I haven't really found much time to place the entirety of my focus on this game due to school, work, and life in general (in fact, I've only had at the most a combined total of an hour a day to work on this team) so it's been a good while since I've made a RMT. As I'd mentioned in my previous RMT, Blessings of the Six Generals, I have a tendency to build my teams around underrated, but still very viable Pokemon. Since then, my style of team building has changed and now build around individual cores, which is how this team came to be born.
I'd first began with a simple Offense|Defense|Defense build containing an offensive Latias running Reflect Type, Substitute + Swords Dance Landorus, defensive Rotom-W, Virizion, Hippowdon, and specially defensive Jirachi. After the team itself proved to be fairly underwhelming on PO's ladder, I'd decided to go back to the drawing board, but remained adhered to the idea of using Reflect Type Latias as a method of maintaining momentum.
That's when I'd switched the build to Defense|Offense|Offense, as the lack of damaging potential is what caused the downfall of the team I'd used before. From there, the choice was pretty simple: I'd use Latias + another special sweeper to complete one of the offensive cores and two physical attackers in order to make up the other offensive core. Deoxys-S was able to fit the role of a secondary special sweeper very well, pulling in multiple wins on its own with blistering speed and access to Superpower in order to smash through most of what can tackle BoltBeam + Psycho Boost.
The rest of the team came pretty naturally to me. Choice Band Terrakion is a pretty solid offensive threat, ramming past the wide array of Steel-types that give Latios and Deoxys problems. Tyranitar came next, as it's able to weaken Terrakion's main threats severely, or pick them off the Pokemon that Terrakion dents.
Finally the defensive core was all that remained and while I had a wide array of Pokemon to choose from, running something with Stealth Rock was of the utmost importance. At that point, my team lacked a reliable check to Latios and the entire dragon bunch, so finding and running a Steel-type was essential. Sub + SD Garchomp (which was quickly gaining popularity...), Gliscor, and Doryuuzu (yeah, you will never catch me using its American name. Ever.) were also threats to this team, so I'd chosen to run Skarmory for a short time before quickly switching to Bronzong because I wanted to actually THREATEN the Pokemon that give my team problems. The final slot was completely up for debate, as I could've chosen pretty much ANYTHING to cover the remaining threats to my team. I'd used Rotom-W for bit of time, my heart ultimately settled on Jellicent, as it was able to shut down more threats to this team with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Cursed Body.
The team name stems from the fact that I mostly use PMs in order to make RMTs.
That's when I'd switched the build to Defense|Offense|Offense, as the lack of damaging potential is what caused the downfall of the team I'd used before. From there, the choice was pretty simple: I'd use Latias + another special sweeper to complete one of the offensive cores and two physical attackers in order to make up the other offensive core. Deoxys-S was able to fit the role of a secondary special sweeper very well, pulling in multiple wins on its own with blistering speed and access to Superpower in order to smash through most of what can tackle BoltBeam + Psycho Boost.
The rest of the team came pretty naturally to me. Choice Band Terrakion is a pretty solid offensive threat, ramming past the wide array of Steel-types that give Latios and Deoxys problems. Tyranitar came next, as it's able to weaken Terrakion's main threats severely, or pick them off the Pokemon that Terrakion dents.
Finally the defensive core was all that remained and while I had a wide array of Pokemon to choose from, running something with Stealth Rock was of the utmost importance. At that point, my team lacked a reliable check to Latios and the entire dragon bunch, so finding and running a Steel-type was essential. Sub + SD Garchomp (which was quickly gaining popularity...), Gliscor, and Doryuuzu (yeah, you will never catch me using its American name. Ever.) were also threats to this team, so I'd chosen to run Skarmory for a short time before quickly switching to Bronzong because I wanted to actually THREATEN the Pokemon that give my team problems. The final slot was completely up for debate, as I could've chosen pretty much ANYTHING to cover the remaining threats to my team. I'd used Rotom-W for bit of time, my heart ultimately settled on Jellicent, as it was able to shut down more threats to this team with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Cursed Body.
The team name stems from the fact that I mostly use PMs in order to make RMTs.
