So here's my newest team. I've been testing it for the last couple days and I really like the dynamics, but I'd like some input from the community on how it looks. A couple things I'm particularly interested in:
- Double Z move worth it or not?
- Should I maybe drop Draco Meteor for Surf/Thunderbolt on Latios to better cover Heatran or Celesteela?
- Should I run Tbolt on Koko?
- Should I run Sucker Punch on M-Mawile?
Overview:
This team is heavily offensive with the goal of breaking down the enemies walls with unexpected attacks. Mawile is the team's primary answer to stall, as its boosted attacks can heavily damage most of the tier's top defensive pokemon. Greninja and Tapu Koko provide high-powered Z-attacks, though I'm currently undecided about whether I should remove one of their crystals for another item. It's a little difficult because Greninja-Ash is super easy to activate with Waterium-Z, but Koko really enjoys being able to hit Chansey, Magearna, and pretty much anything else specially defensive with a high powered GigaVolt Havoc. I cant' count the number of games I've won by using that move at the right time to remove a wall that my enemy needed. Lando and Koko provide U-turn support for Hoopa and Mawile, both of whom hate entering the playing field against anything but the most passive Pokemon. Latios is there to swap in against Heatran, Zapdos and other bulky but weak special attackers and recover off the damage. It's definitely a weak link, but HP Fire is nice for baiting Scizor and Ferrothorn, who are otherwise annoying for my U-turn core and harder for Hoopa/Mawile to kill than Skarmory, Celesteela or Tapu Fini.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch
- Knock Off
This is my setup sweeper that's there to kill slow things. I really go back and forth about Knock Off vs. Sucker Punch, but in my experience, bluffing Sucker Punch can be really effective. Additionally, since a lot of faster attackers resist it, I usually find that sacking Mawile or swapping on the predicted attack can be more effective. For instance, at +2 Mawile doesn't OHKO Heatran, Koko, Greninja, or Lele (the last because of Psychic Terrain). However, if I have enough spikes/rocks up, the equation is different. It's all a matter of where Mawile fits on the team, and so far he's doing OK with this set.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Zen Headbutt
Hoopa-U is the unsung hero of this team. Hyperspace Fury with CB attached is deadly, and it allows me to hit a lot of the tier's walls for respectable damage. Hoopa's "just ok" defensive typing and stats give it some chance of entering on some attacks, but for the most part it has to hope it gets U-turn'd into play against something that has to either take a hard hit from it or run away. Coverage moves give some swaps like Bisharp, Keldeo, Clefable and Ferrothorn reason to be afraid, though I find that often times a Hyperspace Fury + swap is a fine tactic for Hoopa.
Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt/Taunt
- Wild Charge
This is a really common set, so I wont belabor it. I've gone back and forth with Taunt/Thunderbolt: Taunt can be good for stall teams, but often I'm just swapping to a powerful attacker with U-Turn anyway. I've recently started Thunderbolt as it can be a good bait move to get Chansey into play and blast it when it doesn't see the Gigavolt Havoc coming, it can also make a good Z move in its own right if I'm up against Kartana or something and really need the OHKO (which neither HP/Physical Gigavolt can provide). HP Ice is obviously there to hit Lando/Chomp/Zygarde.
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 20 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Pretty classic pokemon, Lando's here to set up rocks and keep physical attackers at bay. U-Turn, as previously mentioned, is my primary way of making up for how predictable Lando/Koko are and getting my nuke pokemon into play as effectively as possible. HP Ice is such a so-so option, but without it I'm stuck with something even more useless like Explosion or Stone Edge. Speed EV's are so I outspeed the standard copypaste Smogon set.
Greninja-Ash @ Waterium Z
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
This Greninja set is by far my favorite since it abuses enemy expectations about Choice Specs on this set. Spikes are a big deal for pretty much everything this team doesn't like: mainly slower, defensive Pokemon that rely on full health on entry and recovery moves to dodge my assaults. Dark Pulse/Ice Beam provide good enough coverage, especially once I've mega'd. Hydro Vortex is an absolutely bonkers attack coming off normal Greninja, not to mention those special times when I get to use it post Ash-evolving. It's also a big deal when I get a free Water type attack that can't miss.
Latios @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Recover
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Latios is my backup special attacker who takes care of some of the things Greninja doesn't like: Ferrothorn, Scizor, Toxapex, Kyurem-B, etc. HP Fire is a truly great bait move, and Draco Meteor is solid for cleaning up things that would survive a Psychic. Recover is super useful for soaking up hits from Zapdos, Heatran, Keldeo, Toxapex, and whatever other weaker attackers my opponent might be using. Soul Dew Psychic is one of the most spammable moves in the game, and pairs well with Draco Meteor when you get the Sp.Def drop on Heatran or Celesteela, neither of whom like facing my attacks at -1, neither of whom have much recourse against repeated assaults from Latios outside of Leech Seed.
