Note: This is my first RMT, as well as my first "competitive" battling team. In any case, have fun!
Before delving into the actual team, I feel I need to relate the origins of its creation. Just bear with.
This year, my friends and I nostalgically decide to pick up and play Pokemon Platinum, for the lawlz. Since there were so many of us playing, we decided to have an end-of-year battle fest to see who was better. The rules we decided on were as follows:
Level 100
No legendaries
Most of us were complete noobs, but some (like me) decided to learn about the metagame. I picked up on a few things, and (cuz I'm a jerk,) thought that it would be hilarious to piss them off as much as possible. Thus, this team was born.
-----------------------------------
Overall concept - Stick out stealth rocks and as many layers of spikes as possible, then make them switch over and over until they die. I thought it would be hilarious to just kill them without attacking. (I found it doesn't work like that though... XD)
To be as efficient as possible, my first couple Pokemon should be able to sponge some hits and spread the entry hazards aplenty. Since getting layers of Spikes down early on is more difficult, I felt it was best suited that I should take care of that first. This was because Stealth Rock only needs 1 turn to be set up, as opposed to Spikes' 3 turns. Since the last gen I played was G/S, and I remembered I really liked Pineco, Forretress stuck out like a streaker in downtown for me. He's able to take hits like a pro and can even explode after, making him my choice for the lead.
Now, I needed something that could use Stealth Rock. Going through Platinum, I found myself an adorable hippo and after checking what he's made of in the Smogon Pokedex, I knew I had to use it. Can set up rocks, can take hits, can recover, can roar... just amazing. Hippowdon is in.
Although the intention of the team is to kill without attacking, it would be completely foolish to not have some other way to kill stuff aside from entry hazards. This is where Starmie comes in. It's fast, it's powerful. It has numerous types in its movepool and resists water and fire, the two main threats to my set-uppers. I thought I would be using it as a revenge killer mainly.
Also, while learning about the metagame, I also gained knowledge of the popular (although predictable) Gyrados --> Electivire combo where Electivire comes in and receives a speed boost. While people might expect that from a Gyrados, I thought that it would be less predictable if I comboed this with Starmie instead. I've gotten it to work once so far, but the result was quite devastating.
Thus far, I've only got one Pokemon who can perform the forced switching that the whole strategy is intended to be built around. I definitely wanted another Pokemon capable of this, who can also preferably take hits. Hippowdon has the physical side covered quite well, so this next member should be able to take the special side. Using the move searcher, I found Aerodactyl. WHAAAAA~?! That thing as a special wall-ish thing that phazes??!! Well, thanks to its Rock-typing and Hippowdon's Sand Stream, with max IVs and EVs it reaches 409 SpD. I think it's quite good, and it can Roost to boot.
One thing that screws up the focus of the team is Rapid Spin. Thankfully, it's a normal move and it has to hit to work, so this final spot belongs to a spin blocker. I elected Spiritomb (a shiny one, hence the blue-ish text) to take them on, since it can Will-o-Wisp them and stall out. None of the Rapid Spinners are fire-type, with the exception of the NU Torkoal, so that shouldn't be too hard.
-----------------------------------
The Team In-Depth (Kinda)
Forretress
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Sturdy
Item: Leftovers
EV: 252 HP, 8 Def, 248 SpD (IV for speed is 0)
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Light Screen
This one is pretty simple. If the lead is fast and frail (Ex: Aerodactyl, Gengar, Alakazam, Ninjask), then Gyro Ball. I never really knew it could be that powerful until I hit an SD Ninjask for 100%, among other things. I specifically said the Ninjask one because following that KO, the person quit, which was quite funny. =/
In any case, the primary strat is to Spike up as much as possible and switch. If I can get up Light Screen that helps my Hippowdon out buckets and Explosion is for things that I have no other way of dealing with. This Forretress is EV'd strangely because I reasoned that it had a good enough Def anyways, and since the stereotypical Forretress has weaker SpD, if the opponent tries to abuse that they won't get the damage they want.
Hippowdon
Nature: Careful
Ability: Sand Stream
Items: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Def, 88 SpD
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Yea, it's a cookie cutter Hippowdon from the Smogon Dex, but I feel it does the job and I don't know how to really improve it.
Unless the opponent is weak to Earthquake or is KO-able, I Stealth Rock and then Roar away, healing as necessary. I try to send this out second, to get the Sandstorm going so my Aerodactyl can get his boost.
Starmie
Nature: Timid
Ability: Natural Cure
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
- Surf
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Recover (thinking of changing to Thunderbolt)
Dual, LO'd STABs to wreack havoc and Ice Beam to take out the ever-prevalent Dragons. It's powerful, but tends to die quite fast. That's part of the reason why I was thinking of changing Recover to TBolt, since I can barely ever get the chance to use it anyways.
