Returning to Pokémon after six or so months of inactivity upon getting Heart Gold my taste for victory at the Battle Tower is as strong as ever.
The idea is the conventional Sweeper, Wall, Sponge to try and be as versatile in the Battle Tower as possible. The threats of OHKO moves and adjusted rolls will be addressed with Sturdy.
Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Rash - 84 HP / 172 Atk / 252 SpA
Sturdy
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power (Grass, 68)
- MagnetBomb / Mirror Shot
- Explosion
I considered myself fortunate to find a Magnemite with good IVs, hidden power AND Sturdy, which wouldn't be as popular down to it's irrelevance in competitive battles. The EV spread is as provided by the trader and gives it some oomph to it's Explosion and some bulk to compensate for it's lack of speed. I decided that since Magnezone has some bulk I should go for the extra power of the Specs. over the speed of the scarf.
-Thunderbolt's a great electric attack (till you get ground out by a marowak!) with STAB and that handsome Choice Spec'd base Special Attack.
-Hidden Power Grass takes out rock/ground types it outspeeds if I think they don't have a focus sash.
-Magnet Bomb would offer an always-accurate move which is always helpful in the event that the game is using filthy evasion modifiers and luck turned in it's favour as is the Battle Tower's want however Mirror Shot would feed off of it's higher Sp.A but suffer and innacurate 95%. Either way, it's STAB boosted. If there's any replacement move for here, by all means I'm open to suggestion.
-Explosion to try and take one for the team if it looks like he's not going to last much longer and to be thrown out there if he's going to out-speed the opponent.
If an opponent seems likely to have earthquake I can switch to...
Skarmory @ Lum Berry
Impish - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk [ OR ] 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Sturdy
-Aerial Ace / Brave Bird / Drill Peck
-Roost
-Taunt / Steel Wing
-Torment / Steel Wing
Skarmory's place on this team was originally held by Forretress but I found him to perform poorly and fail to do anything useful before being destroyed.
-Aerial Ace has lower power than the other options however accuracy modifiers frequent the battle tower so it could come in handy in a haxy pinch. Also I would need to rebreed for Brave Bird or Drill Peck, so I'm somewhat reluctant to do so.
-Roost is of course for instant recovery and careful manipulation of type resistances
-Taunt would restrict the more tricksy of the Battle Tower's inhabitants which I'm keep to select.
-Torment is also another layer of restriction to allow me to easier predict and switch around on the enemy.
-Steel Wing would purely be another STAB move but it has poor coverage, accuracy and power so I'm reluctant to use this.
In the event of a special attacker I switch to...
Blissey @ Leftovers
Bold - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Natural Cure
-Aromatherapy
-Softboiled
-Seismic Toss
-Thunder Wave
The Blissey Cleric build we all know, love and fear! Eliminates any special attacker short of Choice Spec. users sporting Focus Blast almost effortlessly and with PP Maxes can win any stall war.
Overall, Magneton does the punching until being locked into a move or being against a faster EQ user forces it to retreat to the appropriate defensive force. I've found him absurdly effective in testing although the Steel Move to be determined is the chink in the armoury. My only regret is that he does not have HP Ice or else it would provide much needed punch against Dragons.
Skarmory is untested but I shall be giving him his debeut soon.
Blissey is Blissey and by extension irreplaceable.
I have 2/3 OHKO proofing, one or two always-accurate moves and a balance of power. The only weak spot is the lack of a physical attacker but I don't consider that to be too much of an issue.
PS: I never gave Cresselia much attention but she might be a very fitting wall in Skarm's place down to fighting resistance, available Ice Beam for the Dragon Weakness. Although this does nothing to remedy the lack of a strong physical attacker. (Although Bliss and Cress would have no qualms with a stallwar)
The idea is the conventional Sweeper, Wall, Sponge to try and be as versatile in the Battle Tower as possible. The threats of OHKO moves and adjusted rolls will be addressed with Sturdy.
Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Rash - 84 HP / 172 Atk / 252 SpA
Sturdy
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power (Grass, 68)
- MagnetBomb / Mirror Shot
- Explosion
I considered myself fortunate to find a Magnemite with good IVs, hidden power AND Sturdy, which wouldn't be as popular down to it's irrelevance in competitive battles. The EV spread is as provided by the trader and gives it some oomph to it's Explosion and some bulk to compensate for it's lack of speed. I decided that since Magnezone has some bulk I should go for the extra power of the Specs. over the speed of the scarf.
-Thunderbolt's a great electric attack (till you get ground out by a marowak!) with STAB and that handsome Choice Spec'd base Special Attack.
-Hidden Power Grass takes out rock/ground types it outspeeds if I think they don't have a focus sash.
-Magnet Bomb would offer an always-accurate move which is always helpful in the event that the game is using filthy evasion modifiers and luck turned in it's favour as is the Battle Tower's want however Mirror Shot would feed off of it's higher Sp.A but suffer and innacurate 95%. Either way, it's STAB boosted. If there's any replacement move for here, by all means I'm open to suggestion.
-Explosion to try and take one for the team if it looks like he's not going to last much longer and to be thrown out there if he's going to out-speed the opponent.
If an opponent seems likely to have earthquake I can switch to...
Skarmory @ Lum Berry
Impish - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk [ OR ] 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Sturdy
-Aerial Ace / Brave Bird / Drill Peck
-Roost
-Taunt / Steel Wing
-Torment / Steel Wing
Skarmory's place on this team was originally held by Forretress but I found him to perform poorly and fail to do anything useful before being destroyed.
-Aerial Ace has lower power than the other options however accuracy modifiers frequent the battle tower so it could come in handy in a haxy pinch. Also I would need to rebreed for Brave Bird or Drill Peck, so I'm somewhat reluctant to do so.
-Roost is of course for instant recovery and careful manipulation of type resistances
-Taunt would restrict the more tricksy of the Battle Tower's inhabitants which I'm keep to select.
-Torment is also another layer of restriction to allow me to easier predict and switch around on the enemy.
-Steel Wing would purely be another STAB move but it has poor coverage, accuracy and power so I'm reluctant to use this.
In the event of a special attacker I switch to...
Blissey @ Leftovers
Bold - 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Natural Cure
-Aromatherapy
-Softboiled
-Seismic Toss
-Thunder Wave
The Blissey Cleric build we all know, love and fear! Eliminates any special attacker short of Choice Spec. users sporting Focus Blast almost effortlessly and with PP Maxes can win any stall war.
Overall, Magneton does the punching until being locked into a move or being against a faster EQ user forces it to retreat to the appropriate defensive force. I've found him absurdly effective in testing although the Steel Move to be determined is the chink in the armoury. My only regret is that he does not have HP Ice or else it would provide much needed punch against Dragons.
Skarmory is untested but I shall be giving him his debeut soon.
Blissey is Blissey and by extension irreplaceable.
I have 2/3 OHKO proofing, one or two always-accurate moves and a balance of power. The only weak spot is the lack of a physical attacker but I don't consider that to be too much of an issue.
PS: I never gave Cresselia much attention but she might be a very fitting wall in Skarm's place down to fighting resistance, available Ice Beam for the Dragon Weakness. Although this does nothing to remedy the lack of a strong physical attacker. (Although Bliss and Cress would have no qualms with a stallwar)
