Hey all,
Welcome to another RMT. This one is a bit different in that this team is on my cartridge. So unfortunately, no Pokébank for me yet. (Yes America Sucks, I know)
Please keep this in mind when rating it, but also broadcast any concerns that you might see for the team once Pokébank opens up for us obnoxious Americans, lol.
Anyways, let’s jump right into it, shall we:
The Syndicate at a Glance:
Team Building Process:
The team I wanted to build had to be able, even if they are few and far between at the moment, to handle guys like Landorous-T and Genesect. Since both these guys have prominence in PS, I figure it will only be a matter of time before they rear their ugly heads in X/Y Wifi.
With that being said, I looked at both Pokés and the teams that surround them and came to the conclusion that my best bet to defeating these threats without compromising my teams integrity to other threats would be a balanced team with a FWG core and, if able, to fit in a VoltTurn core that can maintain pace and momentum for my team.
After deciding on the approach I started the process as follows:
The Answer to Genesect (other than the Ban Hammer):
Infernape out speeds Genesect every which way and with his diverse movepool, makes him and ideal revenge killer while also giving me one third of my FWG core and one half of my VoltTurn package.
The VoltTurn Partner:
After him, I decided to go with finding his partner in crime for the VoltTurn tandem. With weaknesses to Ground, Flying, Water and Psychic types; I needed his partner to be able to switch into incoming attacks seeing as how Infernape was going to be Scarfed. Rotom-W can safely switch into three of those four weaknesses and using the Specially Defensive Set allows for effective switching into Psychic attacks as well. With Rotom’s only weakness being Grass, he can switch back into Infernape with ease barring a Grass Type packing Earthquake like a SD Venusaur variant.
The Spin Master:
With the VoltTurn tandem complete, it goes without saying that this team will have a lot of switches and with the prominence of Stealth Rock, I don’t want my guys being beaten before they join the fray. Thus a rapid-spinner or defogger was needed and I wanted to set up my own Stealth Rocks, to a rapid-spinner would be the candidate. I didn’t want a Glass Cannon like Starmie baring the responsibility of spinning so I settled on Excadrill. His immunity to Toxic and Paralysis is a great asset for switching in and Mold Breaker is an awesome ability for hitting those meddlesome Levitate users like Rotom and a Spin Blocker like Gengar.
The Trap Master:
Since I want to set up Stealth Rock, I normally lean towards a Specially Defensive Tyranitar, however, I was still missing the Grass member of my FWG core. I was thinking of using Mega-Venusaur for the Grass Teammate, but had a different Mega in mind when building this team. After much deliberation, I also needed a Physical Wall for Azumarill, Scizor and Terrakion when Pokébank does get released. With those qualifications, I decided on Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn fits all three descriptions, completing my FWG core and providing me the hazards and support I seek.
Answering Pseudo-Dragons and Landorous-T:
The one thing about FWG cores that needs to be admitted is that Dragons punch holes in them. Even though Ferrothorn and Excadrill have Steel-Typing, most Dragons carry Fire and Ground Coverage moves to deal with them. Also, I need to have an answer for the population of Landorous-T and his U-Turn Intimidate shenanigans. Thus, why Mamoswine is on the roster; Ice Shard provides +1 priority with SE damage on the aforementioned threats and essentially is coming in to wreck havoc between his Ice Type moves and Stone-Quake coverage.
The Mega:
Finally, with the team as presently constituted, the final piece needed was a special sweeper. What better than the dude that can out-process a super computer. (For those of you old enough to remember the very first Pokémon cards, pat yourselves on the back if you remember this) Anyways, not only does Zam round out the team by filling out the Special Sweeper role, we took it a step further and made him the Mega of this team. After he goes Mega, his ability Trace comes in to effect, copying useful abilities like Levitate, Chlorophyll and Dry Skin to name a few.
A Closer Look:
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 HP
Ability: Blaze
Jolly Nature
Moves:
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn
- Close Combat
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Revenge Killer, Wall Breaker & Physical Sweeper
- With the unbanning of Genesect from Ubers, guys who possess base 100+ speed became a bit of a priority for me as Genesect possesses a base 99 speed. Combine that with his 4x weakness to fire and we get the addition of this guy to the team.
