxic Spikes is solved with Amoongus.


Final Thoughts

So far I am liking this team. It's pretty defensively orientated, but not complete stall which I hate doing. Some things I'm particularly thinking about getting advice on are as follows:

AV on Slowking?
- Provides special bulk at the cost of Twave, but i have 2 paralyze spreaders anyway

Taunt on Banette?
- This stops other Taunt users except Whimsicott, and is generally useful against defensive teams and can stop hazards, as i have nothing to remove them

Expert Belt on Clawitzer?
- Doesn't hit as hard as Specs, especially if there is no move that is SE on the opponent, but allows for easier late game sweeping of the opposing team

Hazards?
- This team makes games very "switchy" and therefore would it be useful to have my own hazard setter, or a way of removing hazards from my side of the field? Would most likely replace Ambipom


That's pretty much it. All suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Magnemite]

Hey kizzo212, this team looks pretty decent as it is, especially since it's only really weak to a couple of threats, but there are a few changes you could make to improve it.

First, when people say that Ambipom is garbage, they aren't kidding. Ambipom is really terrible in a metagame where Pokemon like Doublade, Rhyperior, and Alomomola are really common, especially since most good offensive teams carry one or both of the former two, and its low power means that stall also laughs at it. Additionally, its horrible frailty coupled with a lack of resistances means that it offers nothing synergetically for a team, especially bulkier ones such as yours. As for what to replace it with, Rhyperior would be a good fit on this team. It gives you an SR setter, which pretty much every competitive team needs, as well as giving you a really solid answer to Fletchinder and Braviary, both of which are really threatening to your team. Even if you do choose to keep Ambipom, at least consider replacing it with Cinccino as it is much better for several reasons.

I really don't get the point of running Audino on this team. It may have Regenerator, but it doesn't really help wall anything that you don't already beat with your other Regenerator mons, and there are far better special walls and clerics if you don't need Audino's specific niche. There are quite a few options to use over it in this slot, as Audino doesn't really cover anything important. If you still want to have a Wishpasser and cleric, Aromatisse would be a decent replacement, as unlike Audino it actually helps you get past a few things that could give you a bit of trouble otherwise such as Hitmonlee, Spiritomb, Sharpedo, and to a lesser extent Shiftry. Aromatisse isn't the only option that would work to replace it, so feel free to experiment a bit with this slot.

I'd also do what you said you were considering and run Assault Vest on Slowking. Without AV, it's 2HKOed by Moltres, which is a pretty big issue as Slowking is your only answer to it on your team. There's not much to lose by running AV on it honestly, the loss of Thunder Wave and passive recovery isn't that relevant in comparison to beating one of the top threats in RU and the amazing special bulk that AV Slowking brings to the table.

Clawitzer should really be running 252 Speed EVs and Scald over Water Pulse. As a wallbreaker, Clawitzer doesn't really need that much bulk, while not having max Speed means you are outsped by important mons like Omastar and Alomomola. Water Pulse only has 10 more BP than Scald, so it does not miss out on any KOes, while the burn chance is invaluable in helping to wear down or cripple your opponent's main answer to Clawitzer. Also, if you don't like Choice Specs on it, Life Orb is a far better replacement than Expert Belt as Clawitzer is a wallbreaker so it can't really afford to have that significant of a power drop.

Finally, this is rather minor, but I'd suggest running Foul Play over Stun Spore on Amoonguss. Without it, your set is huge bait for Escavalier and Doublade (the latter if you have already put something ot sleep), which is a pretty big problem considering the fact that you're pretty weak to both of these Pokemon. While your team is based around paralysis support, Amoonguss can already do well enough in terms of crippling opponents with Spore, and the only Pokemon on your team that really even benefits from paralysis support is Clawitzer, so losing it isn't that big of a deal when this and other changes help you beat quite a few Pokemon that were problems before.

sets

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Megahorn / Roar

Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

Anyway, good luck with the team, and have fun playing RU!

