Hi guys, I felt my last RMT was a bit old already and there was no point in reviving it, and since I made some important changes, I thought it's time to make a new one.
My last team, after so many suggestions, covered its old weaknesses, but stopped feeling like a team, and no single change was good enough to make it work and break the 1000 ranking barrier (tough it was decent enough not to fall below 2000). So basically I started from scratch with a new sun team that kept the necessary things: Ninetales and Infernape, and then mixed it with my old team. Again I started reading other RMTs, which gave me valuable ideas, and I started experimenting with many of my own, some more effective than others, and finally settled down with this team which got me to 574, and I think I could go farther, but I just want to start with a LU/NU team since I fulfilled my goal of making a succesfull OU team with Infernape.
This RMT is more of a show off one rather than a help one, but any contribution you think might help is still appreciated!
BUILING PROCESS:
FIRST GLANCE:
CLOSER LOOK:
Virizion @ Lum Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
I stole this guy from another RMT (good thing I like reading them, lol), but it oriinally had Taunt, which I didn't find so useful since Virizion draws only move that try to KO it as fast as possible (especially from T-Tar), or satus-inducing moves, which were already dealt with by Lum Berry, so I replaced it with Stone Edge, for a much needed flying coverage. This set is made for counteing weater leads, and then hitting as hard as possible until it goes down.
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psyshock
- Batton Pass
This Espeon is awesome. I had tried with a double screener Meganium before, but my other team was too frail to effectively benefit from it, Meganium wasn't useful because of its typing, and didn't have that mighty Magic bounce, which not only helps it set up, but also makes it a shield of sorts I use to bounce back predicted SRs, Spikes, and status moves. Finally it's a great partner for Terrakion, since the Screens boost his nice bulk to take even super effective Earthquakes and set up, and finally Espeon draws many Dark type attacks, so I can easily switch out(unless that move is Pursuit)* to Terrakion and net a +1 from Justified, which helps it OHKO the few pokemon who are almost OHKO'd by his attacks (never tried it, but also works with Virizion). I like predicting my oppnent's moves, and I do that well most of the time, so Espeon is a key to react to predicted attacks, switching in to status and switching out of dark moves.
*Now with Batton Pass I can escape Pursuit too, so I'm giving constant bonuses to Terrakion's attack, making him an even BIGGER monster.
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!! This guy was meant to be a hole-puncher, but it became an amazing sweeper instead, especially for early-mid game, whenever I find an opportunity to use Rock Polish and then just destroy an unprepared team. LO + Adamant + devastating STAB moves and a coverage move that's usually super-effective make Terrakion an insane sweeping machine, especially when backed by dual screens. Much, much better than I'd expected. The EVs allow me to outspeed every pokemon in the game at +2 (not counting scarf Deoxys-S xD), including ScarfChomps and Clorophyll Venusaurs, which could threaten to OHKO him.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 204 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Flame Charge
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
This guy isn't exactly my team destroyer, but is rather nice to have around. Switch in to a ground move (preferrably choiced), Flame Charge, then sweep, that's what this set is all about. For some reason Heatran lacks the raw power to sweep just like that, but can deal some serious damage with Flamethrower under the sun, and is incredibly useful against dragons, with its bulk, Steel type, and Dragon Pulse. I now see him more as a dragon counter, fire attack absorber, and take-down-the-pokemon-who's-threatening-to-sweep-my-entire-team guy. I'm considerign Fire Blast for its massive power, but really, now that Heatran's no longer attempting to sweep, I just need a reliable move that hurts, so I'm happy with Flamethrower. Earth Power is for my Flash Fire victims, namely other Heatran and Candelure, and to damage T-Tars as much as possible until they KO me if I don't think switching in is safe. However, I find myself using it a lot against special walls to lower their Sp. Defense and then hit them with Flamethrower ifI'm under the sun, and it works really well I must say.
