Whether it be the synergy between the Pokemon (or lack thereof), the movesets of each, or my own (mediocre?) skills, this team cannot go beyond a CRE of 1200 and has me wondering as to why. In theory, this team should be doing quite well, but many things sound good in theory. I hope this threshold of greatness (if there is one) is only created by my batting skills, and so, if you wish, you may use this team to see if it's capabilities are inherently locked away by plain bad predictions on my part. Many ideas, sets and Pokemon were used to create the team I've laid out before you, with many things barring the main objective that I've made for this team: a Salamence sweep. Details into this will be examined later; you may, however, look over my convoluted and drawn-out team building process in the mean time.
I should note now that my team is about as standard as standard gets; whether this effects its success or failure remains to be seen.
Sun Stealer (M) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
The very common ShucaTran lead. My main reasoning with choosing this fellow was to create areas for my other teammates to come in on their resistances and immunities. The EVs and Nature are self-explanatory; they are necessary to speed tie with opposing Heatran while not lowering my bulk in lieu of Explosion. 252 into Special Attack to boost my attacks, with 4 into Defense as filler. Taunt was chosen to better handle Stall teams, although problems still arise, being that Heatran is usually KO'ed by the time he is needed again. It is very useful for stopping Baton Pass chains, slow stat uppers and slow leads like Bronzong and Swampert though (I'll risk the loss of my Berry). Explosion would be very nice, however, to leave a dent in the likes of Salamence and Latias, who salivate at the chance to set up against me. HP Grass and HP Ice were considered and, in the former's case, used, but Taunt is simply too valuable to give up for the mentioned reasons. More viable suggestions are more than welcome.
Calvin (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 152 HP/252 Atk/104 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Another astoundingly standard Pokemon, but for damn good reason. Scizor is simply too good. Being that both Latias and Gengar are weak to Pursuit users, especially Weavile and Tyranitar, Scizor was a great candidate to revenge (or at least put a large dent into) the mentioned threats that stop my teammates, which indirectly stops Salamence, from a final sweep. The moveset and Nature are obvious, but, using X-Act's Defensive EV Distribution Applet, the EVs are distributed in such a way to provide a 30/70 defensive position, favouring a Specially Defensive route. The spread is not set up to provide assurance that Calvin will survive certain blows from specific Pokemon, so if you have a better tuned spread, I'd love to use it. Cleaning up and revenging with Bullet Punch, along with the priority, is extremely useful late game as well, but we all know what Scizor can do.
Nagorny (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Pain Split
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Philip's LO Pain Split set. I was originally running the same set, except with Leftovers and Toxic over Pain Split. The utility of Toxic is missed, especially against Zapdos and other hard-to-break walls, but the ability to deal with Blissey in yet another way is always welcome. Nagorny was yet another member brought in to capitalize on the available immunities, especially Fighting. Unfortunately, Machamp almost always run Payback, so there really is no perfect switch-in (except maybe Spritomb, but that would go against the generally offensive pace of the team). Along with Latias, this allows me another choice for immediate speed, letting me combat slower walls and base 100's like Jirachi and Salamence. If you think I should switch back to Toxic or to another set entirely, please do so.
Khouri (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
My safety net against Salamence, Latias, Starmie, Gyarados, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I wonder if I rely on Khouri's power too much, but it's necessary. Another standard to help from getting swept by just about everything barring Lucario, Scizor and certain Dragonite. It may just be my average level of skill, but I find Khouri KO'ed before I get a chance to fully (ab)use her, being that she is both Pursuit bait and, after a Draco Meteor, setup bait. Scizor and Salamence somewhat alleviate this, but the fact that using Khouri is entirely dependent on proper prediction (or guessing, as some would put it) limits her potential, although, this is entirely something that affects only me. I would greatly appreciate Khouri to be made into a Calm Mind Life Orb user, but the immense power behind her Draco Meteor along with the surprise factor of Gengar's set discourages this path. Proper reasoning would likely sway me, however.
Servitor @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 28 HP/16 Def/212 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Magnet Rise
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
My Steel killer, aiding Sylveste along his way. The moves are standard, with HP Grass to combat Swampert almost exclusively, and Thunderbolt to use the Servitor's massive base Special Attack. The EVs are slightly modified: the 212 Speed allows me to outrun neutral 0 Speed base 86's (Rotom-A essentially), Special Attack is maxed, 28 EVs in HP for a Leftovers number and the rest is dumped into Defense. While the Servitor can trap and kill just about every Steel in the game, it also becomes setup fodder for things like Celebi and Latias, or just about any Specially based attacker. Even Jirachi can Calm Mind against it. Both Magnet Rise and Substitute are invaluable in both walling and protecting against heavy hitters like Metagross, Heatran and Infernape. HP Grass was chosen due to the fact that neither Latias nor Celebi are hit hard by HP Ice, and that Swampert can Roar me out before I can KO it. I considered Charge Beam, but the lack of both power and accuracy is offputting. A Scarf set was also considered, but I'd rather not have Servitor be not only setup bait, but easily revenged as well.