This team has been very fun to use and on top of that, has been very effective, getting me to 18th on PO's ladder before getting haxed back down to 20th.
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At A Glance...
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At A Glance...
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A quick breakdown:
- All types resisted at least twice except for Dragon, Ghost, and Electric
- Two Pokemon immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes
- Two Pokemon resist Stealth Rock
- Three checks to most special threats
- Four checks to most physical threats
- One stat-boosting sweeper
- Only one Choiced attacker
- One spinblocker
- Stealth Rock is available as an entry hazard
- Three Pokemon break at least 345 Speed
- One Pokemon has a priority attack
- Half of my team is blue <3
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A Closer Look
("When you use this team..." sections are italicized and underlined)
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~ I'm going to start things off with the defensive core. It's the backbone of this team, giving me something reliable to fall back on so I'm not forced to sack a sweeper against bulkier, but powerful threats, namely Scizor and Gliscor. This core is made up of an underused tank and a celebrated, yet unappreciated wall ~
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Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 80 Def / 92 SDef
Sassy nature (+SDef, -Spd)
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The metagame shift from D/P/P to B/W had a "better or worse" effect on a lot of OU's previous top contenders. Some previous OU Pokemon, such as Rotom-W and Gliscor, gained new, but very important roles in this metagame due to either a change in certain mechanics or [effectiveness in] Dream World. On the other hand, some Pokemon, namely OU's preceding tanks, lost quite a bit of effectiveness thanks to the prevalence of Drizzle, incredibly powerful threats such as Latios and Doryuuzu, and of course, defensively-inclined Pokemon like Ferrothorn. A prime example of a Pokemon that lost most of its efficiency in OU is none other than Bronzong, who was one of OU's best tanks thanks to its fantastic defensive typing and stats, access to a plethora of support options, and of course, usable offenses. This gen, Bronzong became much less useful due to being outright overpowered by strong physical attackers and outclassed in almost every other regard as a support on the average team - Jirachi and Reuniclus generally outclass Bronzong in terms of providing entry hazard and Trick Room support, respectively. As mentioned before, Bronzong was chosen over Skarmory mostly for the sole purpose of maintaining momentum without having to rely on with shitty luck with pHazing. Thanks to its great typing and bulk, Bronzong is able to reliably get Stealth Rock up for this team to abuse while forming great defensive synergy with the rest of my team; it doesn't stop there, however, as Bronzong works as a great lure for Pokemon that give Terrakion, Tyranitar, or Latios the free chance to switch in and start causing as much damage as possible.
This set has been the standard for Bronzong since the early stages of D/P (HP Ice very well compensating for the accuracy drop in Hypnosi) and hasn't let me down yet. Gyro Ball and Earthquake give Bronzong the ability to take out a myriad of threats to this team, most notably Air Balloon Doryuuzu while Hidden Power Ice enables Bronzong to take on Gliscor and Garchomp more reliably without me having to fall back on Deoxys or Latios to beat them. I haven't really experienced problems regarding the EVs, as they provide pretty balanced defenses and give Bronzong a respectable amount of "oomph" behind its physical attacks; of course, the speed IV was dropped to 2 in order to maximize the power of Gyro Ball while keeping Hidden Power Ice at 70 BP.
I always keep Bronzong in the lead position, as it offers potential Pokemon for Terrakion to munch on with its dual STAB. Such a move also gives me the perfect chance to scout for Choice item users, as they typically can become a huge problem later in the game if left alone. For example, Politoed usually takes no hesitation switching into Bronzong in order to get rain up as early as possible. Leading off with Tyranitar usually gives away my opponent's moveset i.e; if Sand Stream goes up last, Politoed is likely Scarfed, meaning that it's much easier to handle defensively, but can "surprise" Terrakion or Tyranitar with a speedy Hydro Pump and therefore has to be played around carefully.