Ninetales (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Safeguard
- Will-O-Wisp
Stayed intact from my last team. It's a wonderful toy to fool around with my opponents to cripple them, and smetimes deal some serious damage, even to net a OHKO on some opponents. Overheat is the move that does this, I use it on damaged pokemon, pokemon who are frail on the special side of the spectrum and aren't expecting them (since Ninetales has many radically diferent sets), and Ferrothorn when I'm fairly sure they won't switch. Safeguard keeps my team protected against the omnipresent status, and my last moves are cripplng moves. Power Swap cripples special attackers (and fuels my boost-cosumng Overheat), and Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers,tough it misses at crucial moments and pisses me of a LOT... Playing with pokemon like Toxicroack, gyarados, and more by stealing their boosts, burning them and dodging Sucker Punches is priceless and causes ragequits.
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
Infernape received a slight but not so slight change in the form of the Choice Band. LO was too suicidal and forced me to switch a lot in order to keep Infernape safe for later use, and also made me really afraid of leaving him as my last pokemon. So I decided to switch that for a CB, since I was already forced to switch out a lot anyway. CB gives me lots of raw power, especially with Flare Blitz under the sun, and for power-packed Mach Punches against weakened/steel pokemon. Infernape then became a revenge killer/ late game sweeper, which means he isn't as much of a team destroyer, especially with Terrakion in my team, but at last it found a place where it contributes to my team rather than being dead weight or not fulfilling any good role well so I'm happy to have him around. Also, I'm no longer in panic when I'm left with only him, tough it's a situation I try to avoid since he's still frail.
Threat List: After lots and lots of time playing with this team, my only weakness is Poison Heal Gliscor. He's not the biggest threat, since I can deal with him, but it's a bit situational. Sun boosted Overheats OHKO it and most CB Sun boosted Flare Blitz OHKO it too and those that don't just screw him so bad he can't Protect back to good health. My other option I don't like using is +4 Virizion, which wrecks him but is a bit unviable since Acrobatics RUINS it, and sometimes I mispredict Protects and get poison KO'd, and once I lose it I can' counter half of my opponen'ts sand team. Finally Sun boosted Flamethrower lays waste on it too, but it's a bit tricky to get in that situation comfortably. Also there're so many sets it's really unpredibtable. Again, he's not that muh o a threat but it is a threat.
The other threat is me when I just recklessly throw Terrakion and get stopped by the pokemon mentioned avobe, then left defenseless. I lost like 5 times in a row before realising that xD. At least I learnt the lesson.
CLOSING COMMENTS:
At last I found a way to complete these simultaneous goals, which I started fearing I'd never be able to: Make a successful team, have Infernape in that team and allowing him to sweep, break through the 1000 ranking barrier (that's what makes the team succesful to me), and make a team that's different from Prelude of the Light, which was the team I took most ideas from. Now I feel realised, and I should enjoy my team now and play with it and get as high as I can, but the road to making this was really long and tiring, and I'm sort of bored of seeing the same pokemon over and over in my team, and also in my opponents' teams. So, I'm planning to take a vacation from OU and make a NU/LU team since UU is almost the same as OU with Victini, Deoxys, Ferrothorn and more around. I also want to thank all the people who helped with my last team, which were useful back then and gave me a few ideas for this new version. Hope this RMT wasn't too long...
Importable version:
My last team, after so many suggestions, covered its old weaknesses, but stopped feeling like a team, and no single change was good enough to make it work and break the 1000 ranking barrier (tough it was decent enough not to fall below 2000). So basically I started from scratch with a new sun team that kept the necessary things: Ninetales and Infernape, and then mixed it with my old team. Again I started reading other RMTs, which gave me valuable ideas, and I started experimenting with many of my own, some more effective than others, and finally settled down with this team which got me to 574, and I think I could go farther, but I just want to start with a LU/NU team since I fulfilled my goal of making a succesfull OU team with Infernape.
This RMT is more of a show off one rather than a help one, but any contribution you think might help is still appreciated!
