[ r e v e l ]
a bw ou team
Metagross @ Focus Sash
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Stealth Rock
Metagross with these EVs and Focus Sash has won me many battles. It can OHKO any Tyranitar lead with Hammer Arm, and beats it in speed if the opponent has no speed investment. I added Ice Punch to deal with dragon leads and as another dragon counter in case Haxorus goes down; it's also effective on Whimsicott switchins. Meteor Mash is standard STAB, no reason not to have it.
If it somehow outspeeds more than one Pokemon on the opponent's team, and gets the OHKO (which has happened several times), its sash stays intact for a surprise counter lategame. Its purpose changes in every battles; whether I'm using it to knock out the lead and nothing else or hoping to get a sweep, it almost always gets the job done.
For a while, I replaced it with an air balloon Heatran. The STAB fire/ground attacks weren't really worth it, and not having Meta cost me in some cases. Stealth Rock has been readded, though if I know I can go for the OHKO, I don't usually set them up immediately.
The only change that has been made is Bullet Punch over Meteor Mash. I use the specific set I have for a very good reason: it has proved to be more useful in practice than anything else I have tried. Unless you can suggest a better EV spread, I'm not making any more changes.
Gengar (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Focus Blast
Gengar replaced Chandelure on my team, thanks to a great suggestion! It's faster, and offers basically the same coverage, and I can just switch Milotic into Fire-type attacks. It's faster than most other Gengar I've encountered, and does a good number on other ghosts as well. Focus Blast helps with pesky steels that I can't take out easily otherwise.
I'm trying out Substitute and Pain Split, though this is not necessarily a permanent change; I'm going to see how useful it is before making a solid decision.
Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
I was originally iffy about using Virizion as my grass-type, but it's definitely worked out. The speed EVs and nature allow it to outrun a surprising amount of opponents, and it even gets the edge against other Virizion. Leaf Blade and Close Combat are its standard STABs; the defense drops with CC don't usually end up mattering very much. Stone Edge is to counter flying types and the Dragonite or Salamence switchin; it also does wonders against Charizard and Volcarona.
Virizion is staying the same, though I will try out a Breloom instead. It's physical for a reason: Close Combat will OHKO Blissey, Stone Edge OHKOs Volcarona, Salamence, and other fliers, and Leaf Blade easily takes out waters and Terrakion. Using the special set over the physical set cost me several matches, whether due to not having the raw power or because of Focus Blast's accuracy.
Milotic (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 4 SAtk / 52 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This is pretty much just a standard Resttalk Milotic. Surf is its STAB attack, Ice Beam is mainly for dragons and grass types. Rest and Sleep Talk allow it to be amazing at PP stalling; it stalled an Arceus out of Giga Drain PP and survived at least six Judgements after that while doing as much damage as possible. It absorbs some hits like nobody's business, and can even sweep if I get lucky. It's also the switchin to status effects, because of Marvel Scale and Rest.
It's a really effective counter to Breloom running Spore that otherwise wreak havoc. If Sleep Talk is kind and lets it Ice Beam, it can even KO or deal significant damage before getting knocked out. I did decide to keep Ice Beam over Dragon Tail because the phazing just wasn't as useful or as welcome as extra coverage.
I changed the EV spread and put Scald over Surf; the burn chance is really helpful, and I'm not missing the power. Suggestions were great.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp. At/ 252 Sp Def.
Calm Nature (+Sp.Def, -Att)
-Toxic
-Lava Plume
-Protect
- Substitute
Heatran was added over Jirachi for the fire immunity and better defensive abilities. I'm not entirely sure about keeping the current EVs/moveset, but I'm trying it out. Could I run Earth Power over Protect/Substitute for other Heatran and Chandelure?
Haxorus (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
Before I made this team, I hated Haxorus, but it's now one of my favorite Pokemon. When I think I might be losing a battle, I switch it in and Outrage for easy KOs. Even Steels bow down to its power after two or three turns of getting smacked in the face with its rage. The other moves are purely for coverage. It's my main physical sweeper and has won me so many battles with an Outrage sweep that it isn't even funny. He's also the only one of my Pokemon that's nicknamed; I call him Ragequit, because a lot of times that's what happens after he sweeps half a team.
I love Rock Slide over Dragon Claw; thanks for the suggestion!
a bw ou team
Team Building Process
Innit cuuute? Chandelure is by far my favorite BW Pokemon, I just had to put it on a team eventually. It's also the basis for a FWG core, with special attack and speed maxed out for maximum ability to sweep.. and then die. Sadly, it's really frail.
So here comes Milotic! Its bulk is the main reason I chose it; Chandelure can't really switch in to the grass-types or electric-types that would counter it, though packing Ice Beam helps with the former. If a Pokemon that would OHKO Chandelure comes out, and I switch to Milotic, the attack hardly does anything.
After a bit of debate, I chose Virizion for my grass type. Its almost unique type allows it pretty good coverage. Swords Dance + Leaf Blade/Close Combat is killer. It can switch in on Chandelure's counters, take a hit, and is usually swift enough to retaliate.
Next came Haxorus. I was considering Hydeigon over it, but picked it for its massive attack stat. You can't ignore that. Choice Banded Outrage can sweep three Pokemon in a row without taking a single hit, sometimes. It's also a good counter to some of the others' weaknesses.
After that, I added a paraflinch Togekiss. It's mostly for healing off status effects with Heal Bell, but when I need it to, it can paralyze and use Air Slash to, if nothing else, weaken an enemy for someone else to take out.
Finally, Metagross. It can set up Stealth Rocks or hit vulnerable opposing leads with Hammer Arm or Meteor Mash. Being a steel type, it also counters a lot of weaknesses. And thus, team [ r e v e l ] was born.
