Platinum Team

Basics

SkyMin/Scizor Sweep Plat Team

My Team at a Glance
Gyarados.png
Heatran.png
Deoxyse.png
Mamoswine.png
Scizor.png

shaymin-sky-forme.png





Gyarados.png

Shichifukujin Dragon (Gyarados) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 216 HP/16 Atk/176 Def/100 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance
So I've played around with a lot of different Pokemon in the slot that Gyarados currently occupies. Frankly, nothing does the trick like Bulky Gyarados. He might not be the best starter in the world, but he's really versatile, he can take it in and dish it out, plus he can taunt. At first, he was kind of a filler "Bulky Pokemon goes here" sort of thing, but he's actually extremely useful. He might not have the sweeping power of Shaymin and Scizor, but Gyarados packs a punch.
Shichifukujin Dragon is a Promotional Magic the Gathering card, of which there is only one in print. The Shichifukujin Dragon was created to celebrate the opening of the Japan DCI Tournament Center in Tokyo, Japan. All copies except for one were destroyed. It's a red, Japanese dragon; much like my Gyarados.

Heatran.png

T-1000 (Heatran) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Explosion
Scarftran. Pretty much an essential on any Plat team. I run mine Timid because I like to outspeed other Scarftrans.
T-1000 is the bad guy from Terminator 2; the one who was like liquid metal, and could melt himself down or change shape and shit. Heatran is Fire/Stel; that's kind of like liquid metal, right?

Deoxyse.png

Ecstasy (Deoxys-e) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/72 Spd/184 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Recover
As impotent as this guy looks, I've actually found him incredibly vital to the team. Generally, he's my counter to Infernape, Gyarados, Salamence - all of which have received a boost in popularity recently, but he's tanky enough and versatile enough to fill a lot of roles on my team. He's also kind of a pseudo-Skymin counter; that is to say, he outspeeds him and knows an Ice attack.
Deoxys-E... Ecstasy... I dunno. Something about that just sounded cool, and the shiny form of Deo-E, for whatever reason, reminded me of Ecstasy.

Mamoswine.png

Tusk (Mamoswine) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 64 HP/252 Atk/192 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
RAWR! Priority Ice is absolutely essential! This is probably the only Pokemon on my team in whose creation I had to use any imagination. Mamoswine is just a fucking beast. I've seen people run the Life Orb set, and that's cool, but I personally prefer the CB. Sleep Talk > whatever else because I wanted someone to absorb sleep. I can't tell you how many "free" kills STalk has netted me because people thought they could switch in their fragile Pokemon while Mamoswine napped or I switched out.
Don't say that you love me... TUSK! Just tell me that you want me... TUSK!

Scizor.png

Magic Bullet (Scizor) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 232 HP/252 Atk/20 Def/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- X-Scissor
- Brick Break
Again, fairly standard SD Scizor. I've had a couple people tell me to run a CB on this guy, with like U-Turn, Pursuit, Bullet Punch, Brick Break or whatever (usually they say to do this in combination with LO Mamo). But, I just don't really feel a need to. Although CB Scizor would make an interesting starter. Anyways, yeah. Bullet Punch ruins lives, and Scizor's a beast.

shaymin-sky-forme.png

Teal Assassin (Shaymin-s) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Substitute
- Earth Power
:YAWN: I've played around with all the popular versions of Skymin, and I think this is the best one. SubSeed can be incredibly annoying, but Substitute can really ruin a lot of the "counters" to this Pokemon. Sub on the switch = GG Scarftran/Mamoswine/Weavile/pretty much anything. Plus, I don't really find myself needing HP Ice, and HP Fire would reduce my Speed IV by one, meaning I would lose speed ties with Skymin 100% of the time. And since Skymin vs Skymin seems to be such a common occurence in my games, I just don't think it's worth it.


Again, I know it's not a very original team; but any thoughts?
 
Nice offense team you have here. You seem like you have taken advantage of what plat has to offer. But some things which I feel should be changed:

Gyarados - Ice Fang + Waterfall is usually not a good choice for it. Being walled by Water Pokemon isn't good for Gyarados. I suggest you go with Stone edge > Ice fang on it. Everything else looks fine really.

Heatran - Go with Hasty or Naive over Timid. Timid powers Explosion down which could miss the vital OHKO you need on stuff like Blisset etc. Also go with HP Ice/Electric over Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse is good for hitting stuff neutral but tbh it isn't much use without Specs.