Sylveste (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Roost
The Conjoiner, the dragon that binds it all. A very simple set, relinquishing a Fire-type attack for longevity. Dragon Claw over Outrage to efficiently maim opposing MixMence, along with making sure I don't lock myself into a unfavourable position early on; even late game, an Outrage could be baited to let something like CMWishRachi a chance to setup. The EVs and Nature are to make sure I outspeed as much as possible, due to the voracity of the metagame. Lum Berry also allows me to feint a Scarf or Life Orb, while allowing me another Dragon Dance against a Rotom-A, Roserade, Breloom, etc. Porygon2 still hard counters me unfortunately, as not even a +1 Dragon Claw will 2HKO. Being that most everything not covered by the above moves will be handily KOed by Magnezone, there theoretically shouldn't anything be stopping me from sweeping late game, but I suppose my lack of batting experience exposes that as a false belief. If you feel a more offensive Salamence would be beneficial or even a more defensive version, by all means, voice your opinions.
Regardless of whether or not this team is fixed of its shortcoming, I've learned a great deal of battling through as much tweaking as I have done, far more than explained in the team building process than I cared to remember. I can only hope that both my team building skill and batting experience can only elevate from here.
Finally, some major threats I've come across:
OVERVIEW
Originally, I wanted to sweep with a Rock Polish Tyranitar. Being that Tyranitar hates Steels of all types, Magnezone was brought in to Counter or, at the least, alleviate the pesky metal militia.
Many other members attempted to help Tyranitar, but the power behind said Tyranitar, unfortunately, is quite lacking, unable to break through dedicated walls even with both supporting Pokemon and the ability to invest EVs into its attacking stats; at least, not while maintaining some semblance of bulk. The idea was scrapped; I did, however, enjoy the ability to get rid of most Steels quite easily, so Magnezone was here to stay.
After some searching around, I came across the pairing of Salamence and Magnezone. Salamence has trouble with Steels without splitting EVs or running a less than favourable Nature; Magnezone attempts to alleviate this weakness. I had known about this combo for some time, but I felt as if acting on it would be tantamount to plagiarism. The combo was a combo for a reason, however, being that it worked quite well. Salamence became the new object to sweep.
I immediately saw that, with the metagame being in the state that it's in, a revenge killer was necessary. A Life Orb Starmie with Rapid Spin was considered, but an even faster Revenger would be needed. A Scarf Latias was brought in, being able to capitalize on the Fire- and Ground-type weaknesses that plague Magnezone, without putting a strain on Salamence.
Latias was, and still is, an extremely vital component to the team's success, so it is equally vital to have something to either take advantage of the death of Latias or to take revenge for the Revenger; a bait Tyranitar was considered and tested. I found a bait SD Scizor set to become troublesome (and still do, to an extent), however, so my own Banded Scizor was ushered in to provide priority along with giving me another (if somewhat desperate) option against enemy Scizor. Scouting with U-turn and trapping with Pursuit is always good as well.
I found a somewhat minor Machamp/Infernape/general Fighting-type weakness with these four, along with the original members (whom I cannot remember right now). Gengar seemed like a fine choice at the time, at least as far as Immunities were concerned. I used a Substitute set, with Shadow Ball and Focus Blast for perfect coverage and Toxic to wear down those walls which I could not break. Leftovers was also chosen to prevent Gengar's demise as quickly as one would expect. Seeing Philip's recent Gengar set gave me a change of mind, with Pain Split in combination with Life Orb to land necessary KOs stirring interest in me, especally its ability to beat Blissey in good conditions and proper prediction, something that my own set could not accomplish. Thanks Philip. One might question the merit of going this route; why not make Gengar a Scarf set, with Latias a Calm Mind LO attacker? I'd considered this, but the surprise factor of Gengar's Sub along with Latias' insane power in Draco Meteor solidified my choice; I'm willing to change, if you see fit, however.
Finally, an appropiate lead. Many were considered, but I wanted something that could stop most set-up attempts and be a general pain to stall. Good synergy would be appreciated, along with some bulk. A Scarf Jirachi was considered, but I found that ShucaTran was reliable at both maiming many leads, able to mess with stall while retaining bulk to cause havok/free switch-ins later. I've seen many Jirachi leads with Wish/SR/Iron Head/Fire Punch to combat Magnezone, so I might consider this instead. Opinions are welcome.
Well, there ya go. My team, in its current state. Along with my thought process throughout, which may or may not allude to my skill as a battler, if there is any.
