Rise of Landorus

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

*Obvious team member is obvious, but let's get started*

Prologue
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I've been away from Gen VI competitive play for a little while and then decided to come around with something that, as my friend put it, "the most annoying team I've ever faced since dueling your Kuriboh Deck". This team was tweaked here and there, I eventually dropped Breloom for another Pokemon, and I came into Pokemon Showdown with the team and somehow kept winning for a while. I thought, "why not take it here to see how else it can be further improved?" So, here I am to see what can happen with it (if anything at all).

First, the general look at the team. Here are its members:

...anybody have any clue yet? No? Guess I'll break it down anyways.

Super-Awesome-Thingy Breakdown!

Banjo (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Protect
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Rotom-W should go without saying at this point. It is able to check many Pokemon in the meta with little worry. All that...we know. This team is built around supporting Landorus in his job at sweeping, so a Pokemon that can resist Water and Ice is pretty cool to have around. This is where Banjo comes in, with its little arsenal of cute wittle moves--isn't it cute (that are also somehow inside of it)? On top of that, Banjo has Will-O-Wisp, which will aid in those pesky Mamoswine. Hydro Pump and Volt Switch allows it to employ hit and run when the time comes. Wait a minute...this team is also built to completely annoy! We need Protect! Possibly my favorite move, Protect allows for two major game changers I've come across:

1. Scouting. I once fought this Kyurem-B using Banjo, so I protected. As I suspected, Earth Power was on the set. I switched into Landorus to avoid damage and it fled. That alone made me believe that Kyurem-B was Choiced, likely a Scarf.

2. Mind Games. Against a different Kyurem-B that was Expert Belted, Protect allowed me to tank an Earth Power (if you could even call it that) and it hit me that I should stay in. Something told me that they were predicting Landorus to come in, so I clicked Volt Switch. Behold, as the mighty Kyurem-B...DID use Ice Beam as I thought it would, and I switched into Landorus from there to safely Focus Blast it away.

These merits alone allow Protect to become a staple on many of my teams.

Magmus (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Roar
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So now I have some major threats in check, but what about Set-Up Sweepers and a little Hazard support? Quite possibly the best Defensive Matchup with Rotom-W, Heatran's typing is simply superb. Magmus is here to Roar pesky Pokemon away, especially those that aren't entirely big threats to it, but rather to Landorus. What use does Roar have on Magmus, you ask? Here are the merits:

1. Passive Damage via Stealth Rock. Many times, I've faced this certain Stealth Rock weak Pokemon like Chandelure, Togekiss, Noivern, Dragonite...Charizard, and the like. Heatran, many times, can set Stealth Rock up without hassle, then either Flee or Roar depending on the situation. Once it is safe to Roar, those Pokemon are out of the field. When they come back, they'll take heavy damage.

2. Roar on the switch. Okay, so some people can double-switched well. I will not deny the tactic, nor will I say anything against it. It takes prediction to do, but if done well, it can change the momentum. As of late, I've been able to realize when people would Double-Switch, so Roaring them away ruins the momentum and allows me to firmly grasp a bit of hope left in the battle, particularly against Azumarills switching in.

3. Set-Up Sweepers go bye-bye. I think this goes without saying, but teams can sometimes pay dearly if they can't phase or force out enough. Roar does just that. Helps out Landorus by not having to worry about SpeedPede's Baton Passing.

Lava Plume is the "I'm Taunted but wanna burn" move, basically. Not more to really add.

Navi (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
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I once said something relating to Clefable before. It went something like this:
"One day, there will be an age where the forgotten Gen 1 Pokemon and the most loved, but 'not so good' Gen 1 Pokemon will rise. Whether it be a type change, a stat change, or both, it will rise above the rest somehow."
I bet all of you are cringing right now just at the nickname. Navi here has two jobs: Heal Status...and heal Health. It's a simple job, but a vastly important one nevertheless. Before Clefable made it to the team, the rest of the members were haxed (or hexed...whichever you prefer) by Toxic, Paralysis, Sleep, Burn...the rare Freeze...name it. Here is a Pokemon that can not only heal the status, but Wish your health back in the process. As far as being Taunted goes, Moonblast is that one move that Sableye doesn't want to switch into because it's its own weakness. Yeah, not much to say. Navi's role is healing support for the entire team, not just Landorus.