 

[Molk]

Hey dude, i just wanted to post and say that i agree with most of Magnemite's changes, however there are a few others that i'd like to suggest on top of them.

I'd fully suggest that you use 84 Speed EVs on Banette. This lets you outspeed and attack opposing Cresselia (an annoyance to this team) with Shadow Claw before it can either hit you or use Moonlight, which can really come in handy in a pinch. This also lets you Knock Off Gligar's Eviolite before it can hit you with Earthquake although that isn't nearly as important as hitting Cresselia is for this team.

Taunt on Banette could be quite helpful, but if you use it i'd use it over Will-O-Wisp for sure. Destiny Bond is quite good on Mega Banette and half the reason you're using it in the first place is to be that sort of "oh shit" button to take out big threats that'd sweep you otherwise. Because of that, i can't see removing Destiny Bond going well it all. Something else notable is just how well Taunt and Destiny Bond go together, with the former forcing the opponent to either attack Banette while dying to Destiny Bond, no reason to give that up.

If you decide to keep Audino, i'd definitely run Knock Off over Return. Being set up bait for Doublade is never a good thing, and Knock Off helps mitigate this somewhat by removing the Sword's Eviolite, making it easier for the rest of the team to take out. Outside of hitting Doublade and removing a lot of its bulk in the process, Knock Off is an incredibly useful move simply for its ability to remove Choice items and Life Orb from offensive Pokemon, as the drop in power from removing them makes it much easier for Slowking, Amoonguss, and Audino itself to hold up against these threats.

Lastly, if you ever feel like multiple layers of entry hazards are becoming an issue for your team, trying out Togetic over Audino/Aromatisse could be a good idea. Togetic helps out with pretty much every Pokemon that the Aromatisse mentioned by Magnemite covers, can use Heal Bell to provide clerical support just like Aromatisse, and most importantly provides your team with Defog support to keep multiple layers of entry hazards from stacking up, which can be quite a pain given your entire team is currently grounded and that they cut off Slowking and Amoonguss's Regenerator recovery a little bit. Importable below.

Togetic varients

Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Dazzling Gleam / Flamethrower
- Defog
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Dazzling Gleam / Flamethrower
- Defog
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Hope i helped!

 

[kizzo212]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll swap Rhyperior in for Ambipom, put an AV on Slowking and maybe try out Aromatisse, although I do like having the extra regenerator user. Lots of matches I spend mainly just switching between the 3 regenerators. I haven't really come across Doublade much but Clawitzer can KO most variants with Dark Pulse even without eviolite being knocked off, so it does counter it reasonably well. With no HP investment a +2 shadow claw has a 25% of KOing Clawitzer, and is guaranteed after SR. However, with full HP investment it is still only a 2HKO after SR. As its probably my only answer to Doublade is it worth keeping the investment, especially if i put aromatisse in as opposed to a Knock Off Audino? And should I have Dragon Tail as the 4th move on Slowking? I'll prob keep Amoongus the same as I do like the paralysis, unless Doublade does cause a lot of problems.

Either way the best way to see what works best is to do some more battles. If you have anything else to add I'd still appreciate it.

 

[Magnemite]

It doesn't really matter how much +2 shadow claw does to clawitzer when you always outspeed it and can take +2 shadow sneak. It really shouldn't be getting a turn to set up and then hit you on the switch, unless you blatantly let it set up and then directly switch into it, which you really shouldn't be doing. It's surprising that you haven't been seeing doublade much, since it's one of the best Pokemon in RU and the most used among good players as well. If you get to the better parts of the ladder, you definitely be seeing it all the time. Since it's such a common threat and your team has pretty huge problems with it (and escavalier but it's not quite as good or common), I strongly reccomend foul play, but ultimately it's your decision. And yeah I would go with dragon tail on slowking.

 

[kizzo212]

Yeah, I got myself slightly confused there. I guess it may come in handy in the rare case of an Automatize/Rock Polish Doublade but thats unlikely.