All in all, while Bronzong can be a bit difficult to use at times with it being setup fodder for a lot of Pokemon, it's been able to perform the task of checking various threats and getting Stealth Rock bouncing around on my opponent's side of the field very well. I honestly can't see myself replacing it, as Bronzong's wide array of resistances and very good defenses give it quite a few chances to switch in, get Stealth Rock up while maintaining good enough health to check things like Excadrill, Garchomp, and Tornadus later in the game. Skarmory has to play carefully when attempting to switch in and set up entry hazards, as it can easily become setup fodder itself (not to mention that it HAS to Whirlwind Doryuuzu, Gliscor, Garchomp, and the like out in order to "check" them). Ferrothorn's own typing is usually its downfall both offensively and defensively, and requires me to run another Pokemon as well else in order to effectively check sand sweepers in general. Finally we get to Gliscor, which lacks the oh-so-important Steel-typing that gives this team a much easier time cushioning hits from Lati@s and other Dragons.
Base Bronzong's importance solely off of team preview. If you see a combination of sand sweepers, remember to keep Bronzong at good health, as it can switch in and check the lot of them. If you see a Politoed without Tornadus in the wings, then feel free to use Bronzong as death fodder, as it won't be walling many rain teams anytime soon. If you see things like Ferrothorn and / or Hippowdon in team preview, then try to lure them out of hiding by switching Bronzong into play and double switching back to Jellicent or Terrakion (whichever one fits your liking; I'd recommend Jellicent though due to Taunt + status). Try your hardest not to lay down rocks the second that Bronzong switches in, as most players will take that as your first move and will act accordingly. For example, you may find it best to Gyro Ball first if you see Espeon in team preview. Bronzong will either be of extreme or no importance to this team if you choose to run around on the ladder with it, so keep that in mind at least.
Jellicent ♂ @ Leftovers
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 104 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
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Old school defensive Pokemon aside, Black and White managed to give birth to some new and very effective defensive walls of its own, Jellicent being one of them. With its exclusive Water/Ghost typing, well spread stats, two fantastic abilities, and a support movepool that Suicune would kill for, Jellicent quickly become one of the premier defensive threats in OU. Jellicent is a very important member of this team, not only forming a solid defensive core with Bronzong, but also checking very specific threats and keeping the momentum going for my team. That said, in almost every match, Jellicent is this team's MVP and has, alongside Terrakion, given me my ranking on PO's server.
I'm running the standard Burungeru set here, with Taunt instead of a Ghost typed attack in order to to prevent Jellicent from turning into bait for pretty much anything that doesn't really care for a burn, such as Blissey. Stall and balanced teams regularly give me problems, so in addition to running the standard set for Jellicent, I also invested pretty heavily in Speed in order to Taunt things like Skarmory, Breloom, opposing Jellicent, and the Pokemon that aim to hit 181 Speed (no, seriously, not running 182 Speed almost made me lose a stall war vs a stupid subseed Breloom). Cursed Body is an extremely underrated ability and is the reason behind Jellicent's MVP status. Cursed Body prevents CM Reuniclus, Ferrothorn, Terrakion, and most choiced attackers from completely stomping on this team and it also serves as a last-second answer to Doryuuzu if luck is in my favor. Speaking of luck, Jellicent normally has about an 83% chance of beating most physical attackers with a combination of Cursed Body and Will-O-Wisp, not counting evasion boosts of course. I rarely use Scald, but it really helps when it comes to preventing most of Jellicent's checks and counters from switching in safely thanks to its handy burn rate.
Jellicent has been incredibly effective overall and I can't for the life of myself fathom finding a replacement for him. Rotom-W and Vaporeon were possibilities at one time in order to check Dory better and provide Wish support, respectively, but Jellicent usually comes out on top with access to both Taunt and Recover; most of my offensive Pokes don't really need Wish support anyway, as they're either a bitch to switch in, or I'll usually end up sacking them if they're low on health.