Wubby (Wobbuffet) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 176 Def / 252 SDef / 80 HP
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Encore
- Mirror Coat
- Destiny Bond
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GG, old friend. Wobbuffet has returned. Wubby is probably the most annoying member of the team...and for good reason. Nobody likes battling Wobbuffet--it claims at least one victim every battle, which is scary on its own right. Encore and Shadow Tag are Wubby's selling points; with it, it can trap a foe, force them into a move, and then allow one of your Pokemon an easy set-up. For example, you lock Volcarona into Quiver Dance, you can safely bring in another attacker to finish them off. If you lock a Pokemon into a Fire-Type move, send in Heatran--Ground-Type, send Landorus or Rotom-W, Dragon-Type, send either Heatran or Clefable, Psychic, Fight, or Normal-Type, send Sableye. This is nothing compared to my personal favorite use of forced switches. Encore the opponent into a safe to switch-in status move and then switch Sableye in for the Taunt. They must switch or struggle. Encore is just the cake itself; the icing consists of everything else. Counter and Mirror Coat allow Wubby to dish out massive damage considering it will take quite a bit to begin with. That Conkeldurr using Knock Off is fine and all; it's the biggest threat to the team and a small price to pay in comparison to the rest. Destiny Bond is an odd one. It was between that and Safeguard, but since Navi is on the team (and can heal status anyways), this one comes in more handy.

C. Goggles (Sableye) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
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The only Pokemon that gives Wubby competition as *Most Annoying Pokemon* is Sableye. Sableye is one annoying little guy, especially if you give him a double meaning name (bonus points if you can find both). C. Goggles is your average Sableye that just uses Knock Off as an attack and the rest is generic. It still easily support the team this way by knocking Attack down by half, Prankster Recovering, etc.

Gliscorus (Landorus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
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Here is where we find the leader of the team: Landorus. Using a Sheer Force Special Attacker set with Sludge Wave (pesky Faeries), Gliscorus can mow the opponent down by 2HKOing some bulkier Pokemon (namely Mega Venusaur and Assault Vest Conkeldurr) and still being able to withstand some neutral attacks. What helps here with Sheer Force is Life Orb, an item which would normally inflict its own recoil, but Sheer Force somehow negates that. Pretty standard set, really.

Other Option

Tyranitar
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The team has some issues with specific typings. Water-Types can clean the team once Rotom-W is gone, so I didn't want to hurt that more than I already did. On the other hand, Assault Vest Tyranitar is a powerful foe, tanking many hits and dishing out massive damage back with a powerful Stone Edge and Pursuit, respectively. However, because of its many weaknesses, I stuck with Sableye instead.

Mega Venusaur
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Wobbuffet seems to be the weakest link in the team (and honestly the only one) and I've recently battled a team using Toxic Spikes and started having issues with it...not to mention the Water Weakness...so I thought "Why not stick Mega Venusaur in for even more support?" Well, that's just on the tip of the head for now.

Thank you for reading
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You stuck through until the end, so here's to you! The team itself is wanting a ranking and if changes are needed, they're open for change and testing. So I ask you this: What would help improve this team? Just remember the golden rule: Landorus stays.

 

[Adrima]

Hi ! Seems to be a very good ( and annoying... ) team ! I don't want to fight against it :p

But stop joking. What about Toxic over Protect on Heatran ? You don't have a lot of passive damages to use during this free turn. Tell me what you think.

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

What about Toxic over Protect on Heatran ?

Interesting consideration here. Wisp IS the only passive damage I have on the team and it can lead to some form of ToxiStall. If I decide to implement Toxic, though, I'll likely change up the Heatran set entirely so it becomes TormenTrapperTran. Besides, I have a new consideration for the team: Mega Venusaur (it'd replace Wobbuffet, which is now the weakest link of the team). With that, Heatran can become a trapper...AND be able to utilize Toxic. Maybe I should let my brain stop for a while; this isn't the only time somebody suggested something and I turn it into something different but still relevant.

Replacing Protect with Toxic isn't an all bad idea in itself, though (also, if you can't tell, I love Protect far too much to give it up. Too many positives and too much annoyance). I'll need a bit of testing to see how it goes, though. I'll return with results by Friday.