Metagross + Keldeo core ft LO Serp + CB Dnite
So I'm kinda new to teambuilding and I wanted to start off with a popular core which was rumored to be very effective in the current meta, and luckily it WAS.
How I chose my picks:
Mega Metagross and Keldeo were obviously the 2 pokemon I started with, as I wanted a popular core that beat each others checks and I decided to go with Sub CM Keldeo as it can setup on ALOT of pokemon and one of the main PURPOSES of the team is to weaken and soften other teams so Metagross/Keldeo/Dragonite or Serperior can come in late game and clean up.
Next I wanted a pokemon that breaks the 110 speed barrier, but also something that can reliably gain momentum, whilst being able to take a few hits - enter Assault Vest Raikou - on top of ticking all the boxes mentioned above he also fits extremely well with the core.
After that I noticed a MASSIVE weakness to ground which I needed to patch up and also I wanted a stealth rocker - Hello Defensive Lefties Landorus - T - As well as filling all my needs, it added a VOLT - TURN core which helped me gain momentum as well as a defensive pivot and a reliable attack - lowerer (if thats a thing).
Lastly I just wanted to Round out things my team cannot do: Sweep reliably, revenge kill things easily, have priority, deal with annoying pokes like Rotom - W, smack things in the face, etc. So I went with two fairly underrated mons in CB Dragonite and LO Serperior. CB Dnite comes in and revenge kills alot of things when weakened and LO Serperior sets up and can sweep late game.
Now for the sets:
Princess (Keldeo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
The primary reason I chose Keldeo was to fulfill the first 1/2 of the core. It outspeeds alot of the meta and sets up on alot, allowing it to sweep mid to late game. It also does really well against alot of threats such as Belly Drum Azumarill, Chansey, Defensive Lando, Heatran, Bisharp, etc. I run Sub as it allows me to set up on Ferrothorn, Mega Sableye, Defensive status mons, Heatran, etc and paired with CM lets me sweep efficiently. Scald and Secret sword are a MUST as it provides reliable STAB + a nice chance to burn and allows me to beat defensive walls with scald and SP.Def mons such as Chansey with Secret Sword. Max Speed allows me to outspeed base 105's and speed tie with Terrakion, Infernape and other Keldeos, whilst the SpA lets me deal alot of damage on foes.
Scrapes (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Pursuit/Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
Mega Metagross completes the final part to the core, whilst its also just a great mon on its own. Meteor Mash + Zen Headbutt are powerful stab moves taht deal massive neutral damage - with a high chance to 2HKO Physically Defensive Rotom - W after rocks, whilst one shotting and OUTSPEEDING keldeo and numerous Fairys. Pursuit helps me beat Latios and other Psychic types who think they can switch out, whilst Earthquake helps me beat heatran and other steel and fire types who would otherwise wall me. However bullet punch is also nice for priority and revenge killing. I run max speed to outspeed threats such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Charizard, Mega Gardevoir and anything below base 110, whilst allowing it to speed tie with Gengar and Latios.
King (Raikou) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball/Aura Sphere
- Hidden Power [Ice]
On top of working incredibly well with the core, Raikou provides a strong speed stat to outspeed threats like adamant Talonflame, Serperior, Keldeo, Gengar, Latios, etc, whilst it also gave me an opportunity to use an assault vest, so I can switch into SOME attacks and either revenge or KO. I run the standard set: Thunderbolt - a strong and reliable stab move which can do considerable damage even neutrally, Volt Switch to provide good synergy with Lando's U - Turn and also to gain momentum on switches, Hidden Power Ice - To KO the many pokemon with a 4x weakness to Ice and also to hit ground and grass poke's for super effective damage and finally shadow ball is there purely for coverage and I prefer it as a filler to aura sphere. Since then I have tried Thundurus with Lefties and LO but prefer Raikou as Thundurus just adds to my weakness to stealth rocks (which I can't remove).
Dog With Tache (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
Although my team had alot of Fast and Powerful pokemon, it lacked bulk and was VERY weak to ground. Apart from Raikou I couldn't switch into things, so I needed a pivot and the attack lower is nice as well. U - Turn + Volt Switch is an INCREDIBLE momentum machine so Lando just fit in + it had an immunity to Ground. Earthquake and U - Turn are ESSENTIAL on Lando T as it provides a POWERFUL STAB as well as the ability to switch out safely. Stone Edge allows me to 1V1 any Talonflame and Stealth Rock is just good overall as it racks up damage nicely. I ran 252 HP and 252 + Defense to take physical attacks incredibly well on top of the attack drop from Intimidate. Lefties also help me regenerate health nicely so I can last longer. I run 30 Speed IVs to guarantee slow U-Turns on other Landos and switch accordingly, however it also allows me to still outspeed other poke's such as uninvested Rotom - W.
ForesTT (Serperior) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dragon Pulse
This spot used to be filled with Virizion and has been tried with Breloom. Serperior is here to do what Virizion did, but BETTER. Serperior wallbreaks SO EASILY with essentially an OFFENSIVE Nasty Plot and a Life Orb. Also I feel my team lacked a bit of pure Special POWER, so Serperior was perfect. My moveset is pretty Self Explanitory - BLOW UP things and gain a SpA boost with Leaf Storm, recover your residual damage with STAB Giga Drain and it also works if you don't want to miss a Leaf Storm, Hidden Power Fire is there to beat opposing steel types who would otherwise wall me (particularly Ferrothorn and Scizor) and finally Dragon Pulse is purely for Dragons who would also otherwise wall me and also is good against pokemon who resist grass as a neutral hit. Max Speed ensures I outspeed Gengar, Metagross - Mega, Latios, Keldeo and even Thundurus and Max SpA means along with LO I can blow ALOT up with neutral Leaf Storm.