Innit cuuute? Chandelure is by far my favorite BW Pokemon, I just had to put it on a team eventually. It's also the basis for a FWG core, with special attack and speed maxed out for maximum ability to sweep.. and then die. Sadly, it's really frail.
So here comes Milotic! Its bulk is the main reason I chose it; Chandelure can't really switch in to the grass-types or electric-types that would counter it, though packing Ice Beam helps with the former. If a Pokemon that would OHKO Chandelure comes out, and I switch to Milotic, the attack hardly does anything.
After a bit of debate, I chose Virizion for my grass type. Its almost unique type allows it pretty good coverage. Swords Dance + Leaf Blade/Close Combat is killer. It can switch in on Chandelure's counters, take a hit, and is usually swift enough to retaliate.
Next came Haxorus. I was considering Hydeigon over it, but picked it for its massive attack stat. You can't ignore that. Choice Banded Outrage can sweep three Pokemon in a row without taking a single hit, sometimes. It's also a good counter to some of the others' weaknesses.
After that, I added a paraflinch Togekiss. It's mostly for healing off status effects with Heal Bell, but when I need it to, it can paralyze and use Air Slash to, if nothing else, weaken an enemy for someone else to take out.
Finally, Metagross. It can set up Stealth Rocks or hit vulnerable opposing leads with Hammer Arm or Meteor Mash. Being a steel type, it also counters a lot of weaknesses. And thus, team [ r e v e l ] was born.
Metagross @ Focus Sash
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Stealth Rock
Metagross with these EVs and Focus Sash has won me many battles. It can OHKO any Tyranitar lead with Hammer Arm, and beats it in speed if the opponent has no speed investment. I added Ice Punch to deal with dragon leads and as another dragon counter in case Haxorus goes down; it's also effective on Whimsicott switchins. Meteor Mash is standard STAB, no reason not to have it.
If it somehow outspeeds more than one Pokemon on the opponent's team, and gets the OHKO (which has happened several times), its sash stays intact for a surprise counter lategame. Its purpose changes in every battles; whether I'm using it to knock out the lead and nothing else or hoping to get a sweep, it almost always gets the job done.
For a while, I replaced it with an air balloon Heatran. The STAB fire/ground attacks weren't really worth it, and not having Meta cost me in some cases. Stealth Rock has been readded, though if I know I can go for the OHKO, I don't usually set them up immediately.
The only change that has been made is Bullet Punch over Meteor Mash. I use the specific set I have for a very good reason: it has proved to be more useful in practice than anything else I have tried. Unless you can suggest a better EV spread, I'm not making any more changes.
Gengar (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Focus Blast
Gengar replaced Chandelure on my team, thanks to a great suggestion! It's faster, and offers basically the same coverage, and I can just switch Milotic into Fire-type attacks. It's faster than most other Gengar I've encountered, and does a good number on other ghosts as well. Focus Blast helps with pesky steels that I can't take out easily otherwise.
I'm trying out Substitute and Pain Split, though this is not necessarily a permanent change; I'm going to see how useful it is before making a solid decision.
Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
I was originally iffy about using Virizion as my grass-type, but it's definitely worked out. The speed EVs and nature allow it to outrun a surprising amount of opponents, and it even gets the edge against other Virizion. Leaf Blade and Close Combat are its standard STABs; the defense drops with CC don't usually end up mattering very much. Stone Edge is to counter flying types and the Dragonite or Salamence switchin; it also does wonders against Charizard and Volcarona.
Virizion is staying the same, though I will try out a Breloom instead. It's physical for a reason: Close Combat will OHKO Blissey, Stone Edge OHKOs Volcarona, Salamence, and other fliers, and Leaf Blade easily takes out waters and Terrakion. Using the special set over the physical set cost me several matches, whether due to not having the raw power or because of Focus Blast's accuracy.
Milotic (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 4 SAtk / 52 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This is pretty much just a standard Resttalk Milotic. Surf is its STAB attack, Ice Beam is mainly for dragons and grass types. Rest and Sleep Talk allow it to be amazing at PP stalling; it stalled an Arceus out of Giga Drain PP and survived at least six Judgements after that while doing as much damage as possible. It absorbs some hits like nobody's business, and can even sweep if I get lucky. It's also the switchin to status effects, because of Marvel Scale and Rest.
It's a really effective counter to Breloom running Spore that otherwise wreak havoc. If Sleep Talk is kind and lets it Ice Beam, it can even KO or deal significant damage before getting knocked out. I did decide to keep Ice Beam over Dragon Tail because the phazing just wasn't as useful or as welcome as extra coverage.
I changed the EV spread and put Scald over Surf; the burn chance is really helpful, and I'm not missing the power. Suggestions were great.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp. At/ 252 Sp Def.
Calm Nature (+Sp.Def, -Att)
-Toxic
-Lava Plume
-Protect
- Substitute
Heatran was added over Jirachi for the fire immunity and better defensive abilities. I'm not entirely sure about keeping the current EVs/moveset, but I'm trying it out. Could I run Earth Power over Protect/Substitute for other Heatran and Chandelure?
Haxorus (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
Before I made this team, I hated Haxorus, but it's now one of my favorite Pokemon. When I think I might be losing a battle, I switch it in and Outrage for easy KOs. Even Steels bow down to its power after two or three turns of getting smacked in the face with its rage. The other moves are purely for coverage. It's my main physical sweeper and has won me so many battles with an Outrage sweep that it isn't even funny. He's also the only one of my Pokemon that's nicknamed; I call him Ragequit, because a lot of times that's what happens after he sweeps half a team.
I love Rock Slide over Dragon Claw; thanks for the suggestion!