BUILING PROCESS:
Link to my old team: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3448489
I deleted everything bar Ninetales and Infernape from my old team.
My first new member was SD Virizion, which I stole from another RMT and replaced its Taunt with Stone Edge. It's way more effective than my old Rotom-C.
My next pokemon was NP Porygon-Z. I felt that just one weather summoner counter wasn't enough because I'd be forced to keep it safe until the end of the game, which resulted in unnecesary switches, lack of overall solidness, and the fact that if it were to die, I'd be in a massive disadvantage. I learned that these situations were desperating, and made my decisions worse, so for important stuff I carry two of them.
I took my team as it was and tested it a bit to see if it was good and what it needed, and I learned that Virizion is really awesome, since it not only counters weather leads, but also is a great sweeper in general. It's often underrated or always use with a special movepool, but SD is a bliss to that lacklustre base 90 attack. Porygon-Z wasn't as awesome, but was helpful and deserved to stay.
I wasn't really sure about what to add next, and after trying with many pokemon I don't remember, I decided I needed somethig that could punch holes in my team so that Infernape could do what he does best, which is late game sweeping, so I tried with Rock Head + Head Smash + Autotomize Aggron.
After testing Aggron a bit I noticed it drawed many fighting attacks, so why not try with a Ghost wall like Mr. Pringles? It worked fin with Aggron and was good t disrupting, but it really didn't contribute much with the team. Nevertheless, I kept going as it was.
I found Porygon-Z to be a bit underwhelming, dying a bit too soon and, while being good at damaging, not as good as it should've been, so I replaced it with my old Flame Charge Heatran, but not before trying a ScarfTran.
After deeper testing, I noticed Aggron ust wasn't powerfull enough to effectively sweep or punch multiple holes in my opponent's team, since he'd OHKO a pokemon at most and then get OHKOed by something, and didn't have the base Attack it needed to be that threatening, or the STAB coverage, for that matter. So, after looking at the top 200 base Attack stats on Serebii, I picked Terrakion with Rock Polish. Jellicent was no longer useful as my hole puncher's partner, so I tried doing that same stratey with Terrakion. I thought a psychic pokemon would be great, so I picked Magic Bounce Espeon. And after testing I was proved right, Espeon worked perfectly as a partner and as a general team supporter.
At the same time, I changed Infernape's Life Orb for a Choice Band, after reading a post in his analysis page here. I had considered the idea before but was a bit reluctant since its counter-productive to Infernape's versatility, and screwing some Chandelure or Dragonite with a suprise Stone Edge was always nice, but I noticed I always ended up switching Infernape out a lot anyway since I always needed him for something and had to keep him until later, and LO recoil + Flare Blitz recoil kamikazed Infernape too soon. Choice Band's added punch never hurts, either. Well, at least it dosn't hurt me.
I deleted everything bar Ninetales and Infernape from my old team.
My first new member was SD Virizion, which I stole from another RMT and replaced its Taunt with Stone Edge. It's way more effective than my old Rotom-C.
My next pokemon was NP Porygon-Z. I felt that just one weather summoner counter wasn't enough because I'd be forced to keep it safe until the end of the game, which resulted in unnecesary switches, lack of overall solidness, and the fact that if it were to die, I'd be in a massive disadvantage. I learned that these situations were desperating, and made my decisions worse, so for important stuff I carry two of them.
I took my team as it was and tested it a bit to see if it was good and what it needed, and I learned that Virizion is really awesome, since it not only counters weather leads, but also is a great sweeper in general. It's often underrated or always use with a special movepool, but SD is a bliss to that lacklustre base 90 attack. Porygon-Z wasn't as awesome, but was helpful and deserved to stay.
I wasn't really sure about what to add next, and after trying with many pokemon I don't remember, I decided I needed somethig that could punch holes in my team so that Infernape could do what he does best, which is late game sweeping, so I tried with Rock Head + Head Smash + Autotomize Aggron.
