XY LC Rate My Team

[dougmtg]

This is my LC team that I have had pretty good success with. It was created with the idea of a Water/Fire/Grass core followed by the two users of intimidate. It does well at playing defense.



Darksteel (Pawniard) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Brick Break

I really like scarf'd pawniard. He packs a surprising amount of power. He is very good at revenge killing a lot of threats. Most of the time I just spam knock off, as it grants lots of KOs and the ever-prevalent knock off support.

Anger (Growlithe) @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 240 HP / 64 Atk / 80 Def / 124 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- Wild Charge

Growlithe made the team because he helped with the intimidation factor and the fire part of my team. He has pretty solid defenses and is still capable of being offensive if needed. Will-O-Wisp is an awesome move that adds to the crippling of Attackers.

Misery (Ferroseed) @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 228 SpD / 52 Spe
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Bullet Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave

Ferroseed does a good job at setting up rocks, T-waving threats. I have bullet seed on to deal with sashed/Sturdy pokemon, and it does a decent amount of damage to many pokemon to have my Pawniard clean up with Knock off.

Irritation (Snubbull) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Def / 196 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

Excellent typing coverage with Pawniard and adds to the intimidation core. I use Snubbul as my Bulky Cleric and further T-Wave support. The EV's are to give him solid defenses and hp. 14 atk is good enough to put a dent into a lot of victims.

Euphoria (Wooper) @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 236 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Recover
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Yawn

Wooper has done me a lot of good. A lot of people don't realize his Unaware ability. He's on the team to help me deal with set up sweepers and baton passers. He also fills the roll of the Water/Fire/Grass core. I have used Toxic in the past, and have gotten kills with Recover/Toxic. But I decided to try and use Yawn to use it on pokemon that cause my team trouble. Most of the time it forces switches, but when they don't switch and go for the KO on my Wooper, it is almost like destiny bond because one of their pokemon are out of commission.

Tranquility (Natu) @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 36 Atk / 76 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Reflect
- Roost
- U-turn
- Light Screen

Natu is probably the pokemon I am least happy with, but he provides excellent support on the Spec D side with Light Screen and can further aid in helping me on the Attacking Side with Reflect. U-turn is a pretty good move in that it helps me switch out and get momentum that my team needs. I originally tried Feather Dance, HP Flying, Roost and U-turn

If you have any questions and/or advice feel free to ask/tell away :)

 

[Yagura]

Hi there dougmtg this is a good team nice to see that you improved it and had success with it, FWG cores are always solid and hard to break through especially in LC! I have some few changes and suggestions though:

I suggest using Ponyta over Growlithe, I understand that you used Growlithe because of Intimidate but Ponyta is an overall better option for two reasons: the first is its Speed that allows it to outspeed most of the physical Pokémon in the meta and second its Flame Body ability that lets it often spread burns on contact moves without relying on a slow Will-o-Wisp like you're doing atm, here is my suggested set for Ponyta:

Ponyta @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Toxic / Wild Charge (You can choose to either use Toxic to beat bulky Pokémon like Porygon in 1v1 or Wild Charge for Water-types "except Chinchou ofc")
- Morning Sun


I'll also suggest Toxic over Yawn on Wooper, Yawn forces switches but not a lot of stuff will be staying on Wooper anyways (you also won't send it in situations Pokémon will stay in will you?) also Toxic with the combination of a reliable recovery in Recover on a bulky Pokémon like Wooper is really good to do passive damage and win on 1v1 against bulky Pokémon like Porygon especially that Wooper struggles to damage the opposing Pokémon (Scald burn is nice though) and Toxic will be fixing that. Also, I'll suggest using a Sassy nature over Relaxed as it gives you even numbers which are the best to have on an Eviolite Pokémon.


Lastly I'll suggest to use Archen over Natu, like you said Natu seems like a really weak link and Archen will be fitting its spot perfectly, not only it's a Flying-type but it can remove hazards with Defog, win momentum with U-turn and it's also fast. Archen's Acrobatics also allows you to revenge kill Grass- and Fighting-type once it consumes its Berry Juice and Earthquake is for Steel- and Electric-types that can be problematic or you can use Rock Slide for STAB, here is my suggested set:

Archen @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 20 Atk / 156 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Earthquake / Rock Slide
- Acrobatics
- U-turn


Good luck and I hope I helped! :)

 

[Shrug]

