RoaringThunder

[KillingJFK]

RoaringThunder​

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An OU team based around Synergy and situation adaptation.

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Introduction


With the amount of threats in the current meta, specifically offensive threats, I have found it hard to create one single team that can deal with them all while still remaining sufficiently threatening. After realizing this I decided to create a team focusing on minimizing weaknesses and maximizing synergy to allow for greater overall longevity and employing strategies that embrace metagame threats rather than deter them.

The Team at a Glance

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TeamBuilding

Changes have been bolded

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Reuniclus was removed for being overall a dead weight at times. Jirachi was changed to specially defensive because she honestly had no way of really getting a good set up going.



The Team in Depth

KamaSutra (Ditto) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Transform
-
-
-

While I hardly ever lead with Ditto, Ditto seemed to be the best pokemon to present first as it embodies the essence of my team. The team is based around dealing with different situations as they arise rather than trying to focus on shutting down specific strategies. It scarf lets it function as one of the best revenge killers in the game and thanks to Imposter, Ditto can steal the opponents pokemon's boosts and pull off a sweep. In addition to sweeping it can be used as a utility pokemon to help perform any roles my team lacks as the situation arises by switching into to one of the opponents. As far as EV's an IV's, HP is all that truely matters and the IV's are set so that Ditto will get Max BP HP Ice.

Cherokee (Politoed) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Encore
- Protect

If you don't run your own weather, you are pretty much allowing the other team to abuse their own without any trouble. That being said, I chose rain. Rain is the [imo] the best weather in the entire meta, it is the easiest to keep up and has the best abusers. For the EV spread I went bulky because I find Politoed offensive stats to be lackluster. Scald was an obvious choice as it is the flagship bulky water STAB. Toxic in conjunction with protect an help me stall out threats my team is having trouble with, and scout choice users. Lastly, Encore forces the opponent to set up or switch out. If the opponent sets up, I can switch in Ditto to steal the boosts and hopefully sweep. If the opponent switches out, he wastes a turn, takes entry hazard damage and I can possibly land a shot on whatever they plan to switch in. Strategy with this guy: If opponent has weather starter, treat it like a delicate flower, if opponent doesn't treat it like crap.

Rachi (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Thunder
- Wish

Specially Defensive Rachi fits the team far better than SubCM. It fits the idea mold for a steel defensive core nicely with Ferrothorn. Thunder gives it the ability to hit pokemon on the special side and para. BodySlam is used to hit the numberous ground types such as Landorus and Garchomp that switch into Jirachi thinking they will come out unscathed. It's also really nice when rain isn't in play, since I don't need to rely on Thunder for para.

Boomstick (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

While definitely not as good as its Incarnate form this poke is still a force to be messing with. Thundurus's real job is to force switches, and it does it well. A massive SpA and high likelihood of being Choiced almost guarantees the opponent to switch out, which gets me a free Sub. Substitute eases the need for prediction allowing him to land powerful attacks behind the safety of a Sub and works nicely with the paralysis spread by both Rachi and itself. Thunder for... well its Thunder, its STAB, and its coming from one of the highest special attacks in the game. HP Ice for "BeamBolt" coverage. Focus Blast to hit Steels hard.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
Ferrothorn is a real thorn in the side, and its an even bigger one in rain. All puns aside, Ferrothorn is very difficult to kill in rain, and it pairs very well with Politoed as far as synergy goes. Power Whip is meant to kill Gastrodon, which can be a pain in the ass for a lot of my team, it also leaves Ferrothorn as set up bait, which would seem bad normally, but it can be abused by Ditto and it can mean a nice clean sweep. Leech Seed and Protect are for longevity, and it also couples nicely with Politoed's Toxic. Lastly SR because it is SR and it is the best move in the game.
Now with 0 speed as suggested by Jirachi to piss off Forretress

Lokk (Latios) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover

As suggested by undisputed Latios definitely works great for this team. It has the power and speed that Reuniclus missed, while still keeping the synergy I wanted (in fact adding a bit.) Psyshock is to hit Blissey and Chansey hard. Surf is coverage for Steels and psuedo-STAB. Dragon Pulse for STAB spam. Recover for longevity (needed with Life Orb).