Play Jellicent as if every opponent is badly poisoned and simply Taunt + Recover as much as possible while tossing status around every now and then. With that in mind, you still have to play Jellicent carefully because Pokemon who are immediate threats to it such as Thundurus, Latios, and Rotom-W will take no hesitation to switch in on a Will-O-Wisp or Scald so the rest of their team doesn't have to. While Jellicent check Reuniclus pretty hard, don't rely on it as your first check to it. Most of the time, falling back on Tyranitar and risking a Focus Blast is better than having Jellicent take 35%~ from Psychic. If you really have to, scout for potential threats by risking Cursed Body not activating. Most of what can force Jellicent out will take no hesitation to set up, so crippling or Taunting it will definitely help prevent this team from getting swept.
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~ With the defensive core of this team introduced and explained, it's time to move onto the wall breaking crew consisted of a new offensive powerhouse and a classic sweeper. This core is responsible for causing as much damage as possible and order to secure a late game sweep for the core following it ~
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Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
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Black and White introduced more offensive threats than defensive and with them came surprisingly versatile powerhouses - Landorus can easily change its array of checks and counters by running Hidden Power Ice, Swords Dance, or a Choice Scarf, for example. Terrakion is without a doubt one of those said powerhouses, boasting the ability to run dual boosting moves and Choice items very effectively. With a Choice Band attached in fact, Terrakion breaks so many power barriers that it's not even funny, 2HKOing even Pokemon that resist its STAB and OHKOing the rest. For my team, Terrakion is one of two wall breakers, softening up the load for both Latios and Deoxys to finish the sweep. Terrakion's importance to this team is only amplified by its ability to easily give me momentum from the start of the game - and I can't stress it enough how reliant on momentum this team is.
Choice Band Terrakion is a criminally overlooked threat, as it 2HKOes even the sturdiest of walls with only Close Combat and Stone Edge. As a testament to its sheer power, Terrakion does 41.1% - 48.5% to support Groudon (252/252 Impish) with Close Combat. While a 2HKO isn't guaranteed without SR + 2 layers of Spikes, the simple fact that Terrakion can do that much damage to what's easily the most defensively bulky Pokemon in the game (while maintaining a great 346 Speed stat) shows just how painful it can be to deal with. With that much known, however, most players usually predict the Rock Polish + Swords Dance or Choice Scarf variant and assume that Terrakion either lacks power, or is vulnerable to being revenged by something faster or bulky with Earthquake. This gives me the perfect chance lure in a few of Terrakion's usual checks such as Gliscor and Skarmory and 2HKO them without much effort, making wallbreaking much easier for Tyranitar.
DAT NIGGA STRONGTHHHH
(*shrug* had to be said at some point)
The final two slots didn't really matter to me much, but definiately have come in handy whenever I'm in a pinch. Earthquake has helped this team completely destroy Toxicroak (got swept by a stupid ass Taunt + Bulk Up variant once before and I'm not letting that shit happen again) and Quick Attack is there to simply pick off things that are pretty low on health, but can really cause this team problems later in the game (does like 15% to 4/0 Dory iirc, which is pretty impressive for such a piss-weak priority move). Regarding Terrakion's other offensive options, being locked into Weak-Scissor sucks and rarely am I ever in a situation where Sacred Sword will come in handy more than Close Combat.
Terrakion, like the two Pokemon before it, is one of the main keys to this team's success. So, unless someone can figure out another Pokemon that can fill its role better, I'm not going to replace it for anything. Swords Dance and / or Rock Polish lack the immediate power that I need and while Air Balloon would help my team with its Dory weakness, Terrakion would have to switch out far more often than it needs to due to the lack in power and surprisingly enough, speed. Choice Scarf Terrakion falls into the same category, except that it has no way of boosting its Attack outside of Justified.
Close Combat and Stone Edge disintegrate everything that doesn't resist them and that's what you should be using most of the time. No, seriously, NEVER use either of the last two attacks unless you REALLY need to. Earthquake has a load of immunities in this metagame while Quick Attack is far too weak and will become setup fodder for pretty much anything in decent health. Get sandstorm going if you plan on using Terrakion a LOT, as it can be a pretty useful check to Latias and even Rotom-W if it has enough HP left. Last, but not least, don't and I repeat: DON'T be predictable with Terrakion. While its STABs are powerful, they can be walled with relative ease if your prediction sucks; STONE EDGE the Tyranitar if you see a Gliscor in team preview.