Many other members attempted to help Tyranitar, but the power behind said Tyranitar, unfortunately, is quite lacking, unable to break through dedicated walls even with both supporting Pokemon and the ability to invest EVs into its attacking stats; at least, not while maintaining some semblance of bulk. The idea was scrapped; I did, however, enjoy the ability to get rid of most Steels quite easily, so Magnezone was here to stay.
After some searching around, I came across the pairing of Salamence and Magnezone. Salamence has trouble with Steels without splitting EVs or running a less than favourable Nature; Magnezone attempts to alleviate this weakness. I had known about this combo for some time, but I felt as if acting on it would be tantamount to plagiarism. The combo was a combo for a reason, however, being that it worked quite well. Salamence became the new object to sweep.
I immediately saw that, with the metagame being in the state that it's in, a revenge killer was necessary. A Life Orb Starmie with Rapid Spin was considered, but an even faster Revenger would be needed. A Scarf Latias was brought in, being able to capitalize on the Fire- and Ground-type weaknesses that plague Magnezone, without putting a strain on Salamence.
Latias was, and still is, an extremely vital component to the team's success, so it is equally vital to have something to either take advantage of the death of Latias or to take revenge for the Revenger; a bait Tyranitar was considered and tested. I found a bait SD Scizor set to become troublesome (and still do, to an extent), however, so my own Banded Scizor was ushered in to provide priority along with giving me another (if somewhat desperate) option against enemy Scizor. Scouting with U-turn and trapping with Pursuit is always good as well.
I found a somewhat minor Machamp/Infernape/general Fighting-type weakness with these four, along with the original members (whom I cannot remember right now). Gengar seemed like a fine choice at the time, at least as far as Immunities were concerned. I used a Substitute set, with Shadow Ball and Focus Blast for perfect coverage and Toxic to wear down those walls which I could not break. Leftovers was also chosen to prevent Gengar's demise as quickly as one would expect. Seeing Philip's recent Gengar set gave me a change of mind, with Pain Split in combination with Life Orb to land necessary KOs stirring interest in me, especally its ability to beat Blissey in good conditions and proper prediction, something that my own set could not accomplish. Thanks Philip. One might question the merit of going this route; why not make Gengar a Scarf set, with Latias a Calm Mind LO attacker? I'd considered this, but the surprise factor of Gengar's Sub along with Latias' insane power in Draco Meteor solidified my choice; I'm willing to change, if you see fit, however.
Finally, an appropiate lead. Many were considered, but I wanted something that could stop most set-up attempts and be a general pain to stall. Good synergy would be appreciated, along with some bulk. A Scarf Jirachi was considered, but I found that ShucaTran was reliable at both maiming many leads, able to mess with stall while retaining bulk to cause havok/free switch-ins later. I've seen many Jirachi leads with Wish/SR/Iron Head/Fire Punch to combat Magnezone, so I might consider this instead. Opinions are welcome.
Well, there ya go. My team, in its current state. Along with my thought process throughout, which may or may not allude to my skill as a battler, if there is any.
I should note now that my team is about as standard as standard gets; whether this effects its success or failure remains to be seen.
Sun Stealer (M) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
The very common ShucaTran lead. My main reasoning with choosing this fellow was to create areas for my other teammates to come in on their resistances and immunities. The EVs and Nature are self-explanatory; they are necessary to speed tie with opposing Heatran while not lowering my bulk in lieu of Explosion. 252 into Special Attack to boost my attacks, with 4 into Defense as filler. Taunt was chosen to better handle Stall teams, although problems still arise, being that Heatran is usually KO'ed by the time he is needed again. It is very useful for stopping Baton Pass chains, slow stat uppers and slow leads like Bronzong and Swampert though (I'll risk the loss of my Berry). Explosion would be very nice, however, to leave a dent in the likes of Salamence and Latias, who salivate at the chance to set up against me. HP Grass and HP Ice were considered and, in the former's case, used, but Taunt is simply too valuable to give up for the mentioned reasons. More viable suggestions are more than welcome.
Calvin (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 152 HP/252 Atk/104 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Another astoundingly standard Pokemon, but for damn good reason. Scizor is simply too good. Being that both Latias and Gengar are weak to Pursuit users, especially Weavile and Tyranitar, Scizor was a great candidate to revenge (or at least put a large dent into) the mentioned threats that stop my teammates, which indirectly stops Salamence, from a final sweep. The moveset and Nature are obvious, but, using X-Act's Defensive EV Distribution Applet, the EVs are distributed in such a way to provide a 30/70 defensive position, favouring a Specially Defensive route. The spread is not set up to provide assurance that Calvin will survive certain blows from specific Pokemon, so if you have a better tuned spread, I'd love to use it. Cleaning up and revenging with Bullet Punch, along with the priority, is extremely useful late game as well, but we all know what Scizor can do.
