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Respect My Hustle (RMT)

Stallion

Stallion

Tree Young
is a Tiering Contributoris a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Three-Time Past WCoP Champion
So yeah, this team is one I recently made, which helped me charge up the ladder. I got brought back down due to hax, but I'm still around 1560ish which I believe is decent. However, I want to make this team good enough to stay in the top 50 regardless of any unlucky streaks I undergo, so I'm leaving it here for you smogoners to rate :). Note that I'm willing to change any pokemon as long as I receive a good reason to back it up.



metagross.png



Metagross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SDef
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Trick
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion

Pretty self explanatory lead. I wanted something that could
a) Set up Stealth Rocks ASAP, with little threat to itself
b) Pose a threat to all those suicide leads
c) Pose a threat to slow set-up lead.
Metagross fit the bill perfectly, with its monstrous base 135 attack allowing it to cleave through suicide leads, and Trick + Choice Scarf screwing over the opponents Hippowdon, Swampert or Bulky Water for the entire match. Explosion for a contingency plan in case I let a sweeper set up, Meteor Mash for STAB. 4 EV's in SpDef instead of HP is to give it an odd number of HP for when switching into Stealth Rock.

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celebi.png

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 Spd
IV's: 30 HP/18 Atk/31 Def/30 Spd/30 Satk/31 SDef - (IV's for HP Fire)
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
- Recover

Pretty standard too, with the exception of Hidden Power Fire. I chose this over Hidden Power Ice so that it could act as a last ditch Scizor killer, as well as prevent shit such as Forretress setting up Spikes on me (which this team hates btw). Anything that Hidden Power Ice would be useful for is either hit harder by Grass Knot, or hates taking a Thunder Wave, with the exception of stuff like Flygon. The speed EV's allow it to hit 245 speed for Jolly Tyranitar and co, and the rest is placed to maximise physical defense.

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togekiss.png

Togekiss (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk/104 Spd/152 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Aura Sphere
- Flamethrower
- Extremespeed
- Roost

When I created this team, I made it with Togekiss as the first member, as I'd always wanted to try it out. Anyway this thing has saved my ass so many times. Extremespeed allows me to absolutely destroy frail sweepers that give me trouble (Infernape and offensive Azelf). I've tested Shadow Ball in Flamethrower's slot, but I've found Flamethrower much more useful for defeating those annoying steel types. Flamethrower does plenty to Gengar, although only managed 30ish percent on defensive Rotoms. Doesn't matter as much though, as I shouldn't be staying in on them anyway. Aura Sphere is just a solid move in general, allowing Kiss to beat Tyranitar and to put the hurt on Heatran switching in. 104 Speed EV's to hit 222 speed, Max attack to boost Extremespeed (the selling point of the set) and the rest is dumped in Special Attack.
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snorlax.png

Snorlax (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Return
- Selfdestruct
- Superpower

Awesome. Thats the only word I can use to describe this. Choice Banded Snorlax puts the hurt on pretty much every pokemon in the metagame. My special sponge as well, it allows me to switch in on stuff such as Suicune and Heatran with impunity. Its shiny new toy Superpower is much more effective at nailing the common Ttar/Scizor switch in then Earthquake ever was. CBLax is a hit and run pokemon, so the Attack/Defense drop of Superpower doesn't concern me. Crunch used to be Fire Punch, until I realised I had more then enough Scizor coverage in this team, and that Superpower does 80 %. Crunch allows me to beat those annoying as fuck Rotom's, so it stays. Return is its basic STAB attack and Selfdestruct with STAB is more powerful then a CBGross Explosion. To put it into perspective, it has a high chance of OHKOing a Max/Max Skarm. The EV's are standard, and 4 are placed in defense for an odd HP number.
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rhyperior.png


Rhyperior (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SDef
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Megahorn
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge

A great pokemon, but probably the weak link of my team. I've thought about using something like Machamp here, but Rock Polishing Rhyperior gives me yet another win condition late game. It is a secondary switch in to Heatran and an effective Tyranitar/Salamence counter. Megahorn over Ice Punch, because Ice Punch has largely redundant coverage, and it allows me to destroy Celebi. Jolly nature to Outspeed Skymin after a Rock Polish. EV's are standard, and once again allows for it to have odd HP.
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rotomwash.png

Rotom-w @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Hydro Pump
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Blah fairly standard. I use this to plug my Scizor/Lucario/Mamoswine/Heracross weakness. Discharge is because the paralysis chance is awesome, helping me more effectively deal with speedier threats to my team (Skymin anyone?) and Hydro Pump is there because it allows me to nail Heatran/Infernape switch ins, as well as Bulky Ground types like Hippo/Gliscor. I prefer RestSleep Talk to any other set because it allows for repeated usage. 8 speed is used to outspeed any other Rotom who thinks they are clever to run 4 speed EV's, the 248 HP EV's give it an odd numbered HP, and the rest is in defense for maximum walling capabilities.
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Major threats:

Infernape: Yeah this thing really hurts my team. I've never been swept by one, what with Stealth Rock, Life orb and a possible SandStorm all affecting it, and with Togekiss' Extremespeed. However, this commonly takes down at least one of my pokemon if used correctly.