- Can be used as a lead if need be, runs with Choice Scarf seeing as that appears to be the item of choice, aside from the occasional Expert Belt, on opposing Genesect. When played correctly could possibly hide the identity of my item until my opponent gets punched in the face with a Flare Blitz, but would have to be late-mid to late game for this to occur.
- Has Blaze over Iron Fist seeing how Flare Blitz will be taking chunks out of SmashApe’s HP, makes his last Flare Blitz hurt all the more.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 Def
Ability: Mold Breaker
Adamant Nature
Moves:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Rapid Spinner & Physical Sweeper
- When you have a Pokémon with a choice item, switching is going to be inevitable. Thus making it imperative to have a Hazard remover on hand.
- His ability to switch into incoming common T-Wave and Toxic users with impunity is a great asset.
- After he is done spinning, he can go aggro, especially since Levitate users are fair games thanks to Mold Breaker.
Rotom-W@ Leftovers
EVs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 SpA
Ability: Levitate
Calm Nature
Moves:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Special Wall & VoltTurn Partner
- What more can you say about the ultimate Talonflame counter... well a lot actually as the specially defensive wall soaks up hits like a champ.
- One of two status inflictors on my team; got to put any Physical Sweepers I go up against in check when they think they can switch in to set-up with WoW.
- Makes a nice VoltTurn partner with Infernape as they can switch into each other’s counters very efficiently.
Ferrothorn@ Rocky Helmet
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Ability: Iron Barbs
Relaxed Nature
Moves:
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Entry Hazard Set-Up & Physical Wall
- When I don’t see my opponent running a Genesect on team preview I usually lead with this guy, my wall sets up shop unless he gets Taunted, not fun but nonetheless, I know where the game is most likely going.
- Since he’s a Relaxed nature, felt Iron Head could leave a dent on some Pokés in the event that I do get Taunted and can net some Neutral to SE Damage on a poke (laughing evilly at Fairies)
- Packs T-Wave for status as well to set my sweepers up for easy clean-up, assuming my opponent doesn’t have a cleric (I hope you pink blobs fall in a ditch and DIE!!!)
Mamoswine@ Life Orb
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 Def
Ability: Thick Fat
Jolly Nature
Moves:
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Stone Edge
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Revenge Killer & Physical Sweeper
- Landorus-T DOES NOT like this guy, Lando can’t even U-Turn for fear of a x4 Ice Shard. Making me smile from ear to ear. :-D
- Built like a snow truck and equipped with Stone-Quake, Mamo is meant to run over any and all opponents with impunity.
- Real reason he’s needed is because this team as presently constituted was in dire need of a Dragon counter, Ice Shard and Icicle Crash handle that.
+
->
Alakazam @ Alakazite
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Sp / 6 HP
Ability: Magic Guard -> Trace
Timid Nature
Moves:
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Special Sweeper & Endgame Clause
- When all else fails, Zam comes in and does work, psychically of course, heaven forbid he gets his hands dirty.
- Dazzling Gleam is here for secondary Dragon coverage in the event my Mamoswine didn’t complete his task; which is rare, but is a possibility.
- So love his Trace Ability when he goes Mega; Tracing abilities like Intimidate and Levitate really add another level of preparation when trying to counter Zam.
Conclusion
The balance and power this team affords me is really a pleasure to have. Though I may not be the most experienced battler, I’d like to think that I’ve built a team that is not only versatile, but fits my play style. By no means does that mean that this team is perfect. It just simply means that when in game, this team affords me comfort and understanding of the flow of the game and what I need to do to achieve victory and when I don’t; usually means that I made a grave miscalculation on my part. In the end, “c’est la vie,” enjoy the battles and learn from one’s errors and you sure not to re-commit them. Thank You for your time in reading this and let me know if there is any modifications to the team that can be made.