It comes in as a revenge killer, or to take water/fire hits mostly. In case you just skipped to down here, it's supposed to take out things that hinder the entry hazard strategy.
Electivire
Nature: Mild
Ability: Motor Drive
Item: Expert Belt
EVs: 36 Attack, 252 SpA, 220 Speed
IVs: 30 HP, 30 Defense, everything else 31
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Cross Chop
- Hidden Power [Ice]
A mixed sweeper stolen from the Smogon Dex (yet again), it does it's job quite well despite being defensively weak. It can [make teams unwillingly part with their virginity] if I can trick opponents into activating my Motor Drive. I don't know what else to say about it except that it covers lots and is, in general, quite useful.
Aerodactyl
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 SpD, 80 HP, 174 Speed
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Stolen and tweaked to take Special attacks, this Aerodactyl can be quite a nuisance, which is what I was aiming for. Substitute against expected status inducers, Whirlwind the other team into entry hazards, and heal when needed.
This Aerodactyl can also be the final poke to send an almost-dead opponent to the grave since it's so fast to begin with.
Spiritomb
Nature: Careful
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP, 116 SpD, 140 Def (stolen off the Dex... again! Kind of...)
- Pain Split
- Will-o-Wisp
- Pursuit
- Protect
A defensive Spiritomb to wall rapid spinners. It Pursuits the Psychic and Ghosts that run from it, or burns the physical attackers. Protect is to stack up the burn damage with the Sandstorm damage that Hippowdon provides, which is its main method of defeating the spinners. Can be used to wall in general once the spinner is gone/is confirmed that it was never there.
As for the EVs, I took them from the Dex, except the Attack went into Defense instead since I wasn't planning on attacking much. However, I have WoW to help me on the physical side, so should I move the EVs to be more specially-orientated?
-----------------------------------
So there you have it. My first RMT is finished. After reading through, it would be appreciated if you could point out some of its many weaknesses and how to fix them. Also, any constructive criticism/improvements is nice too.
One problem I know I have in particular is that I can't deal very well to things that have managed to set-up. Phaze attacks have a -5 priority, meaning they get killed before they can steal away all the boosts, and in general, my team cannot kill them off that easily. Another problem I have is with things that use Substitute. I find that they hinder my strategy a lot, particularly if it's SubSeed.
Thanks!
Before delving into the actual team, I feel I need to relate the origins of its creation. Just bear with.
This year, my friends and I nostalgically decide to pick up and play Pokemon Platinum, for the lawlz. Since there were so many of us playing, we decided to have an end-of-year battle fest to see who was better. The rules we decided on were as follows:
Level 100
No legendaries
Most of us were complete noobs, but some (like me) decided to learn about the metagame. I picked up on a few things, and (cuz I'm a jerk,) thought that it would be hilarious to piss them off as much as possible. Thus, this team was born.
-----------------------------------
Overall concept - Stick out stealth rocks and as many layers of spikes as possible, then make them switch over and over until they die. I thought it would be hilarious to just kill them without attacking. (I found it doesn't work like that though... XD)
To be as efficient as possible, my first couple Pokemon should be able to sponge some hits and spread the entry hazards aplenty. Since getting layers of Spikes down early on is more difficult, I felt it was best suited that I should take care of that first. This was because Stealth Rock only needs 1 turn to be set up, as opposed to Spikes' 3 turns. Since the last gen I played was G/S, and I remembered I really liked Pineco, Forretress stuck out like a streaker in downtown for me. He's able to take hits like a pro and can even explode after, making him my choice for the lead.
Now, I needed something that could use Stealth Rock. Going through Platinum, I found myself an adorable hippo and after checking what he's made of in the Smogon Pokedex, I knew I had to use it. Can set up rocks, can take hits, can recover, can roar... just amazing. Hippowdon is in.
Although the intention of the team is to kill without attacking, it would be completely foolish to not have some other way to kill stuff aside from entry hazards. This is where Starmie comes in. It's fast, it's powerful. It has numerous types in its movepool and resists water and fire, the two main threats to my set-uppers. I thought I would be using it as a revenge killer mainly.
Also, while learning about the metagame, I also gained knowledge of the popular (although predictable) Gyrados --> Electivire combo where Electivire comes in and receives a speed boost. While people might expect that from a Gyrados, I thought that it would be less predictable if I comboed this with Starmie instead. I've gotten it to work once so far, but the result was quite devastating.
