Hey, Smogon, haven't been on in a while, and after a period of absence, I returned to find Excadrill banished to Ubers! This weekend my college's gaming club is hosting a convention, and some friends of mine and I are looking to host a "challenge the Elite 4" sort of event within it, so I was looking to prepare a team for it. Though Excadrill's ban hardly surprised me, it did mean I had to update the team I devised last spring to adapt to this change, and that's where you come in! I'm not trying to necro, just trying to get some advice on how to update a team that is no longer viable or legal.
The previous version of this team used Hippowdon, Vaporeon, Dusclops, Ferrothorn, Volcarona, and Excadrill to wear the opposing team down through stall and entry hazard damage enough such that either Volcarona or Excadrill could manage a clean late-game sweep. Now that Excadrill is no longer legal, Volcarona doesn't have as reliable a spinner with such good synergy with sandstorm, so at this time I'm seeing a need to replace him with another special attacker. Much of the analysis text for the returning members is the same as before, given that they serve the same purpose as in the previous version of the team.
The team:
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Careful 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
After advisement by BKC, I've decided to switch out Hippowdon for this Tyranitar. The team was previously very weak to CM Reuniclus as well as Specs Tornadus in the rain, and both of these threats are stopped cold by this Tyranitar, who can switch in to change the weather and, with sand up, has huge SpD with which to easily absorb special attacks like Specs Tornadus' Hurricane (if it even hits through the sand). Additionally, this Tyranitar can come in on a resisted psychic move by Reuniclus (or a CM) and proceed to either trap it with STAB Pursuit or deal massive damage with STAB Crunch. Superpower gives good coverage alongside Tyranitar's STAB Dark attacks and allows it to rip apart opposing Chansey/Blissey that would otherwise pose a problem to my stallers.
Landorus @ Leftovers
Sand Force
Naive 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 HP
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- HP Ice
Previously, I was planning to use Rock Polish, but after some consideration I've decided on a Landorus geared more towards survival, with Substitute and Leftovers over Rock Polish and Life Orb. Even with the loss of Life Orb, this Landorus hits very hard between STAB Sand Force Earthquake and Sand Force boosted Stone Edge. Additionally, after setting up a Substitute on a 'mon it scares out, this Landorus can take care of threats it can 2HKO without worrying about getting killed on the first hit. I'm considering running Smack Down over Stone Edge for stuff like Skarmory, but Magnezone handles it well enough if it's not running Shed Shell, and again Magnezone's HP Fire will suffice against Bronzong since it won't be able to switch out due to Magnet Pull.
It's worth mentioning that Landorus is far from permanent and is at this time a general replacement for Excadrill, with the aim of getting feedback from the community to better adapt the team's overall synergy.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Magnet Pull
Timid 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt
Flash Cannon
HP Fire
Volt Switch
After a recommendation from emirinho, I've decided to replace Reuniclus with Magnezone, whose speed, power, and typing allow for a faster game pace, especially through the use of Volt Switch keeping the momentum in my favor. In addition, my team has been begging for an Electric move in somewhere, and without Volcarona, the team was looking very Steel-weak, with no Fire moves to take them out. Magnezone solves this problem twofold: first by trapping them, then by melting them down.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Water Absorb
Bold 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
- Scald
- Wish
- Protect
- Roar
Wish and Protect offer Vaporeon's most reliable healing outside of Hydration Rest in the rain, which obviously wouldn't make a lick of sense here. Scald is a good STAB move that also supports the team with its chance of burn. Picture it: a Dragonite or a Gyarados switches in, thinking it's going to get a free shot to set up, only to be met with a burn, allowing either sweeper a better shot at setting up and sweeping! Awesome! I'm not entirely sure what to put in the last slot, though. Roar is chosen for the last slot to allow Vaporeon to phaze and rack up damage on the opposing team to pave the way for a late-game sweep, hopefully by Landorus.
Given that Landorus is currently slotted to have HP Ice, the slot previously reserved for Ice Beam could theoretically now be filled with Roar, allowing more reliable phazing within the team.
Dusclops @ Eviolite
Pressure
Sassy 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
- Night Shade
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Disable
IVs: 0 Spe
You may be looking at that 0 Spe IV funny since this is clearly not a Trick Room team, but the general idea behind it is that I want zero chance of outspeeding any Conkeldurr, since its Guts Payback is one of the few really scary ways a Fighting type could threaten my Dusclops, and I was just too lazy to find exactly what IV would do the trick (for all I know, a 31 could work just as well, I should probably have looked into that more). Either way, the 0 Spe IV also serves as a "why not?" semi-check to TR teams, since Dusclops is just so damn slow. Generally, Dusclops is here to tank and spread burn amongst opposing physical attackers (not Conkeldurr!), as well as generally being a solid check to Fighting types that lack particularly strong Dark or Ghost moves. With Disable, Dusclops can prevent the opponent from using their strongest move against it, either allowing it to tank more or allow a sweeper to come in and set up against a defenseless opponent.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
Relaxed 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
I've started to notice that this team is quickly becoming a who's who of pokemon that look fun to use. Ferrothorn has likely got the most flux in its moveset, since I can't yet tell exactly what support would be best for it to give. There's no doubt that Leech Seed and Power Whip are go, since the healing is always welcome, and a strong STAB Grass move would put the hurt on the bulky waters that are so annoying. I finally decided on Spikes, since Tyranitar has rocks covered, and Gyro Ball over Thunder Wave, since my team's sweepers don't really require paralysis that much to function well, since Landorus is ideally only going to see use after getting a Rock Polish up, and Scarf Magnezone is quick enough.