Welcome to another RMT. This one is a bit different in that this team is on my cartridge. So unfortunately, no Pokébank for me yet. (Yes America Sucks, I know)
Please keep this in mind when rating it, but also broadcast any concerns that you might see for the team once Pokébank opens up for us obnoxious Americans, lol.
Anyways, let’s jump right into it, shall we:
The Syndicate at a Glance:
Team Building Process:
The team I wanted to build had to be able, even if they are few and far between at the moment, to handle guys like Landorous-T and Genesect. Since both these guys have prominence in PS, I figure it will only be a matter of time before they rear their ugly heads in X/Y Wifi.
With that being said, I looked at both Pokés and the teams that surround them and came to the conclusion that my best bet to defeating these threats without compromising my teams integrity to other threats would be a balanced team with a FWG core and, if able, to fit in a VoltTurn core that can maintain pace and momentum for my team.
After deciding on the approach I started the process as follows:
The Answer to Genesect (other than the Ban Hammer):
Infernape out speeds Genesect every which way and with his diverse movepool, makes him and ideal revenge killer while also giving me one third of my FWG core and one half of my VoltTurn package.
The VoltTurn Partner:
After him, I decided to go with finding his partner in crime for the VoltTurn tandem. With weaknesses to Ground, Flying, Water and Psychic types; I needed his partner to be able to switch into incoming attacks seeing as how Infernape was going to be Scarfed. Rotom-W can safely switch into three of those four weaknesses and using the Specially Defensive Set allows for effective switching into Psychic attacks as well. With Rotom’s only weakness being Grass, he can switch back into Infernape with ease barring a Grass Type packing Earthquake like a SD Venusaur variant.
The Spin Master:
With the VoltTurn tandem complete, it goes without saying that this team will have a lot of switches and with the prominence of Stealth Rock, I don’t want my guys being beaten before they join the fray. Thus a rapid-spinner or defogger was needed and I wanted to set up my own Stealth Rocks, to a rapid-spinner would be the candidate. I didn’t want a Glass Cannon like Starmie baring the responsibility of spinning so I settled on Excadrill. His immunity to Toxic and Paralysis is a great asset for switching in and Mold Breaker is an awesome ability for hitting those meddlesome Levitate users like Rotom and a Spin Blocker like Gengar.
The Trap Master:
Since I want to set up Stealth Rock, I normally lean towards a Specially Defensive Tyranitar, however, I was still missing the Grass member of my FWG core. I was thinking of using Mega-Venusaur for the Grass Teammate, but had a different Mega in mind when building this team. After much deliberation, I also needed a Physical Wall for Azumarill, Scizor and Terrakion when Pokébank does get released. With those qualifications, I decided on Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn fits all three descriptions, completing my FWG core and providing me the hazards and support I seek.
Answering Pseudo-Dragons and Landorous-T:
The one thing about FWG cores that needs to be admitted is that Dragons punch holes in them. Even though Ferrothorn and Excadrill have Steel-Typing, most Dragons carry Fire and Ground Coverage moves to deal with them. Also, I need to have an answer for the population of Landorous-T and his U-Turn Intimidate shenanigans. Thus, why Mamoswine is on the roster; Ice Shard provides +1 priority with SE damage on the aforementioned threats and essentially is coming in to wreck havoc between his Ice Type moves and Stone-Quake coverage.
The Mega:
Finally, with the team as presently constituted, the final piece needed was a special sweeper. What better than the dude that can out-process a super computer. (For those of you old enough to remember the very first Pokémon cards, pat yourselves on the back if you remember this) Anyways, not only does Zam round out the team by filling out the Special Sweeper role, we took it a step further and made him the Mega of this team. After he goes Mega, his ability Trace comes in to effect, copying useful abilities like Levitate, Chlorophyll and Dry Skin to name a few.
A Closer Look:
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 HP
Ability: Blaze
Jolly Nature
Moves:
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn
- Close Combat
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Revenge Killer, Wall Breaker & Physical Sweeper
- With the unbanning of Genesect from Ubers, guys who possess base 100+ speed became a bit of a priority for me as Genesect possesses a base 99 speed. Combine that with his 4x weakness to fire and we get the addition of this guy to the team.
