Hey guys. Here’s a team I’ve had in the back of my mind for some time. It’s mostly made up of my favorites, but I think I can actually get it to work decently well competitively. Mostly for wi-fi, but if it works out well enough it might see the light of day on competitor as well. You might also notice the near-total lack of standards (save Swampert, of course). I do need some advice on moves, items, EVs and natures, however.
Basically, it mostly revolves around setting up a Raichu sweep, though it isn’t centered around that strategy to the point that it would go down should the strategy fail.
Staraptor@Choice Scarf
(Atk+ SpAtk-)
~Brave Bird
~Close Combat
~U-Turn
~Pursuit
EVs: 252 Atk 240 Spd 16 HP
My starter. Not sure about item choice here. CB vs CS is a debate in itself, but Expert Belt has the nice bonus of letting me switch to using U-Turn or Pursuit if necessary. Life Orb would be far too suicidal IMO.
Edit: CS it is.
Raichu@Focus Strip
(Spd+ Atk-)
~Scheme (Nasty Plot? What’s that?)
~Thunderbolt
~Grass Knot/Focus Blast
~Encore /the other attack move
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spd 6 HP
My all-time favourite, and the heart of the team. Focus Strip so it can take a physical hit, and Vaporeon to help it switch in through Spikes/Stealth Rock. If it sets up it can ravage just about anything. A dilemma arises, however. Encore is an awesome move to help with set-ups, but having the third attack move would REALLY help his type coverage. I think eventually encore will become pretty much expected from a Raichu, though, and they’ll just switch right away. This is when the third attack move would be much better. Overall, Raichu is among the biggest victims of moveslot syndrome.
Mismagius@Leftovers
(Sp. Def+ Atk-)
~Shadow Ball
~Will-O-Wisp
~Thunder Wave
~Destiny Bond
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP
"Gengar's little sister" makes a nice special wall, and with three immunities it can switch in quite nicely and screw up physicals with Will-O-Wisp. Destiny Bond is very useful as a last resort, and he has the speed to use it. Mismagius is just too cool for me to opt not to use her.
Edit: T-Wave added over Pain Split.
Vaporeon@Leftovers
(Def+ Atk)
~Surf
~Wish
~Ice Beam
~Protect
EVs: 200 HP 252 Def 56 Sp. Atk
Wish support and sub-passing to help the entire team, but mainly Raichu, so that he can get to the field unscathed to make focus strip work. Might have to replace Sub with IB, unfortunately.
Torterra@Leftovers
(Def+ Sp.Atk-)
~Wood Hammer
~Earthquake
~Stone Edge
~Leech Seed
EVs: 176 Attack (for an even 300) 252 HP 76 Defense
This guy’s sprite looks fantastic. Move over, Goku-ape. Torterra and Swampert cover each other well, and leech seed support helps. I don’t know if this moveset is the best he can do, though. 4x Ice weakness is a big drag.
Swampert@Leftovers
(Def+ Sp.Atk-)
~Earthquake
~Avalanche
~Stone Edge
~Stealth Rock
EVs: 56 Attack 240 HP 212 Defense
Stealth Rock is very useful, and works well with Mismagius.
Tyranitar: Very annoying as Sandstorm screws up Raichu’s Focus Strip, even with Wish-passing. Staraptor should be able to take him down, though, as long as he doesn’t come in on Stone Edge. Torterra and Swampert could be able to hold their own. If he kills someone, Raichu can come in and Scheme, scaring it away with the prospect of a Focus Blast, if I choose to keep that move.
Gyarados: If Raichu is at full health he can surprise-kill it. Otherwise… bah, Swampert I guess. Torterra if it doesn’t carry Ice Fang for some reason.
Infernape: Vaporeon and Swampert say hello.
Azelf: I hate this thing. Mismagius takes it rather well, though.
Rhyperior: He can certainly cause some problems, but most of my team can take him.
Electivire: Swampert. It’s Wi-fi, so no HP Grass for you, sucker! If I were to play this team on competitor though, I guess Mismagius could burn him, or Swampert could still take it if it doesn’t have HP Grass, Torterra if it does.