Hey dougmtg,

I like this team. You seem to have clear bulk that you back up with a Scarf Pawn to sweep. However, this team has pokemon who can be easily broken down due to their lack of recovery, namely Archen (I'm assuming Yagura's changes by the way), Ferroseed, Snubbull, and Pawniard. For that reason, I feel as if a Wish user would benefit your team greatly. Looking at this team, the best option seems to be to replace Snubbull and Wooper with Spritzee and Lickitung. This new core retains the function of the old while increasing the overall bulk and utility of the mons. Looking at them in depth:

@ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Nature: Bold
Evs: 212 Hp / 196 Def / 12 SpA / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast

This thing lives forever, so that's a plus; you have Ponyta to take Knock Off so Eviolite can stay on longer. Wish brings longevity and Aromatherapy can heal everything from Scald burns incurred by Ferroseed to Toxic imposed on Spritzee herself. Your wish core is rounded out with:

@ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
Nature: Careful
Evs: 196 Hp / 236 Def / 76 SpD
- Wish
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Yawn / Toxic

You seemed to really like and rely on Unaware, so I found a Pokemon with more bulk and utility who also ignores stat boosts. Double Wish works well in keeping health up for the whole team, Protect exists, Knock off is there to help facilitate Pawniard sweeps / wear down the foe faster, and I gave you the choice between Yawn and Toxic based on your preference. Good luck!

 

[dougmtg]

You are indeed correct that I heavily rely on Unaware. In doing so I free up a pokemon and/or a move slot for a phazer. I really like the double wish idea so I will hop him on my team and give it a go! As for Archen, it seems like a great idea over Natu. I enjoyed using Natu, but I believe Archen just fits the bill nicely. Also, I did switch out Snubbul for Spritzee because I wanted the Wish support while retaining the fairy/aromatherap-mon. I forgot to change it on this post though. However, I do like the idea of Ponyta with the quick Will-O-Wisps, it essentially does the same thing as the Intimidation core. I will put Archen on the team, and Ponyta and begin to test this team again.

Thanks a lot for your time guys!

 

[Corporal Levi]

Hi
I guess Shrug forgot to edit his post, but Lickitung doesn't actually get Unaware. Given how both of the Pokemon that appreciate Wish Support in Ferroseed and Pawniard have better type synergy with Spritzee, Lickitung doesn't seem necessary; instead, you could try Porygon, who packs significantly more offensive presence while otherwise performing a similar role to Lickitung as a bulky normal-type.
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Psychic / Tri Attack
- Ice Beam / Tri Attack
- Thunder Wave / Tri Attack
- Recover
Psychic hits Fighting-type switch-ins, Ice Beam hits Fletchling, Archen, and Drilbur, and Thunder Wave cripples a variety of switch-ins, but Tri Attack can be used over any of them for a reliable STAB move. Recover allows Porygon not to rely too much on Wish support, since Ferroseed in particular already needs Wish support.

 

[Dustflier]

Piggybacking on Corporal Levi's and Yagura's rates lets go.

Hi there dougmtg, nice team you have here n_n. While I don't have to much to add since you've already gotten help from some of the best LC raters, I'll do my best to make some suggestions that at least somewhat differ from their's :P.

Obviously you've been recommended Spritzee over Snubull and Ponyta over Growlithe, both of which I agree with wholeheartedly. However, I'd like to make some suggestions that I think could be useful for your team.

Firstly, I'd like to suggest Bulky Staryu over Wooper. This allows you to keep a bulky water on your team, keeping the F/W/G Core theme. The primary reason for this change however, is Rapid Spin. This is important because it allows you to keep hazards up on the opponents side of the field, while getting rid of them for your side. Since Staryu packs Recover, it can keep itself healthy all game, meaning it can continue to do its job for long periods of time.

Since you would then have Hazard control if you make this change, you wouldn't have a use for Defog Archen. However, I think Archen itself would still be a an excellent addition. Instead, why not try an Offensive Archen? Offensive Archen would absolutely love the hazard support Ferroseed provides, and also has the options of either breaking early for Pawniard or cleaning late.

Changed Sets

Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 36 SpA / 156 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
- Scald
- Recover

Archen @ Berry Juice
Level: 5
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Knock Off / U-turn

That's it :). Hopefully these changes help. You've gotten a lot of good suggestions, so I'm sure you'll be able to improve this team
Good luck on the ladder!

Edit: Slashed Ice Beam with T-Bolt on Staryu, and U-turn with Knock off on Archen (also fixed the hide tag *_*)