Tyranitar ♂ @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
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In a metagame such as B/W's, which Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, and Sand Stream are usable and abusable, having a method of playing against 'specialized' weather teams is imperative. To be frank, it's fairly easy to make ones team "anti-weather" with Pokemon such as Virizion and defensive cores such as Gliscor/Jirachi/Rotom-W in fluctuation, but the most used and effective options to combat dedicated weather teams is simply changing the weather itself. If you snatch away the crutches from a man with a broken leg, he'll have a hard time walking or won't walk at all; the same logic is applied when running a weather inducer. The ability to completely gimp 75% of the weather teams in this metagame, in one turn, is simply too valuable to give up, but the main problem exists with which type of weather to run. Sun generally provides a more of an advantage to offensively-inclined teams, as there are many more Pokemon that can take advantage of the power boost and typical ability advantage. Hail gives defensive teams the advantage due to the lack of reliable offensive abilities and a much smaller pool of Pokemon immune to the residual damage. Sand and rain are much more "balanced" weather conditions, as they can function well for both defensive and offensive teams (i.e, they usually give both offensive and defensive boosts). For my team, running rain would've naturally been the best choice, as I can completely eliminate almost any weaknesses to both sun- and sand-themed teams, but after thinking about it, I eventually settled on Tyranitar as my only weather changer. Tyranitar holds the importance of not only keeping the weather in my control, but also assisting Terrakion in breaking down opposing teams.
Tyranitar has so many options when it comes to wallbreaking. It can go mixed, run a Choice Band and just abuse its very good natural bulk and already sky-high Attack, or bluff even a choiced set in order to take out specific threats. In this case, however, I'd decided to go with Dragon Dance Tyranitar as my second wallbreaker and here's why: It carries just as much utility later in the game as Terrakion does. Granted, Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, and Bullet Punch suck, but Tyranitar is usually spamming its STAB the second it gets into play in order to catch a few of its checks off guard, thereby not wasting any boosts attained by forced switches. +1 Tyranitar outpaces pretty much all of the unscarfed Pokemon in this metagame and can put a huge dent into common walls such as Gliscor and Skarmory with Stone Edge. In the influx of mixed Tyranitar and the commonality of Pursuit, I've even found it fairly easy to net a Dragon Dance and take at least one Pokemon out while severely denting another.
The moveset is simple, as it's meant to cause as much damage as possible. Fire Punch was chosen over Ice Punch (yeah, fuck you too Gliscor) in order to combat Ferrothorn better and catch a few unsuspecting Scizor off guard. Stone Edge hits pretty much everything that doesn't resist it for some pretty boss damage while Crunch completes this ensemble by covering the Psychics in OU and picking off slightly weakened Garchomp.
Replacing Tyranitar... grrr, that's a tough one tbh, as it's been single-handedly responsible for keeping the game in my favor with Sand Stream. I suppose that the most logical option would be to replace Tyranitar with Taunt + SD Gliscor and use Latios as my second wallbreaker instead, but Terrakion and Tyranitar compliment each other so well on both the defensive and offensive spectrum. Terrakion and Tyranitar snap their usual checks in two with combined assaults. On the less aggressive side, Tyranitar gives boosts Terrakion's already passable Special Defense to much higher levels with a sandstorm. Scrapping Tyranitar for Gliscor would also give me a larger weakness to Rotom-W, Jellicent, and Reuniclus, which is another reason behind why I'm reluctant to make such a change.
If your opponent is running Toed, then lube Tyranitar up and try to squeeze it in when you need to. His initial purpose is to keep the weather in this team's control and tbh, I've found it pretty easy to switch Tyranitar into Rain teams on predicted Thunders / Hurricanes. Now here's the thing, you don't want to set up a Dragon Dance the very first turn that you have Tyranitar in play. If you want to sweep with DDTar, then change its item to something less suicidal and then the team itself. You're usually better off spamming Crunch / Stone Edge and catching random Steels with Fire Punch in order to cause switches, which will cause more overall damage to your opponent's team. ONLY Dragon Dance if you can predict a switch or a turn on which Tyranitar won't be in any harm, as a +1/+1 Tyranitar with a Life Orb and nearly full health can be pretty devastating to the average team, late-game or not. Don't be a greedy little bumblefuck and actually learn to switch EVEN if you get a boost. I've managed to keep so much momentum because someone believes that I'm going to keep Tyranitar in for a "sweep".