After testing Aggron a bit I noticed it drawed many fighting attacks, so why not try with a Ghost wall like Mr. Pringles? It worked fin with Aggron and was good t disrupting, but it really didn't contribute much with the team. Nevertheless, I kept going as it was.
I found Porygon-Z to be a bit underwhelming, dying a bit too soon and, while being good at damaging, not as good as it should've been, so I replaced it with my old Flame Charge Heatran, but not before trying a ScarfTran.
After deeper testing, I noticed Aggron ust wasn't powerfull enough to effectively sweep or punch multiple holes in my opponent's team, since he'd OHKO a pokemon at most and then get OHKOed by something, and didn't have the base Attack it needed to be that threatening, or the STAB coverage, for that matter. So, after looking at the top 200 base Attack stats on Serebii, I picked Terrakion with Rock Polish. Jellicent was no longer useful as my hole puncher's partner, so I tried doing that same stratey with Terrakion. I thought a psychic pokemon would be great, so I picked Magic Bounce Espeon. And after testing I was proved right, Espeon worked perfectly as a partner and as a general team supporter.
At the same time, I changed Infernape's Life Orb for a Choice Band, after reading a post in his analysis page here. I had considered the idea before but was a bit reluctant since its counter-productive to Infernape's versatility, and screwing some Chandelure or Dragonite with a suprise Stone Edge was always nice, but I noticed I always ended up switching Infernape out a lot anyway since I always needed him for something and had to keep him until later, and LO recoil + Flare Blitz recoil kamikazed Infernape too soon. Choice Band's added punch never hurts, either. Well, at least it dosn't hurt me.
FIRST GLANCE:
CLOSER LOOK:
Virizion @ Lum Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
I stole this guy from another RMT (good thing I like reading them, lol), but it oriinally had Taunt, which I didn't find so useful since Virizion draws only move that try to KO it as fast as possible (especially from T-Tar), or satus-inducing moves, which were already dealt with by Lum Berry, so I replaced it with Stone Edge, for a much needed flying coverage. This set is made for counteing weater leads, and then hitting as hard as possible until it goes down.
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psyshock
- Batton Pass
This Espeon is awesome. I had tried with a double screener Meganium before, but my other team was too frail to effectively benefit from it, Meganium wasn't useful because of its typing, and didn't have that mighty Magic bounce, which not only helps it set up, but also makes it a shield of sorts I use to bounce back predicted SRs, Spikes, and status moves. Finally it's a great partner for Terrakion, since the Screens boost his nice bulk to take even super effective Earthquakes and set up, and finally Espeon draws many Dark type attacks, so I can easily switch out
*Now with Batton Pass I can escape Pursuit too, so I'm giving constant bonuses to Terrakion's attack, making him an even BIGGER monster.
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!! This guy was meant to be a hole-puncher, but it became an amazing sweeper instead, especially for early-mid game, whenever I find an opportunity to use Rock Polish and then just destroy an unprepared team. LO + Adamant + devastating STAB moves and a coverage move that's usually super-effective make Terrakion an insane sweeping machine, especially when backed by dual screens. Much, much better than I'd expected. The EVs allow me to outspeed every pokemon in the game at +2 (not counting scarf Deoxys-S xD), including ScarfChomps and Clorophyll Venusaurs, which could threaten to OHKO him.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 204 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Flame Charge
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
This guy isn't exactly my team destroyer, but is rather nice to have around. Switch in to a ground move (preferrably choiced), Flame Charge, then sweep, that's what this set is all about. For some reason Heatran lacks the raw power to sweep just like that, but can deal some serious damage with Flamethrower under the sun, and is incredibly useful against dragons, with its bulk, Steel type, and Dragon Pulse. I now see him more as a dragon counter, fire attack absorber, and take-down-the-pokemon-who's-threatening-to-sweep-my-entire-team guy. I'm considerign Fire Blast for its massive power, but really, now that Heatran's no longer attempting to sweep, I just need a reliable move that hurts, so I'm happy with Flamethrower. Earth Power is for my Flash Fire victims, namely other Heatran and Candelure, and to damage T-Tars as much as possible until they KO me if I don't think switching in is safe. However, I find myself using it a lot against special walls to lower their Sp. Defense and then hit them with Flamethrower ifI'm under the sun, and it works really well I must say.