Thus far, I've only got one Pokemon who can perform the forced switching that the whole strategy is intended to be built around. I definitely wanted another Pokemon capable of this, who can also preferably take hits. Hippowdon has the physical side covered quite well, so this next member should be able to take the special side. Using the move searcher, I found Aerodactyl. WHAAAAA~?! That thing as a special wall-ish thing that phazes??!! Well, thanks to its Rock-typing and Hippowdon's Sand Stream, with max IVs and EVs it reaches 409 SpD. I think it's quite good, and it can Roost to boot.
One thing that screws up the focus of the team is Rapid Spin. Thankfully, it's a normal move and it has to hit to work, so this final spot belongs to a spin blocker. I elected Spiritomb (a shiny one, hence the blue-ish text) to take them on, since it can Will-o-Wisp them and stall out. None of the Rapid Spinners are fire-type, with the exception of the NU Torkoal, so that shouldn't be too hard.
-----------------------------------
The Team In-Depth (Kinda)
Forretress
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Sturdy
Item: Leftovers
EV: 252 HP, 8 Def, 248 SpD (IV for speed is 0)
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Light Screen
This one is pretty simple. If the lead is fast and frail (Ex: Aerodactyl, Gengar, Alakazam, Ninjask), then Gyro Ball. I never really knew it could be that powerful until I hit an SD Ninjask for 100%, among other things. I specifically said the Ninjask one because following that KO, the person quit, which was quite funny. =/
In any case, the primary strat is to Spike up as much as possible and switch. If I can get up Light Screen that helps my Hippowdon out buckets and Explosion is for things that I have no other way of dealing with. This Forretress is EV'd strangely because I reasoned that it had a good enough Def anyways, and since the stereotypical Forretress has weaker SpD, if the opponent tries to abuse that they won't get the damage they want.
Hippowdon
Nature: Careful
Ability: Sand Stream
Items: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP, 168 Def, 88 SpD
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Yea, it's a cookie cutter Hippowdon from the Smogon Dex, but I feel it does the job and I don't know how to really improve it.
Unless the opponent is weak to Earthquake or is KO-able, I Stealth Rock and then Roar away, healing as necessary. I try to send this out second, to get the Sandstorm going so my Aerodactyl can get his boost.
Starmie
Nature: Timid
Ability: Natural Cure
Item: Life Orb
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Speed, 4 HP
- Surf
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Recover (thinking of changing to Thunderbolt)
Dual, LO'd STABs to wreack havoc and Ice Beam to take out the ever-prevalent Dragons. It's powerful, but tends to die quite fast. That's part of the reason why I was thinking of changing Recover to TBolt, since I can barely ever get the chance to use it anyways.
It comes in as a revenge killer, or to take water/fire hits mostly. In case you just skipped to down here, it's supposed to take out things that hinder the entry hazard strategy.
Electivire
Nature: Mild
Ability: Motor Drive
Item: Expert Belt
EVs: 36 Attack, 252 SpA, 220 Speed
IVs: 30 HP, 30 Defense, everything else 31
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Cross Chop
- Hidden Power [Ice]
A mixed sweeper stolen from the Smogon Dex (yet again), it does it's job quite well despite being defensively weak. It can [make teams unwillingly part with their virginity] if I can trick opponents into activating my Motor Drive. I don't know what else to say about it except that it covers lots and is, in general, quite useful.
Aerodactyl
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 SpD, 80 HP, 174 Speed
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Stolen and tweaked to take Special attacks, this Aerodactyl can be quite a nuisance, which is what I was aiming for. Substitute against expected status inducers, Whirlwind the other team into entry hazards, and heal when needed.
This Aerodactyl can also be the final poke to send an almost-dead opponent to the grave since it's so fast to begin with.
Spiritomb
Nature: Careful
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP, 116 SpD, 140 Def (stolen off the Dex... again! Kind of...)
- Pain Split
- Will-o-Wisp
- Pursuit
- Protect
A defensive Spiritomb to wall rapid spinners. It Pursuits the Psychic and Ghosts that run from it, or burns the physical attackers. Protect is to stack up the burn damage with the Sandstorm damage that Hippowdon provides, which is its main method of defeating the spinners. Can be used to wall in general once the spinner is gone/is confirmed that it was never there.
As for the EVs, I took them from the Dex, except the Attack went into Defense instead since I wasn't planning on attacking much. However, I have WoW to help me on the physical side, so should I move the EVs to be more specially-orientated?
-----------------------------------
So there you have it. My first RMT is finished. After reading through, it would be appreciated if you could point out some of its many weaknesses and how to fix them. Also, any constructive criticism/improvements is nice too.
One problem I know I have in particular is that I can't deal very well to things that have managed to set-up. Phaze attacks have a -5 priority, meaning they get killed before they can steal away all the boosts, and in general, my team cannot kill them off that easily. Another problem I have is with things that use Substitute. I find that they hinder my strategy a lot, particularly if it's SubSeed.
Thanks!