(Because I like to sweep, and Tyranitar is dusty.)
INTRO
I first started playing Pokemon when RBY came out, but then I hadn't played until BW and BW2 released. Since then, I've come to love competitive Pokemon play, and I wanted to really get into things in X&Y. I'm learning breeding and egg moves, and I could theorymon all day. I mostly play in the 3V3 battle spot or 6V6 passerby / friend battles, but now that I've discovered Smogon and PS! I really like playing on the OU ladder.
With that being said, I took a few of my favorite Pokemon and some of the new Gen 6 powerhouses to make a general purpose goodstuffs team. I had some general questions and wanted some input, so that's why I'm posting it here for the scrutiny of players much better than me. I'd really like moveset and EV advice, as I'm pretty new to things and have pieced together a lot of sets from Smogon threads and the like.
Team Building
Cloyster and Tyranitar are my two favorite Pokemon, and it's pretty great that they're both great OU material. Both are great physical sweepers, one being slow and bulky and the other fast and frail. Both make great leads and can help turn a match around if they can switch in at the right time.
Talonflame and Aegislash are my two fave Gen 6 Pokemon, an opinion shared by most of the metagame as well. Gale Wings is just way too fun for a fast revenge killer, and Aegislash is the king of predictions. Both Pokemon help round out the major weaknesses that Tyranitar and Cloyster have, like Ground, Fighting, Grass, and Fairy types.
When I first heard of the Mega Evolutions, Kangaskhan immediately stood out to me. I love interesting abilities, and Parental Bond is a ton of fun. It was a toss up between Mega Tyranitar or Mega Kangaskhan, but I prefer Mega Kangaskhan.
For the longest time I had trouble thinking of a 6th Pokemon to round off my team. I usually just picked a Pokemon that would counter or pressure whatever lead I predicted my opponent to have, and play accordingly. I didn't have a "lead" per-se, that is until I heard about Scolipede. So without further ado, let me introduce my team!
Talonflame and Aegislash are my two fave Gen 6 Pokemon, an opinion shared by most of the metagame as well. Gale Wings is just way too fun for a fast revenge killer, and Aegislash is the king of predictions. Both Pokemon help round out the major weaknesses that Tyranitar and Cloyster have, like Ground, Fighting, Grass, and Fairy types.
When I first heard of the Mega Evolutions, Kangaskhan immediately stood out to me. I love interesting abilities, and Parental Bond is a ton of fun. It was a toss up between Mega Tyranitar or Mega Kangaskhan, but I prefer Mega Kangaskhan.
For the longest time I had trouble thinking of a 6th Pokemon to round off my team. I usually just picked a Pokemon that would counter or pressure whatever lead I predicted my opponent to have, and play accordingly. I didn't have a "lead" per-se, that is until I heard about Scolipede. So without further ado, let me introduce my team!
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Baton Pass
- Megahorn
- Spikes
- Protect
This guy is tons of fun. I use Scolipede as a way to gain some momentum, while at the same time setting up spikes or doing a bit of damage. Scolipede is usually my lead, unless the opponent has something like Talonflame that can easily priority KO it before it can baton pass out. However, even a gale wings Talonflame can't really stop Scolipede from getting a baton pass off if I use it as a lead, due to protect + focus sash. At that point, I can switch into any Pokemon that I think will best handle what is on my opponents team, but with a major speed increase. Passing a 1.5x or 2x speed boost to Tyranitar is just way too much fun, and giving it to Mega Kangaskhan helps it stay alive that much longer. Heck, even Talonflame and Cloyster can make use of it in a pinch. Mega horn is for when I catch the opponent off guard, or need a quick revenge KO.
Scolipede has a lot of trouble with residual damage and statuses, however. I really have to play my cards right for it to be effective, but it's helped me a lot.
Kangaskhan-Mega (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Bulldoze
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
Gotta love the big mama. Mega Kanga makes quick work of anything that doesn't outright resist it, and when it gets the chance to hit with a SE Power-Up Punch, it's at +2 attack and ready to demolish teams. Sucker punch helps beat out priority moves and hits ghost and psychic types hard, provided I can predict when they are going to attack. I run Bulldoze instead of earthquake because I really fancy the 2x speed drop over the extra BP of earthquake, especially if Mega Kanga is about to be KO'd. Return hits like a truck, and when you factor in that it may be passed a +2 speed from Scolipede, and may have spikes supporting it, it's a formidable foe. That kid does some work, breaking subs and using up sitrus berries as well.