Conclusion
Playing with this team can sometimes be a pain in the ass. Chansey,Blissey, and Gastrodon can be a really hard to kill if Latios dies. The team also has harder times with bulky sweepers like Volcorona (with no rocks) and Conkeldurr, though with changes implemented they are far less of a threat. However the team is highly adaptive, with the right play style and mindset there isn't much that can truly stop it, and that was the intent of the team.

 

[undisputed]

Hey!

At first glance, your team looks pretty solid; however, I'm a little worried about your match up against Standard Rain and Deoxy-D Offense. Both team archetypes open the match with momentum, and in BW2, momentum can translate directly to a win or loss.

To fix this, I have a couple small suggestions. My first suggestion is that I think you should try Double Dance Thundurus-t. It's a relatively unknown set, but it's very good. Surprise value alone can win a match. The moves are Nasty Plot / Agility / Thunderbolt / Hidden Power Ice or Flying would be your moves. You can customize your EVs based on what you envision doing. I'd recommend Modest Nature with at least 100 Speed EVs to outspeed Scarf Lati@s. The rest of the EVs are up to you. HP will help you set up, but more Speed is valuable if you can't reach +2.

My next suggestion is to replace Reuniclus. The sad truth is that the metagame is too powerful for Reuniclus. Even at +1 Sp Def, boosted Water Attacks and strong Physical attacks will do a lot of damage. Instead, I think you should give though to Life Orb Latios. Put Recover on it, and it's similar to Reuniclus already. Instead, it's already got the speed and power Reuniclus misses. Latios is also pretty solid at switching into Scald. I'd never recommend Ferrothorn to be your only Scald/Water counter because it can be easily worn down.

Good luck Lee Harvey Oswald! Or the Grassy Knoll... Or whatever killed JFK...

 

[Jirachee]

Hey

I'm gonna back up undisputed on the fact that Reuniclus isn't really good in that metagame. It's far too slow and prone to powerful Special Attacks like Hydro Pump in Rain to succeed, which are dominant in BW2. I also think that your team is prone to two other dangerous threats: Keldeo and Ferrothorn. Keldeo has incredibly coverage and amazing power which allows it to wreck pretty much everything on your team in a few turns with the right prediction, and since Keldeo by itself isn't the bulkiest Pokemon existing I wouldn't switch Ditto into it. Choice Specs and LO 3 Attacks seem to be the most dangerous sets to this team, as it doesn't need the Speed of the Choice Scarf set to beat you down. Ferrothorn is a different issue, as it is to most Rain teams: it can easily set up Stealth Rock, Leech Seed and Spikes all over your team making switching a difficult task, and will need you to sacrifice some of your Pokemon more often in order to have a successful revenge kill. To fix these weaknesses I'm going to recommend using a defensive Starmie instead of Reuniclus. Starmie is one of the best switch ins for Keldeo as it outspeeds it, resist both of its STABs, and is able to pummel it with a super effective Psychic STAB. While Starmie can be considered as Ferrothorn bait, it can do two things for your team that will stop Ferrothorn a bit: number one, it is able to lure in and burn Ferrothorn on the switch with Scald, and number two, it will be able to Spin Ferrothorn's hazards away. I think that Starmie will make a great replacement for Reuniclus on your team.

Try using a Relaxed nature with 0 Speed IVs on Ferrothorn, even without Gyro Ball. This might seem odd, but it allows Ferrothorn to go after Relaxed Forretress, so it won't be able to Spin your Stealth Rock away, as you'll be able to set it up every turn. Ferrothorn is slow anyway so it doesn't matter.

That's pretty much it, cool team. Here's the set you should use:

Starmie

Starmie @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Timid
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 Spe
~Scald
~Psychic
~Recover
~Rapid Spin

Good luck!

 

[KillingJFK]

Hey!