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~ Finally we get to the third and last core of this team, which exists for the sole purpose of ending a game with a solid sweep. The core is comprised of two previously Uber Pokemon who do a fantastic job at cleaning up the trash Terrakion and Tyranitar leave in their destruction ~
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Latios ♂ @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
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The Uber and OU tiers have been constantly intertwining with each other over the past few years. Last gen, Deoxys-S, Skymin, Garchomp, Manaphy, Wobbuffet, the Lati twins, even lower leveled Groudon and Kyogre were allowed to see the light of the OU metagame before getting dismissed or slammed right back into the Ubers tier. This generation brought about the resurrection of most of the aforementioned Pokemon, as well as Darkrai, Deoxys-N / A, and Mew - most of which have been banned already. Latios surprisingly (at least IMO) remained amongst his OU victimmmmmm-... I mean brethren and has been nothing short of one of the top threats in OU. With Choice Specs attached, he can spam stupidly powerful Draco Meteors and utilize his great special movepool to beat his usual checks and counters. Latios, akin to his sister, is also capable of running Calm Mind, capitalizing on switches by making himself increasingly harder to heal with. Latios serves a very different purpose for this team, however, as its mostly used to pick up a sweep later in the game wherever the chance arises and check Rotom-W reliably.
I'm running an all-out attacking variant of Latios, as he rarely finds time to heal, and the ability to switch attacks in order to destroy a few select Pokemon (see: Scizor and Tyranitar) is simply invaluable. Grass Knot is VERY important when it comes to keeping Latios alive, as it can 2HKO 252/252 Sassy Tyranitar with the aid of Stealth Rock. Whenever I manage to get Latios in, I usually fish for potential switch ins with Grass Knot, as it's pretty reliable and doesn't require me having to rage over Tyranitar switching in to sponge the HP Fire / Draco Meteor (that cocky bastard...). From there, I'll just use Latios's Speed and ability to freely switch attacks to my advantage by taking down one Pokemon after another. Hidden Power Fire complements Grass Knot very well, KOing the standard Ferrothorn with some residual damage and OHKOing most Scizor, because some of you assholes still run 252/252 Careful 9_9. Draco Meteor simply put, is "my last resort", as I only use it when Latios REALLY needs the increase in damage (which is much more often than you may think) or if Latios needs to be sacked so something else can switch in safely. I'm currently using an Expert Belt instead of LO or Specs in order to preserve Latios's health and have it work as a lure for a sufficient of threats to this team, but the loss of power can be really noticeable and I constantly find myself wishing for that extra pump in damage.
Latios was once a Latias at one time, filling a much more defensive role with Reflect Type, but I'd realized how much power I'd been missing out on. So, for those who want to suggest Latias, don't. Latios's typing has been one of the main reasons behind why I've kept it for so long, as I can actually get breathing room when pitted against Rotom-W, Thundurus, Penisaur, Zapdos, Garchomp, Hippowdon (generally any Pokemon that commonly uses Earthquake), Jellicent, and a load more. A defensive pivot in the form of an offensive juggernaut is truly a rarity and thus, I'm going to have a hard time finding a replacement for Latios as well.
The Uber and OU tiers have been constantly intertwining with each other over the past few years. Last gen, Deoxys-S, Skymin, Garchomp, Manaphy, Wobbuffet, the Lati twins, even lower leveled Groudon and Kyogre were allowed to see the light of the OU metagame before getting dismissed or slammed right back into the Ubers tier. This generation brought about the resurrection of most of the aforementioned Pokemon, as well as Darkrai, Deoxys-N / A, and Mew - most of which have been banned already. Latios surprisingly (at least IMO) remained amongst his OU victimmmmmm-... I mean brethren and has been nothing short of one of the top threats in OU. With Choice Specs attached, he can spam stupidly powerful Draco Meteors and utilize his great special movepool to beat his usual checks and counters. Latios, akin to his sister, is also capable of running Calm Mind, capitalizing on switches by making himself increasingly harder to heal with. Latios serves a very different purpose for this team, however, as its mostly used to pick up a sweep later in the game wherever the chance arises and check Rotom-W reliably.