Heracross: Staraptor eats him, regurgitates him and feeds him to his young. He must watch for Stone Edge, however. If I expect that I’ll send out Torterra and, being CB’ed, he won’t be able to megahorn the turtle.
Salamence: Swampert… Still a bitch to deal with though. Should Vaporeon have Ice Beam rather than Sub?
Togekiss: Raichu says: “Yay, Scheme!” Most of my team can take him too, annoying though flinch-hax may be.
Gengar: An absolute pain in the ass. I really don’t know. Maybe Mismagius could survive a shadow ball and throw one back?
Garchomp: Swampert.
Raikou: On Wifi: Swampert and/or Torterra. Competitor: Flip a coin, and send out either Torterra or Swampert. One of the main reasons I despise Hidden Power.
Lucario: Staraptor should fare pretty well against him, Raichu can encore any support moves then scheme up.
Rampardos: Torterra, but correct me if I’m wrong. Swampert too. Mismagius can dodge EQ and burn.
Tauros: Staraptor, via Intimidate and Close Combat.
Starmie: Mismagius is the safest bet. If it doesn’t have Ice Beam, Torterra can do pretty well, actually. Vaporeon might be able to stall if it doesn’t have T-Bolt (It’s tiny, so Grass Knot won’t do much.)
Weavile: Bit of a problem, actually… Swampert is the best bet, but not a great one. At full health, Raichu can revenge-kill with Focus Blast. This one’s sketchy at best.
Dugtrio: Cheap as usual. If I predict it coming in on Raichu and he’s at full health I can Scheme, take the hit, then OHKO with Grass Knot (120 power against him) Focus Bomb would work, but less accurately. Torterra counters him too.
Alakazam: Uh-oh. It has Shadow-Ball, doesn’t it… Not sure if Mismagius can take the hit and deal it back. It’s faster too, so no Destiny Bond… I should be able to kill it, but it might get a little ugly.
PorygonZ: Raichu can Encore the scheme and scheme himself. Oh, I’m sorry, I meant “Nasty Plot.” Alternatively, Mismagius is immune to Tri-Attack and can destiny bond or at least burn it; Staraptor is around and it has Close Combat.
Medicham: Ehh, Staraptor?
Staraptor: Swampert, Raichu can scheme by predicting U-Turn or taking the hit via Focus Strip, or T-Bolt if he thinks it’s going to go for the 1HKO; and he has the same speed but I wouldn’t switch him in.
Slowbro: Mismagius sounds about right.
Jolteon: Flip a coin. If heads, send out Torterra. If tails, send out Swampert. (If they switch in to either of these, send in the other.) Raichu can encore/scheme, but if Jolteon substitutes it’s going to be hard to actually hurt it, especially without Focus Blast.
Snorlax: Say hello to my little friend (intimidate + close combat)
Zapdos: Raichu
Blissey: Everything physical. A bitch, though.
Suicune: Vaporeon walls it, then can BP to Raichu who can encore the calm mind. Better kill it fast though...
Sceptile: An asshole. Staraptor can get him, but he’s faster and has thunderpunch… If he subseeds encore can screw him up. Torterra’s better than nothing I guess. And I always have Destiny Bond. An annoyance, but not the end of the world.
Ninjask: Raichu says hi, and demands an encore.
Metagross: Virtually everyone can take him.
Celebi: If someone sends out Celebi, Jirachi or Manaphy against me on wi-fi I will SLAP THEM. That said, Raichu who is usually a prime target for celebi can encore its calm minds or leech seeds then switch to a counter. As long as it’s encored, Swampert should do well enough with Avalanche.
Jirachi: Earthquakes galore.
Manaphy: Pray. OR encore the tail glows. If the best I can do is encore Surf, Torterra should be able to OHKO with Wood Hammer.
I copied this threat list from someone else’s post, so I’m not sure if that person missed any important ones, but I think I’ve covered it fairly well.
So there you have it. This is the first team I’ve posted, so please keep that in mind. Also, while I’d greatly appreciate any comments on replacements, I’m pretty much dead set on using these, except maybe Vaporeon and Swampert. I refuse to use any legendaries (the good ones.) or base 600s.