At first glance, your team looks pretty solid; however, I'm a little worried about your match up against Standard Rain and Deoxy-D Offense. Both team archetypes open the match with momentum, and in BW2, momentum can translate directly to a win or loss.

To fix this, I have a couple small suggestions. My first suggestion is that I think you should try Double Dance Thundurus-t. It's a relatively unknown set, but it's very good. Surprise value alone can win a match. The moves are Nasty Plot / Agility / Thunderbolt / Hidden Power Ice or Flying would be your moves. You can customize your EVs based on what you envision doing. I'd recommend Modest Nature with at least 100 Speed EVs to outspeed Scarf Lati@s. The rest of the EVs are up to you. HP will help you set up, but more Speed is valuable if you can't reach +2.

My next suggestion is to replace Reuniclus. The sad truth is that the metagame is too powerful for Reuniclus. Even at +1 Sp Def, boosted Water Attacks and strong Physical attacks will do a lot of damage. Instead, I think you should give though to Life Orb Latios. Put Recover on it, and it's similar to Reuniclus already. Instead, it's already got the speed and power Reuniclus misses. Latios is also pretty solid at switching into Scald. I'd never recommend Ferrothorn to be your only Scald/Water counter because it can be easily worn down.

Good luck Lee Harvey Oswald! Or the Grassy Knoll... Or whatever killed JFK...

I tested out a few combinations of suggestions. I found that the Double Dance set made it hard for me to take on Thundurus. My Sub Thundurus takes advantage of Ferrothorns tendency to attempt to status, seed, and/or set up hazards. It is not only my answer for Ferrothorn, but it uses it to take advantage of teams such as offensive rain teams, who generally rely on mememtum.

Hey

I'm gonna back up undisputed on the fact that Reuniclus isn't really good in that metagame. It's far too slow and prone to powerful Special Attacks like Hydro Pump in Rain to succeed, which are dominant in BW2. I also think that your team is prone to two other dangerous threats: Keldeo and Ferrothorn. Keldeo has incredibly coverage and amazing power which allows it to wreck pretty much everything on your team in a few turns with the right prediction, and since Keldeo by itself isn't the bulkiest Pokemon existing I wouldn't switch Ditto into it. Choice Specs and LO 3 Attacks seem to be the most dangerous sets to this team, as it doesn't need the Speed of the Choice Scarf set to beat you down. Ferrothorn is a different issue, as it is to most Rain teams: it can easily set up Stealth Rock, Leech Seed and Spikes all over your team making switching a difficult task, and will need you to sacrifice some of your Pokemon more often in order to have a successful revenge kill. To fix these weaknesses I'm going to recommend using a defensive Starmie instead of Reuniclus. Starmie is one of the best switch ins for Keldeo as it outspeeds it, resist both of its STABs, and is able to pummel it with a super effective Psychic STAB. While Starmie can be considered as Ferrothorn bait, it can do two things for your team that will stop Ferrothorn a bit: number one, it is able to lure in and burn Ferrothorn on the switch with Scald, and number two, it will be able to Spin Ferrothorn's hazards away. I think that Starmie will make a great replacement for Reuniclus on your team.

Try using a Relaxed nature with 0 Speed IVs on Ferrothorn, even without Gyro Ball. This might seem odd, but it allows Ferrothorn to go after Relaxed Forretress, so it won't be able to Spin your Stealth Rock away, as you'll be able to set it up every turn. Ferrothorn is slow anyway so it doesn't matter.

That's pretty much it, cool team. Here's the set you should use:

Starmie

Starmie @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Timid
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 Spe
~Scald
~Psychic
~Recover
~Rapid Spin

Good luck!

I tried out Starmie, and while I found it awesome for a support role, it lacked power and unlike Latios, was no threat to Tyranitar whatsoever. I also generally just use Ditto to steal my opponents spinner. However I found your suggestion with my Ferrothorn to be very useful, it prevented Forretress from spinning my rocks, while it slowly died to Iron Barb damage, until out of frustration it switched.