Nagorny (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Pain Split
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Philip's LO Pain Split set. I was originally running the same set, except with Leftovers and Toxic over Pain Split. The utility of Toxic is missed, especially against Zapdos and other hard-to-break walls, but the ability to deal with Blissey in yet another way is always welcome. Nagorny was yet another member brought in to capitalize on the available immunities, especially Fighting. Unfortunately, Machamp almost always run Payback, so there really is no perfect switch-in (except maybe Spritomb, but that would go against the generally offensive pace of the team). Along with Latias, this allows me another choice for immediate speed, letting me combat slower walls and base 100's like Jirachi and Salamence. If you think I should switch back to Toxic or to another set entirely, please do so.
Khouri (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
My safety net against Salamence, Latias, Starmie, Gyarados, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I wonder if I rely on Khouri's power too much, but it's necessary. Another standard to help from getting swept by just about everything barring Lucario, Scizor and certain Dragonite. It may just be my average level of skill, but I find Khouri KO'ed before I get a chance to fully (ab)use her, being that she is both Pursuit bait and, after a Draco Meteor, setup bait. Scizor and Salamence somewhat alleviate this, but the fact that using Khouri is entirely dependent on proper prediction (or guessing, as some would put it) limits her potential, although, this is entirely something that affects only me. I would greatly appreciate Khouri to be made into a Calm Mind Life Orb user, but the immense power behind her Draco Meteor along with the surprise factor of Gengar's set discourages this path. Proper reasoning would likely sway me, however.
Servitor @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 28 HP/16 Def/212 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Magnet Rise
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
My Steel killer, aiding Sylveste along his way. The moves are standard, with HP Grass to combat Swampert almost exclusively, and Thunderbolt to use the Servitor's massive base Special Attack. The EVs are slightly modified: the 212 Speed allows me to outrun neutral 0 Speed base 86's (Rotom-A essentially), Special Attack is maxed, 28 EVs in HP for a Leftovers number and the rest is dumped into Defense. While the Servitor can trap and kill just about every Steel in the game, it also becomes setup fodder for things like Celebi and Latias, or just about any Specially based attacker. Even Jirachi can Calm Mind against it. Both Magnet Rise and Substitute are invaluable in both walling and protecting against heavy hitters like Metagross, Heatran and Infernape. HP Grass was chosen due to the fact that neither Latias nor Celebi are hit hard by HP Ice, and that Swampert can Roar me out before I can KO it. I considered Charge Beam, but the lack of both power and accuracy is offputting. A Scarf set was also considered, but I'd rather not have Servitor be not only setup bait, but easily revenged as well.
Sylveste (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Roost
The Conjoiner, the dragon that binds it all. A very simple set, relinquishing a Fire-type attack for longevity. Dragon Claw over Outrage to efficiently maim opposing MixMence, along with making sure I don't lock myself into a unfavourable position early on; even late game, an Outrage could be baited to let something like CMWishRachi a chance to setup. The EVs and Nature are to make sure I outspeed as much as possible, due to the voracity of the metagame. Lum Berry also allows me to feint a Scarf or Life Orb, while allowing me another Dragon Dance against a Rotom-A, Roserade, Breloom, etc. Porygon2 still hard counters me unfortunately, as not even a +1 Dragon Claw will 2HKO. Being that most everything not covered by the above moves will be handily KOed by Magnezone, there theoretically shouldn't anything be stopping me from sweeping late game, but I suppose my lack of batting experience exposes that as a false belief. If you feel a more offensive Salamence would be beneficial or even a more defensive version, by all means, voice your opinions.
Regardless of whether or not this team is fixed of its shortcoming, I've learned a great deal of battling through as much tweaking as I have done, far more than explained in the team building process than I cared to remember. I can only hope that both my team building skill and batting experience can only elevate from here.
Finally, some major threats I've come across:
- - All versions are troublesome, but the Sub + 3 Attacks is brutal. At least 2 members are guaranteed to fall to this beast: whatever it decides to set up on and the one that attempts to revenge it. An absolute nightmare, only covered by its mediocre Special Defense and slow Speed.
- - Life Orb w/ Recover is insane, with the only things that can even stand up to it being Latias and, marginally, Scizor. Late game clean up is easily accomplished with this.
- - I've yet to encounter a Life Orb version, but once I do, it'll be Starmie all over again; nothing to outspeed beyond Latias and Scizor's priority.
- - So long as my own Latias is gone, I have to rely on winning the Speed tie with Gengar or Bullet Punching with Scizor. Beyond that, I'm doomed.
- AgiliGross and SDLucario. Both cannot be stopped, especially if the latter has Bullet Punch in lieu of ExtremeSpeed. Lucario can be dealt, to an extent, by Salamence, but Metagross with Bullet Punch / Earthquake / Meteor Mash ruins me.
Thanks for reading/viewing and contributing.
Rate away, fellow Smogonites!
Rate away, fellow Smogonites!
