Introduction
This team is a lot of fun to play with and for the most part has a single win condition, lay down hazards, take out Pokemon who can wall/check Talonflame, then spam Brave Bird until I win. Though this is not the only way in which I win this is the way I want to try to win the game in most of my matches.
The Boys
- Ability: Lightning Rod
- Item: Manectite
- Nature: Timid
- EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Moveset:
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Why this Pokemon ?
I have used a plethora of Mega Pokemon in Gen 6 as I have tried to figure out which one most fits my playstyle. Now I have finally found one, I feel comfortable when using Mega Manectric, I also have the most success when I have Mega Manectric on my team. My favorite thing about him is his ability to abuse Volt Switch, with a strong SpA stat and an excellent speed stat he allows me to use Volt Switch in order to gain momentum on my opponent and pair well with Talonflame to give me the awesome VoltTurn combo. Good coverage allows for a lot of needed KOs and forces a lot of switches alongside Intimidate.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
Item is there for Mega Evolving, EVs maximize speed and damage output while the Nature makes sure I outspeed a good chunk of +1 Pokemon.
- Ability: Water Absorb
- Item: Leftovers
- Nature: Bold
- EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
- Moveset:
- Scald
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect
- Why this Pokemon ?
I always like having bulky water Pokemon because they have great defensive typing with only 2 weaknesses. Vaporeon came to mind because I have Ferrothorn and together they make a good core which can take a lot of hits. The EVs and moveset allows Vaporeon to come in on Physical attackers like Charizard X and stall them out before they can sweep my team, most of Talonflames checks and counters can be defeated and stalled out by Vaporeon so for that reason she is on the team and helps paves the way for Talonflame to wreck face.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
Leftovers for longer survival and help with sandstorms, EVs and Nature maximize physical bulk so that I can check and beat Physical Pokemon that my other Pokemon have trouble with.
- Ability: Iron Barbs
- Item: Leftovers
- Nature: Relaxed
- EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
- Moveset:
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Why this Pokemon ?
I wanted a bulky steel type to help my deal with Fairy Type Pokemon and Ferrothorn nails that on the head. He is awesome for annoying the opponent with Leech Seed and sets down Spikes to help add up the residual damage when my Pokemon force switches. My best switch in for Azumarill who, unless choice locked into a water attack, shreds through the rest of my team. Also one of my favorite switch in to Rotom-W because he takes burn the best and doesn't feel threatened by Hydro Pump or Volt Switch.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
Leftovers for added recovery, EVs and Nature for maximum damage with Gyro Ball and good physical bulk so it can check Azumarril, Rotom-W, and non SubPunch Mawiles.
- Ability: Sand Stream
- Item: Leftovers
- Nature: Lonely
- EVs: 252 HP / 200 Atk / 56 SpD
- Moveset:
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Why this Pokemon ?
I needed stealth rocks and I wanted a Pokemon who could take down Pokemon like Heatran and Ferrothorn, Tyranitar gets the job done excellently. With sandstorm up he cannot be OHKO'd by any Heatran variant and OHKO's back with Earthquake, with Fire Blast he always gets a 2HKO on Ferrothorn who think they can safely switch into Tyranitar, Crunch is there for Powerful stab and allows Tyranitar to switch into and kill Latios and Latias. A very good Pokemon on the team who gets a lot of jobs done, versatile and not a lot of people see Fire Blast coming.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
Leftovers helps with recovery and with sandstorm raging gives me a one-up on other defensive Pokemon, Nature allows for maximum damage (I opt out of lowering speed so I can beat some Pokemon, if that's poor would like someone to correct me), EVs are for good bulk and allow him to handle Heatran switch ins with ease while allowing him to provide a strong punch on the offensive side.
- Ability: Sand Rush
- Item: Assault Vest
- Nature: Adamant
- EVs: 68 HP / 232 Atk / 208 SpD
- Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Why this Pokemon ?
My teams handy dandy Rapid Spinner. I went with Excadrill because I wanted Rapid Spin over Defog because I wanted to be able to get rid hazards on my side without removing them on the opponents side. With Sand Rush Excadrill can come in and threaten a ton of Pokemon with his speed and damage. Assault Vest allows him to switch into Pokemon like Charizard Y, survive SolarBeam, and retaliate.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
I went Assault Vest because I felt it would do more than Leftovers since Excadrill isn't very bulky aside from his HP and I don't like Life Orb on Pokemon with Rapid Spin because it's free damage taken. EVs give Excadrill big special bulk and allow him to switch into Greninja Hydro Pump and Charizard Y Fire Blast and OHKO them back in sandstorm.
- Ability: Gale Wings
- Item: Choice Band
- Nature: Adamant
- EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Moveset:
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-Turn
- Sleep Talk
- Why this Pokemon ?
The star of the show, Talonflame is the scariest Pokemon to come out of the 6th generation. This is because he's not yet strong enough to be deemed Uber but is strong enough to threaten the whole metagame with his stab priority Brave Bird. Basic moveset with Sleep Talk thrown in so that he can take a Spore or Sleep Powder then spam Sleep Talk and hit hard with Brave Bird or Flare Blitz (wondering if I should get rid of U-Turn but there aren't enough Sleepers for me to do that quite yet). Once his checks are gone I unleash this bad boy to destroy my opponents team, he's my checkmate and my number one win condition.
..... - Item, Nature & EVs :
Choice Band, Adamant, and maxed out Atk EVs allow him to hit as hard as possible to secure a sweep. Speed EVs so that I can still outspeed all positive nature max speed base 110 Pokemon.
Conclusion
I don't have a long list of checks, counters, and threats because that takes a lot of time and effort to make, and honestly I don't know much about that sort of thing and I wing it with just type advantages most of the time. I do like this team a lot but I feel as if it has more potential and that's why I'm asking the community for help because I don't have the best team making mind quite yet since I have just started getting into competition.
Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed the formatting and thank you for any tips or tricks!
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