- Can be used as a lead if need be, runs with Choice Scarf seeing as that appears to be the item of choice, aside from the occasional Expert Belt, on opposing Genesect. When played correctly could possibly hide the identity of my item until my opponent gets punched in the face with a Flare Blitz, but would have to be late-mid to late game for this to occur.
- Has Blaze over Iron Fist seeing how Flare Blitz will be taking chunks out of SmashApe’s HP, makes his last Flare Blitz hurt all the more.
Excadrill @ Air Balloon
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 Def
Ability: Mold Breaker
Adamant Nature
Moves:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Rapid Spinner & Physical Sweeper
- When you have a Pokémon with a choice item, switching is going to be inevitable. Thus making it imperative to have a Hazard remover on hand.
- His ability to switch into incoming common T-Wave and Toxic users with impunity is a great asset.
- After he is done spinning, he can go aggro, especially since Levitate users are fair games thanks to Mold Breaker.
Rotom-W@ Leftovers
EVs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 SpA
Ability: Levitate
Calm Nature
Moves:
- Will-o-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Special Wall & VoltTurn Partner
- What more can you say about the ultimate Talonflame counter... well a lot actually as the specially defensive wall soaks up hits like a champ.
- One of two status inflictors on my team; got to put any Physical Sweepers I go up against in check when they think they can switch in to set-up with WoW.
- Makes a nice VoltTurn partner with Infernape as they can switch into each other’s counters very efficiently.
Ferrothorn@ Rocky Helmet
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Ability: Iron Barbs
Relaxed Nature
Moves:
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Entry Hazard Set-Up & Physical Wall
- When I don’t see my opponent running a Genesect on team preview I usually lead with this guy, my wall sets up shop unless he gets Taunted, not fun but nonetheless, I know where the game is most likely going.
- Since he’s a Relaxed nature, felt Iron Head could leave a dent on some Pokés in the event that I do get Taunted and can net some Neutral to SE Damage on a poke (laughing evilly at Fairies)
- Packs T-Wave for status as well to set my sweepers up for easy clean-up, assuming my opponent doesn’t have a cleric (I hope you pink blobs fall in a ditch and DIE!!!)
Mamoswine@ Life Orb
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Sp / 6 Def
Ability: Thick Fat
Jolly Nature
Moves:
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Stone Edge
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Revenge Killer & Physical Sweeper
- Landorus-T DOES NOT like this guy, Lando can’t even U-Turn for fear of a x4 Ice Shard. Making me smile from ear to ear. :-D
- Built like a snow truck and equipped with Stone-Quake, Mamo is meant to run over any and all opponents with impunity.
- Real reason he’s needed is because this team as presently constituted was in dire need of a Dragon counter, Ice Shard and Icicle Crash handle that.
Alakazam @ Alakazite
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Sp / 6 HP
Ability: Magic Guard -> Trace
Timid Nature
Moves:
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
This Pokémon’s role on this team: Special Sweeper & Endgame Clause
- When all else fails, Zam comes in and does work, psychically of course, heaven forbid he gets his hands dirty.
- Dazzling Gleam is here for secondary Dragon coverage in the event my Mamoswine didn’t complete his task; which is rare, but is a possibility.
- So love his Trace Ability when he goes Mega; Tracing abilities like Intimidate and Levitate really add another level of preparation when trying to counter Zam.
Conclusion
The balance and power this team affords me is really a pleasure to have. Though I may not be the most experienced battler, I’d like to think that I’ve built a team that is not only versatile, but fits my play style. By no means does that mean that this team is perfect. It just simply means that when in game, this team affords me comfort and understanding of the flow of the game and what I need to do to achieve victory and when I don’t; usually means that I made a grave miscalculation on my part. In the end, “c’est la vie,” enjoy the battles and learn from one’s errors and you sure not to re-commit them. Thank You for your time in reading this and let me know if there is any modifications to the team that can be made.