Thanks for reading, and any comments or advice would be appreciated. (Also, it's 6 AM so mind my grammar =P)
Basically, it mostly revolves around setting up a Raichu sweep, though it isn’t centered around that strategy to the point that it would go down should the strategy fail.
Staraptor@Choice Scarf
(Atk+ SpAtk-)
~Brave Bird
~Close Combat
~U-Turn
~Pursuit
EVs: 252 Atk 240 Spd 16 HP
My starter. Not sure about item choice here. CB vs CS is a debate in itself, but Expert Belt has the nice bonus of letting me switch to using U-Turn or Pursuit if necessary. Life Orb would be far too suicidal IMO.
Edit: CS it is.
Raichu@Focus Strip
(Spd+ Atk-)
~Scheme (Nasty Plot? What’s that?)
~Thunderbolt
~Grass Knot/Focus Blast
~Encore /the other attack move
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spd 6 HP
My all-time favourite, and the heart of the team. Focus Strip so it can take a physical hit, and Vaporeon to help it switch in through Spikes/Stealth Rock. If it sets up it can ravage just about anything. A dilemma arises, however. Encore is an awesome move to help with set-ups, but having the third attack move would REALLY help his type coverage. I think eventually encore will become pretty much expected from a Raichu, though, and they’ll just switch right away. This is when the third attack move would be much better. Overall, Raichu is among the biggest victims of moveslot syndrome.
Mismagius@Leftovers
(Sp. Def+ Atk-)
~Shadow Ball
~Will-O-Wisp
~Thunder Wave
~Destiny Bond
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP
"Gengar's little sister" makes a nice special wall, and with three immunities it can switch in quite nicely and screw up physicals with Will-O-Wisp. Destiny Bond is very useful as a last resort, and he has the speed to use it. Mismagius is just too cool for me to opt not to use her.
Edit: T-Wave added over Pain Split.
Vaporeon@Leftovers
(Def+ Atk)
~Surf
~Wish
~Ice Beam
~Protect
EVs: 200 HP 252 Def 56 Sp. Atk
Wish support and sub-passing to help the entire team, but mainly Raichu, so that he can get to the field unscathed to make focus strip work. Might have to replace Sub with IB, unfortunately.
Torterra@Leftovers
(Def+ Sp.Atk-)
~Wood Hammer
~Earthquake
~Stone Edge
~Leech Seed
EVs: 176 Attack (for an even 300) 252 HP 76 Defense
This guy’s sprite looks fantastic. Move over, Goku-ape. Torterra and Swampert cover each other well, and leech seed support helps. I don’t know if this moveset is the best he can do, though. 4x Ice weakness is a big drag.
Swampert@Leftovers
(Def+ Sp.Atk-)
~Earthquake
~Avalanche
~Stone Edge
~Stealth Rock
EVs: 56 Attack 240 HP 212 Defense
Stealth Rock is very useful, and works well with Mismagius.
Tyranitar: Very annoying as Sandstorm screws up Raichu’s Focus Strip, even with Wish-passing. Staraptor should be able to take him down, though, as long as he doesn’t come in on Stone Edge. Torterra and Swampert could be able to hold their own. If he kills someone, Raichu can come in and Scheme, scaring it away with the prospect of a Focus Blast, if I choose to keep that move.
Gyarados: If Raichu is at full health he can surprise-kill it. Otherwise… bah, Swampert I guess. Torterra if it doesn’t carry Ice Fang for some reason.
Infernape: Vaporeon and Swampert say hello.
Azelf: I hate this thing. Mismagius takes it rather well, though.
Rhyperior: He can certainly cause some problems, but most of my team can take him.
Electivire: Swampert. It’s Wi-fi, so no HP Grass for you, sucker! If I were to play this team on competitor though, I guess Mismagius could burn him, or Swampert could still take it if it doesn’t have HP Grass, Torterra if it does.
Heracross: Staraptor eats him, regurgitates him and feeds him to his young. He must watch for Stone Edge, however. If I expect that I’ll send out Torterra and, being CB’ed, he won’t be able to megahorn the turtle.