- Double Z move worth it or not?
- Should I maybe drop Draco Meteor for Surf/Thunderbolt on Latios to better cover Heatran or Celesteela?
- Should I run Tbolt on Koko?
- Should I run Sucker Punch on M-Mawile?
Overview:
This team is heavily offensive with the goal of breaking down the enemies walls with unexpected attacks. Mawile is the team's primary answer to stall, as its boosted attacks can heavily damage most of the tier's top defensive pokemon. Greninja and Tapu Koko provide high-powered Z-attacks, though I'm currently undecided about whether I should remove one of their crystals for another item. It's a little difficult because Greninja-Ash is super easy to activate with Waterium-Z, but Koko really enjoys being able to hit Chansey, Magearna, and pretty much anything else specially defensive with a high powered GigaVolt Havoc. I cant' count the number of games I've won by using that move at the right time to remove a wall that my enemy needed. Lando and Koko provide U-turn support for Hoopa and Mawile, both of whom hate entering the playing field against anything but the most passive Pokemon. Latios is there to swap in against Heatran, Zapdos and other bulky but weak special attackers and recover off the damage. It's definitely a weak link, but HP Fire is nice for baiting Scizor and Ferrothorn, who are otherwise annoying for my U-turn core and harder for Hoopa/Mawile to kill than Skarmory, Celesteela or Tapu Fini.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch
- Knock Off
This is my setup sweeper that's there to kill slow things. I really go back and forth about Knock Off vs. Sucker Punch, but in my experience, bluffing Sucker Punch can be really effective. Additionally, since a lot of faster attackers resist it, I usually find that sacking Mawile or swapping on the predicted attack can be more effective. For instance, at +2 Mawile doesn't OHKO Heatran, Koko, Greninja, or Lele (the last because of Psychic Terrain). However, if I have enough spikes/rocks up, the equation is different. It's all a matter of where Mawile fits on the team, and so far he's doing OK with this set.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch
- Zen Headbutt
Hoopa-U is the unsung hero of this team. Hyperspace Fury with CB attached is deadly, and it allows me to hit a lot of the tier's walls for respectable damage. Hoopa's "just ok" defensive typing and stats give it some chance of entering on some attacks, but for the most part it has to hope it gets U-turn'd into play against something that has to either take a hard hit from it or run away. Coverage moves give some swaps like Bisharp, Keldeo, Clefable and Ferrothorn reason to be afraid, though I find that often times a Hyperspace Fury + swap is a fine tactic for Hoopa.
Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt/Taunt
- Wild Charge
This is a really common set, so I wont belabor it. I've gone back and forth with Taunt/Thunderbolt: Taunt can be good for stall teams, but often I'm just swapping to a powerful attacker with U-Turn anyway. I've recently started Thunderbolt as it can be a good bait move to get Chansey into play and blast it when it doesn't see the Gigavolt Havoc coming, it can also make a good Z move in its own right if I'm up against Kartana or something and really need the OHKO (which neither HP/Physical Gigavolt can provide). HP Ice is obviously there to hit Lando/Chomp/Zygarde.
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 20 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Pretty classic pokemon, Lando's here to set up rocks and keep physical attackers at bay. U-Turn, as previously mentioned, is my primary way of making up for how predictable Lando/Koko are and getting my nuke pokemon into play as effectively as possible. HP Ice is such a so-so option, but without it I'm stuck with something even more useless like Explosion or Stone Edge. Speed EV's are so I outspeed the standard copypaste Smogon set.
Greninja-Ash @ Waterium Z
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
This Greninja set is by far my favorite since it abuses enemy expectations about Choice Specs on this set. Spikes are a big deal for pretty much everything this team doesn't like: mainly slower, defensive Pokemon that rely on full health on entry and recovery moves to dodge my assaults. Dark Pulse/Ice Beam provide good enough coverage, especially once I've mega'd. Hydro Vortex is an absolutely bonkers attack coming off normal Greninja, not to mention those special times when I get to use it post Ash-evolving. It's also a big deal when I get a free Water type attack that can't miss.
Latios @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Recover
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Latios is my backup special attacker who takes care of some of the things Greninja doesn't like: Ferrothorn, Scizor, Toxapex, Kyurem-B, etc. HP Fire is a truly great bait move, and Draco Meteor is solid for cleaning up things that would survive a Psychic. Recover is super useful for soaking up hits from Zapdos, Heatran, Keldeo, Toxapex, and whatever other weaker attackers my opponent might be using. Soul Dew Psychic is one of the most spammable moves in the game, and pairs well with Draco Meteor when you get the Sp.Def drop on Heatran or Celesteela, neither of whom like facing my attacks at -1, neither of whom have much recourse against repeated assaults from Latios outside of Leech Seed.