Mega Kanga can run free, provided the opponent doesn't have a Ferrothorn or Garchomp or a bulky Ghost type up and running. I typically use Mega Kanga once the field is free of major checks, or as a revenge killer.
Cloyster @ White Herb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
- Razor Shell
I absolutely love Cloyster. I've always been fond of all-or-nothing predictions / gambles, and Cloyster is one of the finest examples of an OU Pokemon that makes great use of those. If Scolipede doesn't make for a good lead against an opponent, Cloyster usually does. Adamant nature gives it the extra HP, and I run White Herb instead of Focus Sash mainly because Scolipede needs the Sash more than Cloyster does. With this EV spread, it allows me to sweep teams with ease, provided I make the right predictions. Here's an example from my testing this morning.
Cloyster hates priority move users and the like, which is pretty self explanatory. White Herb helps to remedy that, and in most cases heavy priority users like Talonflame really don't want to risk staying in on Cloyster anyways. Steels types do give Cloyster some trouble, but I rarely use Cloyster to go toe-to-toe with any steel types.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
T-Tar was great in Gen 5, and even more great in Gen 6. Assault Vest gives T-Tar amazing staying power against everything short of Sacred Sword / Play Rough / Earthquake, and it's movepool lets it hit pretty much anything for decent damage. Fire Blast makes up for not having access to Superpower yet, (I play on Wi-Fi more than PS!, so I wanted to keep these sets as close to pre-Pokebank OU as possible) and Pursuit rewards good predictions as well as being a great way to wipe out those pesky Talonflames that T-Tar can switch into quite easily, even with the threat of U-Turn.
T-Tar hates Ground and Fighting types as well as Rotom-W, but those threats are easily taken care of with other Pokemon on my team. T-Tar serves as a great bulky offensive lead, or a good revenge killer / clean up crew.
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
Bird is the word. Brave bird, that is. Gale Wings Brave Bird Talonflame really needs no introduction, and it makes Talonflame an all-around great addition to the team. Resistance to Ground type moves really helps it cover Tyranitar's weaknesses, and it's resistance to Fighting type moves helps keep Mega Kanga, T-Tar, and Cloyster safe. I went with Swords Dance over Steel Wing as a way to reward good predictions and give Talonflame the +2 attack power that helps it clean up teams with ease. It also gives me an opportunity to easily handle Aegislash and other protect users. U-Turn gives Talonflame staying power and helps it hit Tyranitars a bit hard as well.
Talonflame really really hates Rotom-W, as well as bulky Rock / Ground types or fast Water / Electric types. Everything else is pretty much fair game, however. Once the rest of my team clears the major threats, Talonflame can easily serve as part of the clean up crew alongside T-Tar.
Aegislash @ Air Balloon
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
I don't think I need to explain Aegislash all that much, but I'll explain my item choice a bit. I typically use Aegislash as a revenge killer, or something that can switch in on easily countered Pokemon. Air Ballon coupled with it's Fighting Immunity helps it easily go toe-to-toe with Ground type and Fighting type move users, especially those that come in to try and KO T-Tar. King's Shield and Swords Dance are for predicting / scouting, as well as handling those pesky physical sweepers that can't resist throwing out moves.
Aegislash loses a lot of its versatility if the Air Balloon pops, so I have to play my cards right to make sure that doesn't happen. Anything that resists Ghost / Steel type moves or has priority attacks can also ruin Aegislash's day, but with the support of the rest of the team it has quite a bit of staying power.
Final Thoughts:
I think that about does it! I'm really new to competitive Pokemon, so I'm probably missing a lot of not noticing some glaring flaws in my team: that's why I'd appreciate as much feedback as possible. I have a few different Pokemon in mind, as well as some moveset changes, but I want to see what other players think as well.
Example Matches:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66078757
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66086166
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66080412
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66092314
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66094183
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-66089378
Some major threats to my team that I've noticed as of yet:
Trevenant
Klefki
Ferrothorn
Rotom-W
Garchomp
Mega Gengar
Thanks for getting this far, and I'd really like to see what suggestions people have for this team. I need help think of EV spreads that aren't just "Max in two stats +4 somewhere else", if anyone can think of any different EV spreads I should run I would much appreciate it.
Credit:
Tyranitar Thread
Talonflame Thread
Kangaskhan Thread
Scolipede Thread
Aegislash Thread
Cloyster Smogon Entry
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