Salamence: Swampert… Still a bitch to deal with though. Should Vaporeon have Ice Beam rather than Sub?
Togekiss: Raichu says: “Yay, Scheme!” Most of my team can take him too, annoying though flinch-hax may be.
Gengar: An absolute pain in the ass. I really don’t know. Maybe Mismagius could survive a shadow ball and throw one back?
Garchomp: Swampert.
Raikou: On Wifi: Swampert and/or Torterra. Competitor: Flip a coin, and send out either Torterra or Swampert. One of the main reasons I despise Hidden Power.
Lucario: Staraptor should fare pretty well against him, Raichu can encore any support moves then scheme up.
Rampardos: Torterra, but correct me if I’m wrong. Swampert too. Mismagius can dodge EQ and burn.
Tauros: Staraptor, via Intimidate and Close Combat.
Starmie: Mismagius is the safest bet. If it doesn’t have Ice Beam, Torterra can do pretty well, actually. Vaporeon might be able to stall if it doesn’t have T-Bolt (It’s tiny, so Grass Knot won’t do much.)
Weavile: Bit of a problem, actually… Swampert is the best bet, but not a great one. At full health, Raichu can revenge-kill with Focus Blast. This one’s sketchy at best.
Dugtrio: Cheap as usual. If I predict it coming in on Raichu and he’s at full health I can Scheme, take the hit, then OHKO with Grass Knot (120 power against him) Focus Bomb would work, but less accurately. Torterra counters him too.
Alakazam: Uh-oh. It has Shadow-Ball, doesn’t it… Not sure if Mismagius can take the hit and deal it back. It’s faster too, so no Destiny Bond… I should be able to kill it, but it might get a little ugly.
PorygonZ: Raichu can Encore the scheme and scheme himself. Oh, I’m sorry, I meant “Nasty Plot.” Alternatively, Mismagius is immune to Tri-Attack and can destiny bond or at least burn it; Staraptor is around and it has Close Combat.
Medicham: Ehh, Staraptor?
Staraptor: Swampert, Raichu can scheme by predicting U-Turn or taking the hit via Focus Strip, or T-Bolt if he thinks it’s going to go for the 1HKO; and he has the same speed but I wouldn’t switch him in.
Slowbro: Mismagius sounds about right.
Jolteon: Flip a coin. If heads, send out Torterra. If tails, send out Swampert. (If they switch in to either of these, send in the other.) Raichu can encore/scheme, but if Jolteon substitutes it’s going to be hard to actually hurt it, especially without Focus Blast.
Snorlax: Say hello to my little friend (intimidate + close combat)
Zapdos: Raichu
Blissey: Everything physical. A bitch, though.
Suicune: Vaporeon walls it, then can BP to Raichu who can encore the calm mind. Better kill it fast though...
Sceptile: An asshole. Staraptor can get him, but he’s faster and has thunderpunch… If he subseeds encore can screw him up. Torterra’s better than nothing I guess. And I always have Destiny Bond. An annoyance, but not the end of the world.
Ninjask: Raichu says hi, and demands an encore.
Metagross: Virtually everyone can take him.
Celebi: If someone sends out Celebi, Jirachi or Manaphy against me on wi-fi I will SLAP THEM. That said, Raichu who is usually a prime target for celebi can encore its calm minds or leech seeds then switch to a counter. As long as it’s encored, Swampert should do well enough with Avalanche.
Jirachi: Earthquakes galore.
Manaphy: Pray. OR encore the tail glows. If the best I can do is encore Surf, Torterra should be able to OHKO with Wood Hammer.
I copied this threat list from someone else’s post, so I’m not sure if that person missed any important ones, but I think I’ve covered it fairly well.
So there you have it. This is the first team I’ve posted, so please keep that in mind. Also, while I’d greatly appreciate any comments on replacements, I’m pretty much dead set on using these, except maybe Vaporeon and Swampert. I refuse to use any legendaries (the good ones.) or base 600s.
Thanks for reading, and any comments or advice would be appreciated. (Also, it's 6 AM so mind my grammar =P)