Rotom: Fuck this thing annoys me. Snorlax can deal with it somewhat, but I absolutely abhor switching into Will-O-Wisp. RestTalk sets beat me pretty badly, although fortunately for me the most popular is the Oven (hello Rhyperior). Still, I need a more effective way to beat this.

Tyranitar: I do have Rhyperior and I have a multitude of ways to take this down, although switching in on it can be a pain. Not as big a threat on paper, but something that has given me trouble as it can Pursuit my defensive core, leaving my team open to other threats.

Skymin: It won't last too long because of Stealth Rock. However, much like Infernape I can't switch in on it well. One of the reasons I ran Lonely > Naughty on Togekiss, although random priority moves made me change back.

Salamence: CBed ones give me a bit of trouble. Its in the same boat as Tyranitar in that it has never swept me (thankyou SR), but can take out an important part of my defensive core. Celebi's Thunder Wave helps me alot here.

Lucario: Crunch versions cause much grief to me.

So yeah I can't hope to cover all these threats, and some of them I have decent checks against. Rotom is the main one that annoys me, as does Skymin and the occasional Lucario. Something of note for team raters is that I used to have ScarfTran > CBLax, although that left me a bit Blissey weak on the offensive side.

EDIT: Zapdos: Normal variants are beaten easily, however (from watching Scofield) SubRoost Zapdos is an absolute pain, especially coupled with Toxic Spikes.

Anyway thanks if you've read this far :).

So RMT!
 
Hi MS! That is absolutely my favorite lead ever, it's what I've been using recently. And somehow you managed to improve on it with the 6 extra ev's in spc def instead of hp, lol. What I don't like most about this team is that is is weak to many of the most potent threats in platinum, but least it takes care of heatran very well. I'll test this team a bit and then update this...
 
The team looks very well thought out. Great job.

Pursuit over Crunch really helps you with your Rotom problems, although w-o-w is still a pain. The nasty thing about using Pursuit though is that you can no longer use selfdestruct because it is technically an illegal combination. An elemental punch can slide into selfdestruct's place. Ice Punch maybe for Salamence and Skymin whom you mention to be problems?

Hope I helped
 
Selfdestruct needs to stay unfortunately, its just too good to pass up. I'd definately run Pursuit > Crunch (and have in the past, heh) but I'll be Will-O-Wisped regardless. Also CBed Return OHKOes Skymin and I think Salamence (not sure about that, it does a shitload though) so Ice Punch is pretty redundant. I'd consider Fire Punch there again possibly though.

@ Scofield - I saw when you playtested the team that even though you did worse then me due to the unfamiliarity, that Toxic Spikes was a real bitch to me. I really want to run Venusaur, I might use a Scarfed version seeing as I have used this team successfully with Scarf Celebi/Breloom/Incredibly Bulky Gyara over Rotom/Celebi/Rhyperior.

Thanks for the rates everyone, keep them coming :).
 
Off the top of my head, I don't feel like you are taking enough advantage of trickgross, who really is a fantastic pokemon. The strength of using a trick meta/jirachi to lead is that they have only 2 weaknesses which are easily walled and aren't likely to die from a hit from either of them (ie, they won't die to a single fire/ground attack in most cases).

Because of this, I think Metagross really wants teammates who can net this discrepancy into even more advantage in the early game. There was a team near the top of the ladder earlier that used substitute heatran with trick metagross to get free subs on incoming fire attacks (not to mention the flash fire boost).

Other examples of pokemon who can take great advantage of enemies locked into fire attacks include tyraniboah (or really any ttar with substitute) and suicune.

Skarmory is an example of a pokemon who can take advantage of a locked earthquake really well. On your team thunderwave togekiss accomplishes this fairly well.

I don't feel like you abuse the fire side enough. While Snorlax and Rhyperior are fairly decent choices, I'd rather try something that can net me a bit more advantage. Adamant sub-perior is a better early-game pokemon for instance.
 
Those are some really good suggestions Chou, and I really do want to try them out. However, you haven't been too clear as to what to replace them with, or specific sets. I'm not a mind-reader so even though they sound wonderful, I don't know who you intend to replace in this team with said pokemon.

Something like, "Replace Rotom with Suicune (which I might actually test) because of X, Y, Z" would be good :).

Thanks for the rate dude, thinking about TrickGross like that has opened a new perspective to my team that even I didn't really think about alot :D
 
Probably the big problem I see with most teams (and something MoP always used to rant about) was that they worried too much about resistances and not enough about the overall game plan. Part of the game plan is timing. Metagross' trick strategy forces a certain pace to the early game, which is very good if you have teammates who can take advantage of it.