I'm running an all-out attacking variant of Latios, as he rarely finds time to heal, and the ability to switch attacks in order to destroy a few select Pokemon (see: Scizor and Tyranitar) is simply invaluable. Grass Knot is VERY important when it comes to keeping Latios alive, as it can 2HKO 252/252 Sassy Tyranitar with the aid of Stealth Rock. Whenever I manage to get Latios in, I usually fish for potential switch ins with Grass Knot, as it's pretty reliable and doesn't require me having to rage over Tyranitar switching in to sponge the HP Fire / Draco Meteor (that cocky bastard...). From there, I'll just use Latios's Speed and ability to freely switch attacks to my advantage by taking down one Pokemon after another. Hidden Power Fire complements Grass Knot very well, KOing the standard Ferrothorn with some residual damage and OHKOing most Scizor, because some of you assholes still run 252/252 Careful 9_9. Draco Meteor simply put, is "my last resort", as I only use it when Latios REALLY needs the increase in damage (which is much more often than you may think) or if Latios needs to be sacked so something else can switch in safely. I'm currently using an Expert Belt instead of LO or Specs in order to preserve Latios's health and have it work as a lure for a sufficient of threats to this team, but the loss of power can be really noticeable and I constantly find myself wishing for that extra pump in damage.
Latios was once a Latias at one time, filling a much more defensive role with Reflect Type, but I'd realized how much power I'd been missing out on. So, for those who want to suggest Latias, don't. Latios's typing has been one of the main reasons behind why I've kept it for so long, as I can actually get breathing room when pitted against Rotom-W, Thundurus, Penisaur, Zapdos, Garchomp, Hippowdon (generally any Pokemon that commonly uses Earthquake), Jellicent, and a load more. A defensive pivot in the form of an offensive juggernaut is truly a rarity and thus, I'm going to have a hard time finding a replacement for Latios as well.
Ok, now we get to the riskiest player on this team. Latios requires prediction against most teams so that it doesn't die, so for the love of all that's holy, don't use Draco Meteor as soon as possible. I mean, it's very possible to fuck Tyranitar with a fishing hook if you play Latios intelligently and use Grass Knot first. Just play Latios like Starmie, except don't spam his STAB so he doesn't get Pursuit raped.
Deoxys-S @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
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When one thinks of the phrase "late-game sweep", the first things that usually come to ones mind are speed and priority. What makes a late-game sweep successful is ensuring that most if not all bulkier threats are well taken care of - and my team does just that - but an intelligent player usually keeps their faster and bulkier attackers safe from harm in order to ensure that a late-game sweep isn't very possible. Walls typically fall before offensive Pokemon, which is what makes Deoxys-S such a great choice for a late-game sweeper, as it has major problems mowing through dedicated defensive threats such as Ferrothorn and Eviolite Chansey. With half of my team ripping stuff apart with their excellent STABs, Deoxys has absolutely no problem ending a game without being threatened much and that's exactly what it does for my team
Mixed attacking Deoxys-S is usually overlooked and passed off as a support variant in team preview. However, in the right hands, Deoxys can be a pretty painful threat to deal with. The moveset... it-it-it... it should be self-explanatory, as Deoxys doesn't be running anything else if it's aiming to sweep. The slight investment in Attack ensures an OHKO on 252/0 Tyranitar without the aid of Stealth Rock. Psycho Boost serves the exact same purpose as Draco Meteor does on Latios: causing more damage whenever the time calls for it.