Deoxys - Definitely run Superpower over Recover on your set. Even if you class him as a counter to those 3 threats, he is better suited as a late game sweeper tbh. Super Power > Recover, Naive nature and 252 Sp.attack/252 Speed/6 Attack.

I see a bit of a Gyarados Weakness here. DDLO versions especially since they can outspeed everything after a DD but Heatran (who can only go boom) and Deoxys (which can get worn down pretty quickly). This is partly why I guessted Stone Edge on Gyarados in place of Ice Fang and HP Electric on Heatran.
 
One thing I noticed that GEC didn't mention is the lack of Stealth Rock. Gyara, Mence, and Skymin could all be problems if you don't run it, as it essentially covers up their biggest weakness. It also means anything with a Sash could be a problem to this team. Only problem is I can't figure out where you should put it.
 
Re: Gyarados.
I see your point. Originally when I designed this team, I basically wanted to be able to hurt Skymin with as many of my Pokemon as possible, but seeing as I have 2 fairly solid counters, and 2 Pokemon that can hurt Skymin, I don't know that it's entirely necessary. I'll give Stone Edge a try.

Re: Heatran
I had already switched natures, but thanks for pointing it out. HP Electric > Dragon Pulse means I'm not hitting Salamence for shit, and Kingdra can switch in. HP Ice might work, but I have so much shit that hits Ice, and Dragon Pulse is the only option I have for huge damage on Kingdra. Salamence and Gyarados are not really huge concerns for me, since Deoxys can freely switch into either of them, and scare them away. I might try it, but I haven't observed a need for it yet.

Re: Deoxys
I agree that, generally speaking, Deoxys is better suited to the role of a special sweeper/cleaner, but with Skymin on my team already, I just don't really need him to fill that role. He's not like a star Pokemon on my team or anything, and most people see me running this set, and notice its lack of complete destructive power, but he does what he needs to do. If I dropped Recover, my team would be a lot weaker to the threats of Salamence and especially Gyarados.


Re: Gyar Weakness
Yeah, Gyar's not very fun. I also generally have a lot of problem with powerful Rock attacks, having 2 weaknesses and no resists. I find it funny that in the same post you recommend making my Deoxys (my only reliable DD Gyar counter) more fragile in exchange for mor power, and then point out that Deoxys can get worn down pretty quick. Deoxys is more tanky than people think; it has low HP, but base 90 in both defenses. Deoxys is an incredibly reliable counter to Gyarados, and with 455 speed and Recover, he doesn't get worn down nearly as quickly as you might suspect.

Re: SR
Yeah, I know. I just really have nowhere convenient to put it; I've switched my Mamoswine to a Life Orber for a while to see how well it works out, and I might put Stealth Rock in his last slot (over Sleep Talk). I know that SR is really good against today's threats, but honestly... I haven't really missed it. The team just does so much fucking damage it's ridiculous. Lol.
 
With Trick starters being everywhere in Platinum I think leading with Gyarados is a bad idea.

While this could potentially be a bad idea, on paper Heatran counters nearly all leads.

Advantages:

OHKOs Metagross.
OHKOs Weavile.
OHKOs Infernape.
OHKOs Azelf (not if it is holding a Sash and nowadays it usually uses Trick)
OHKOs Gengar (but Gengar will do huge damage to it too)
OHKOs Bronzong.
Huge damage to Gyara with HP Electric
OHKOs Salamence (scarf will KO it though)
If you use Earth Power you can OHKO Heatran coming in.

Disadvantages:

No SR first turn.
No Trick.
Switching can be a problem sometimes.
The person will expect Heatran later on.

You can also try a lead like this:

Metagross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Trick
- Explosion
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock

Use Trick first turn, to get rid of your Choice Scarf. Then, as you got rid of your Scarf, you can proceed to use Stealth Rock. Usually, you'll explode next turn. Can cripple two pokemon if used well.

Always try before putting it on here recklessly.

DEFINITELY put SR on your Mamoswine. But I think it should have an Expert Belt, not a Life Orb. It's not going to be much of a support if it loses HP every time it attacks.
 
As an offensive team you really need SR down on the field to help cripple your opponent as you are trying to get them to play defensive, considering zapdos is very popular and without SR around letting it come in whenever it pleases isnt so hot. I would try to fit it somewhere on mamo or your heatran.
 
U realised that u have a scrftran weakness didnt u? It comes in on heatran's fire blast and rampages, u have 3 fire weak (mamo, scizor and skymin), gyara is OHKOed by HP electric, heatran is KOed in a single hit by earthpower and FB easily OHKOes deoxys.
 
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