I don't really like telling people to force-change their pokemon because resistances ARE important and I'd be an idiot if I told someone I know how his team functions better than he does.

I would make some suggestions on the pokemon you already have though. For instance if Rotom were a set-up poke instead of a rest-talker, he would become better suited to the early game and able to take better advantage of earthquakes aimed at metagross. If you can find room in there for w-o-w/t-wave or even just one reflect/light screen, I'd give it a shot.

I would consider trying to fit thunderwave in on Togekiss somewhere for the same reason probably over flamethrower (though I'm well aware of how nice flamethrower can be). Most ghosts and steel types hate paralysis anyway.

Rhyperior as it stands, is running a good late-game sweep set. However, if you need more early game set up, try Colonal_M's substitute set (it's a beast, I've used it to great success).

If Snorlax had body slam over return you could bring him into fire attacks and spam body slam <3. Paralysis is rhyperior's best friend, and people will be even more scared of your hustler until they see it extreme speed.

If, after all that, you are running low on late-game special sweep, you might consider just turning celebi into a full-blown sweeper. Scarf-Leafstorm-bee is surprisingly powerful.
 
Oh I should post my changes I've already made to my team.

I've been testing out the following for the past 3 or so hours.


Scarfed Timid Celebi with Earth Power/Hidden Power Ice/Leaf Storm/Psychic (thanks Scofield, and chou just then :D)

Standard Sub/Seed Breloom

252 HP/216 Def/40 speed impish Gyarados (Rest Talk, Stone Edge, Waterfall).

Seeing as both scofield and you suggested it, I'll keep Scarfed Celebi, as it has been working really well.

I'll test your other suggestions and then update the OP.

Keep the rates coming people :D
 
Your current Metagross hits 393 meaning it fails to outspeed any base 130 Pokes, so I reccomend dropping his speed down to 389 which outspeeds Shaymin and mostly everything else in the game other than faster Scarfers. It won't do much but it just seems like a waste of EV's for your current one.
 
Very solid team MS. Makes me want to try out Togeshit for my team because I have a helluva time with stall. =) (Hustle Togekiss is cool though).

But anyway, I'll address the few points that Chou has said. I can attest that Scarf Metagross with Trick is an excellent way for your Pokemon to set-up with each other: it's a highly reliable tactic in my opinion and is one thing that I like about it. I think the only Pokemon that could be a threat might be Shaymin-S, especially if the team is weakened. Granted, I don't know how much a Hustle Extremespeed does to it (I'll guess its an OHKO anyway) but you seem to place Rotom-W in here for assurance of beating Lucario / Scizor and friends. Which is why I might want to tempt you to try something else...

Scarf Rotom-H.

Now granted, it sounds funny to even suggest something like this, especially because I love Rotom-W. But Scarf Rotom-H can be a massive plug for those kind of threats. Think about it: Overheat decimates everything that is listed of your "problems". Extremespeed and Bullet Punch aren't even touching you, Heracross is usually too slow to react, Mamoswine has to rely on Ice Shard and it won't OHKO. It's... perfect for your team I would say. I'd suggest this:

- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Trick / Hidden Power Ground

You can use HP Fighting too if Tyranitar is of concern, but I think you can easily handle it. I dunno, its a suggestion to try if you think it might benefit your team. Hydro Pump is kind of cool to pass up especially because it can make Infernape and Heatran's day somewhat miserable; however, you can still take them on with said Hidden Power Ground.
 
Your team has some great components, your lead Metagross is excellent, TrickGross is the lead I hate facing the most. I'm happy to see another Rotom-W user, most Rotom-Hs I've seen are simply Pursuit bait for my Tyranitar. I highly recommend the double-status set for Rotom-W (Discharge, Hydro Pump, Shadow Ball, WoW) as it seriously hurts almost anything that people commonly switch into it. Otherwise, there isn't much I could add that ChouToshio hasn't already said better.
 
I know you like the celebii but most celebii switches are to blissey surely.
Having celebii with trick could be really helpful as two trickers rapes teams and is far more unexpected where as your lead is fairly obvious. I used a Scarfed celebii and it worked well simply you could change Twave for trick i hope this helped. Apart from that well done solid team.
 
Thanks for everyones suggestions. I'm currently running the same ScarfCelebi with HP Ice/Earth Power/Leaf Storm/Psychic (no Trick, cause Psychic is great), SubSD Rhyperior and supporter double status Wash Rotom. They are all working wonderfully, thankyou Colonel M, reachzero and anyone else who gave me good advice. If I run ScarfRotom at some stage in time, it would be at the expense of said Choice Scarf on Celebi, cause 3 Scarfers is enough. So far though Luke hasn't given me too many problems, if I like these changes enough I'll change the OP to reflect them.
 
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