Lemme make this as clear as possible, I love Deoxys with a passion, but it's the weakest link of this team. I can't for the life of me figure out what to replace it with, however, as there really isn't much that can fill its role as effectively. Deoxys can revenge quite a few Pokemon at +1 Speed, such as Dragonite and Haxorus, but doesn't lock itself into a single attack, which really helps maintain momentum for this team. Deoxys is also very capable of picking up where Latios leaves off in a sweep, as their checks and counters are pretty much the same. ScarfToed is the best and only choice at this point to replace Deoxys with, as it doesn't have much trouble revenging +1 Dragonite, Garchomp, and stuffs, and can really help with my Dory / Lando weakness.
Keep Deoxys at nearly full health if you wish for it to sweep anything because priority and the constant residual damage will be bothersome in keeping Deoxys alive. Only switch Deoxys in early if you let something go crazy with +1 Speed or if you give something like Conkeldurr a couple of free turns to do whatever.
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Conclusion
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Despite not having much time to play around with it, I've enjoyed every bit of this team. I tend to play more recklessly than I should though, as most of the games that I've won recently have really been close calls - I mean, relying on high damage rolls when I could've just switched, making rash overpredictions... those are just a few examples. On the few occasions which I play this team how it's meant to be played, however, it's very common for me to drag in easy wins. Don't let my CRE on PO at the current moment fool you as this team is pretty legit if you manage to follow the directions that I gave in each description.
Get @ my success
When one thinks of the phrase "late-game sweep", the first things that usually come to ones mind are speed and priority. What makes a late-game sweep successful is ensuring that most if not all bulkier threats are well taken care of - and my team does just that - but an intelligent player usually keeps their faster and bulkier attackers safe from harm in order to ensure that a late-game sweep isn't very possible. Walls typically fall before offensive Pokemon, which is what makes Deoxys-S such a great choice for a late-game sweeper, as it has major problems mowing through dedicated defensive threats such as Ferrothorn and Eviolite Chansey. With half of my team ripping stuff apart with their excellent STABs, Deoxys has absolutely no problem ending a game without being threatened much and that's exactly what it does for my team
Mixed attacking Deoxys-S is usually overlooked and passed off as a support variant in team preview. However, in the right hands, Deoxys can be a pretty painful threat to deal with. The moveset... it-it-it... it should be self-explanatory, as Deoxys doesn't be running anything else if it's aiming to sweep. The slight investment in Attack ensures an OHKO on 252/0 Tyranitar without the aid of Stealth Rock. Psycho Boost serves the exact same purpose as Draco Meteor does on Latios: causing more damage whenever the time calls for it.
Lemme make this as clear as possible, I love Deoxys with a passion, but it's the weakest link of this team. I can't for the life of me figure out what to replace it with, however, as there really isn't much that can fill its role as effectively. Deoxys can revenge quite a few Pokemon at +1 Speed, such as Dragonite and Haxorus, but doesn't lock itself into a single attack, which really helps maintain momentum for this team. Deoxys is also very capable of picking up where Latios leaves off in a sweep, as their checks and counters are pretty much the same. ScarfToed is the best and only choice at this point to replace Deoxys with, as it doesn't have much trouble revenging +1 Dragonite, Garchomp, and stuffs, and can really help with my Dory / Lando weakness.
Keep Deoxys at nearly full health if you wish for it to sweep anything because priority and the constant residual damage will be bothersome in keeping Deoxys alive. Only switch Deoxys in early if you let something go crazy with +1 Speed or if you give something like Conkeldurr a couple of free turns to do whatever.
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Conclusion
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Despite not having much time to play around with it, I've enjoyed every bit of this team. I tend to play more recklessly than I should though, as most of the games that I've won recently have really been close calls - I mean, relying on high damage rolls when I could've just switched, making rash overpredictions... those are just a few examples. On the few occasions which I play this team how it's meant to be played, however, it's very common for me to drag in easy wins. Don't let my CRE on PO at the current moment fool you as this team is pretty legit if you manage to follow the directions that I gave in each description.
Code:
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/84 Atk/80 Def/92 SDef
Sassy nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 248 HP/156 Def/104 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Scald
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
Tyranitar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dragon Pulse
Deoxys-S @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Superpower
- Psycho BoostGet @ my success