As you can see, the team is still a work-in-progress, and any advice you could give would be very appreciated. As this team will hopefully be used soon in-game, I look forward to reading any advice you, the community, has to offer. Thank you!
~maxbarnyard
The previous version of this team used Hippowdon, Vaporeon, Dusclops, Ferrothorn, Volcarona, and Excadrill to wear the opposing team down through stall and entry hazard damage enough such that either Volcarona or Excadrill could manage a clean late-game sweep. Now that Excadrill is no longer legal, Volcarona doesn't have as reliable a spinner with such good synergy with sandstorm, so at this time I'm seeing a need to replace him with another special attacker. Much of the analysis text for the returning members is the same as before, given that they serve the same purpose as in the previous version of the team.
The team:
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Careful 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
After advisement by BKC, I've decided to switch out Hippowdon for this Tyranitar. The team was previously very weak to CM Reuniclus as well as Specs Tornadus in the rain, and both of these threats are stopped cold by this Tyranitar, who can switch in to change the weather and, with sand up, has huge SpD with which to easily absorb special attacks like Specs Tornadus' Hurricane (if it even hits through the sand). Additionally, this Tyranitar can come in on a resisted psychic move by Reuniclus (or a CM) and proceed to either trap it with STAB Pursuit or deal massive damage with STAB Crunch. Superpower gives good coverage alongside Tyranitar's STAB Dark attacks and allows it to rip apart opposing Chansey/Blissey that would otherwise pose a problem to my stallers.
Landorus @ Leftovers
Sand Force
Naive 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 HP
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- HP Ice
Previously, I was planning to use Rock Polish, but after some consideration I've decided on a Landorus geared more towards survival, with Substitute and Leftovers over Rock Polish and Life Orb. Even with the loss of Life Orb, this Landorus hits very hard between STAB Sand Force Earthquake and Sand Force boosted Stone Edge. Additionally, after setting up a Substitute on a 'mon it scares out, this Landorus can take care of threats it can 2HKO without worrying about getting killed on the first hit. I'm considering running Smack Down over Stone Edge for stuff like Skarmory, but Magnezone handles it well enough if it's not running Shed Shell, and again Magnezone's HP Fire will suffice against Bronzong since it won't be able to switch out due to Magnet Pull.
It's worth mentioning that Landorus is far from permanent and is at this time a general replacement for Excadrill, with the aim of getting feedback from the community to better adapt the team's overall synergy.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Magnet Pull
Timid 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt
Flash Cannon
HP Fire
Volt Switch
After a recommendation from emirinho, I've decided to replace Reuniclus with Magnezone, whose speed, power, and typing allow for a faster game pace, especially through the use of Volt Switch keeping the momentum in my favor. In addition, my team has been begging for an Electric move in somewhere, and without Volcarona, the team was looking very Steel-weak, with no Fire moves to take them out. Magnezone solves this problem twofold: first by trapping them, then by melting them down.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Water Absorb
Bold 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
- Scald
- Wish
- Protect
- Roar
Wish and Protect offer Vaporeon's most reliable healing outside of Hydration Rest in the rain, which obviously wouldn't make a lick of sense here. Scald is a good STAB move that also supports the team with its chance of burn. Picture it: a Dragonite or a Gyarados switches in, thinking it's going to get a free shot to set up, only to be met with a burn, allowing either sweeper a better shot at setting up and sweeping! Awesome! I'm not entirely sure what to put in the last slot, though. Roar is chosen for the last slot to allow Vaporeon to phaze and rack up damage on the opposing team to pave the way for a late-game sweep, hopefully by Landorus.
Given that Landorus is currently slotted to have HP Ice, the slot previously reserved for Ice Beam could theoretically now be filled with Roar, allowing more reliable phazing within the team.
Dusclops @ Eviolite
Pressure
Sassy 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
- Night Shade
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Disable
IVs: 0 Spe
You may be looking at that 0 Spe IV funny since this is clearly not a Trick Room team, but the general idea behind it is that I want zero chance of outspeeding any Conkeldurr, since its Guts Payback is one of the few really scary ways a Fighting type could threaten my Dusclops, and I was just too lazy to find exactly what IV would do the trick (for all I know, a 31 could work just as well, I should probably have looked into that more). Either way, the 0 Spe IV also serves as a "why not?" semi-check to TR teams, since Dusclops is just so damn slow. Generally, Dusclops is here to tank and spread burn amongst opposing physical attackers (not Conkeldurr!), as well as generally being a solid check to Fighting types that lack particularly strong Dark or Ghost moves. With Disable, Dusclops can prevent the opponent from using their strongest move against it, either allowing it to tank more or allow a sweeper to come in and set up against a defenseless opponent.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
Relaxed 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
I've started to notice that this team is quickly becoming a who's who of pokemon that look fun to use. Ferrothorn has likely got the most flux in its moveset, since I can't yet tell exactly what support would be best for it to give. There's no doubt that Leech Seed and Power Whip are go, since the healing is always welcome, and a strong STAB Grass move would put the hurt on the bulky waters that are so annoying. I finally decided on Spikes, since Tyranitar has rocks covered, and Gyro Ball over Thunder Wave, since my team's sweepers don't really require paralysis that much to function well, since Landorus is ideally only going to see use after getting a Rock Polish up, and Scarf Magnezone is quick enough.
As you can see, the team is still a work-in-progress, and any advice you could give would be very appreciated. As this team will hopefully be used soon in-game, I look forward to reading any advice you, the community, has to offer. Thank you!
~maxbarnyard