Ninetales (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Safeguard
- Will-O-Wisp
Stayed intact from my last team. It's a wonderful toy to fool around with my opponents to cripple them, and smetimes deal some serious damage, even to net a OHKO on some opponents. Overheat is the move that does this, I use it on damaged pokemon, pokemon who are frail on the special side of the spectrum and aren't expecting them (since Ninetales has many radically diferent sets), and Ferrothorn when I'm fairly sure they won't switch. Safeguard keeps my team protected against the omnipresent status, and my last moves are cripplng moves. Power Swap cripples special attackers (and fuels my boost-cosumng Overheat), and Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers,tough it misses at crucial moments and pisses me of a LOT... Playing with pokemon like Toxicroack, gyarados, and more by stealing their boosts, burning them and dodging Sucker Punches is priceless and causes ragequits.
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
Infernape received a slight but not so slight change in the form of the Choice Band. LO was too suicidal and forced me to switch a lot in order to keep Infernape safe for later use, and also made me really afraid of leaving him as my last pokemon. So I decided to switch that for a CB, since I was already forced to switch out a lot anyway. CB gives me lots of raw power, especially with Flare Blitz under the sun, and for power-packed Mach Punches against weakened/steel pokemon. Infernape then became a revenge killer/ late game sweeper, which means he isn't as much of a team destroyer, especially with Terrakion in my team, but at last it found a place where it contributes to my team rather than being dead weight or not fulfilling any good role well so I'm happy to have him around. Also, I'm no longer in panic when I'm left with only him, tough it's a situation I try to avoid since he's still frail.
Threat List: After lots and lots of time playing with this team, my only weakness is Poison Heal Gliscor. He's not the biggest threat, since I can deal with him, but it's a bit situational. Sun boosted Overheats OHKO it and most CB Sun boosted Flare Blitz OHKO it too and those that don't just screw him so bad he can't Protect back to good health. My other option I don't like using is +4 Virizion, which wrecks him but is a bit unviable since Acrobatics RUINS it, and sometimes I mispredict Protects and get poison KO'd, and once I lose it I can' counter half of my opponen'ts sand team. Finally Sun boosted Flamethrower lays waste on it too, but it's a bit tricky to get in that situation comfortably. Also there're so many sets it's really unpredibtable. Again, he's not that muh o a threat but it is a threat.
The other threat is me when I just recklessly throw Terrakion and get stopped by the pokemon mentioned avobe, then left defenseless. I lost like 5 times in a row before realising that xD. At least I learnt the lesson.
CLOSING COMMENTS:
At last I found a way to complete these simultaneous goals, which I started fearing I'd never be able to: Make a successful team, have Infernape in that team and allowing him to sweep, break through the 1000 ranking barrier (that's what makes the team succesful to me), and make a team that's different from Prelude of the Light, which was the team I took most ideas from. Now I feel realised, and I should enjoy my team now and play with it and get as high as I can, but the road to making this was really long and tiring, and I'm sort of bored of seeing the same pokemon over and over in my team, and also in my opponents' teams. So, I'm planning to take a vacation from OU and make a NU/LU team since UU is almost the same as OU with Victini, Deoxys, Ferrothorn and more around. I also want to thank all the people who helped with my last team, which were useful back then and gave me a few ideas for this new version. Hope this RMT wasn't too long...
Importable version:
Virizion @ Lum Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psyshock
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 204 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Flame Charge
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
Ninetales (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Safeguard
- Will-O-Wisp
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psyshock
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Trait: Justified
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 204 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Flame Charge
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
Ninetales (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Power Swap
- Safeguard
- Will-O-Wisp
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