ChubbyDaDragon (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch/Superpower
This spot used to be filled by CB Entei. Entei was a pretty good Mon on this team and did his job fairly reliably, but I found CB Dragonite to just be better in almost every way (barring speed and occasional burns), Dragonite has a better movepool for a Choice Band, a better ability, better typing/STAB and is ALOT stronger. Outrage is probably the move I use whenever I need to straight up KO something and it even has a 25% chance to OHKO PHYSICALLY DEFENSIVE Rotom-W after Stealth Rocks, whilst doing a considerable amount to Defensive Lando - T. Earthquake allows me to beat Mons that resist my stab and also does ALOT of neutral damage, Fire Punch/Superpower are there for coverage and helps me beat certain specific Mons like Ferro, Scizor, Tyranitar, Skarmory, etc (I prefer Fire Punch honestly). HOWEVER my best move is ultimately Extreme Speed which is incredible for sweeping late game and cleaning up after the opposing Mons are slightly weakened. Max attack (ADAMANT) is there to get the most out of my 135 base power with CB and I run 252 speed as well just to out speed as much as possible and fire off AMAZINGLY powerful hits before they get a chance to strike back.
Well this is my first ever team and I would really appreciate criticism to help make it better, btw I know its got amassive weakness to ground bit of a weakness to ice.
SIDE NOTE: This team gets REKT by Standard Mega Abomasnow with EQ in TRICK ROOM. But I guess Mega Abomasnow's not that common so its cool. XD
EDITS MADE SO FAR:
CB ENTEI ---> CB DRAGONITE
LO VIRIZION ---> LO BRELOOM ---> SASH BRELOOM ---> LO SERPERIOR
AV RAIKOU ---> LO THUNDURUS ---> LEFTIES THUNDURUS ---> AV RAIKOU
Thanks cya
So I'm kinda new to teambuilding and I wanted to start off with a popular core which was rumored to be very effective in the current meta, and luckily it WAS.
How I chose my picks:
Mega Metagross and Keldeo were obviously the 2 pokemon I started with, as I wanted a popular core that beat each others checks and I decided to go with Sub CM Keldeo as it can setup on ALOT of pokemon and one of the main PURPOSES of the team is to weaken and soften other teams so Metagross/Keldeo/Dragonite or Serperior can come in late game and clean up.
Next I wanted a pokemon that breaks the 110 speed barrier, but also something that can reliably gain momentum, whilst being able to take a few hits - enter Assault Vest Raikou - on top of ticking all the boxes mentioned above he also fits extremely well with the core.
After that I noticed a MASSIVE weakness to ground which I needed to patch up and also I wanted a stealth rocker - Hello Defensive Lefties Landorus - T - As well as filling all my needs, it added a VOLT - TURN core which helped me gain momentum as well as a defensive pivot and a reliable attack - lowerer (if thats a thing).
Lastly I just wanted to Round out things my team cannot do: Sweep reliably, revenge kill things easily, have priority, deal with annoying pokes like Rotom - W, smack things in the face, etc. So I went with two fairly underrated mons in CB Dragonite and LO Serperior. CB Dnite comes in and revenge kills alot of things when weakened and LO Serperior sets up and can sweep late game.
Now for the sets:
Princess (Keldeo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
The primary reason I chose Keldeo was to fulfill the first 1/2 of the core. It outspeeds alot of the meta and sets up on alot, allowing it to sweep mid to late game. It also does really well against alot of threats such as Belly Drum Azumarill, Chansey, Defensive Lando, Heatran, Bisharp, etc. I run Sub as it allows me to set up on Ferrothorn, Mega Sableye, Defensive status mons, Heatran, etc and paired with CM lets me sweep efficiently. Scald and Secret sword are a MUST as it provides reliable STAB + a nice chance to burn and allows me to beat defensive walls with scald and SP.Def mons such as Chansey with Secret Sword. Max Speed allows me to outspeed base 105's and speed tie with Terrakion, Infernape and other Keldeos, whilst the SpA lets me deal alot of damage on foes.
Scrapes (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Pursuit/Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
Mega Metagross completes the final part to the core, whilst its also just a great mon on its own. Meteor Mash + Zen Headbutt are powerful stab moves taht deal massive neutral damage - with a high chance to 2HKO Physically Defensive Rotom - W after rocks, whilst one shotting and OUTSPEEDING keldeo and numerous Fairys. Pursuit helps me beat Latios and other Psychic types who think they can switch out, whilst Earthquake helps me beat heatran and other steel and fire types who would otherwise wall me. However bullet punch is also nice for priority and revenge killing. I run max speed to outspeed threats such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Charizard, Mega Gardevoir and anything below base 110, whilst allowing it to speed tie with Gengar and Latios.
King (Raikou) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball/Aura Sphere
- Hidden Power [Ice]
On top of working incredibly well with the core, Raikou provides a strong speed stat to outspeed threats like adamant Talonflame, Serperior, Keldeo, Gengar, Latios, etc, whilst it also gave me an opportunity to use an assault vest, so I can switch into SOME attacks and either revenge or KO. I run the standard set: Thunderbolt - a strong and reliable stab move which can do considerable damage even neutrally, Volt Switch to provide good synergy with Lando's U - Turn and also to gain momentum on switches, Hidden Power Ice - To KO the many pokemon with a 4x weakness to Ice and also to hit ground and grass poke's for super effective damage and finally shadow ball is there purely for coverage and I prefer it as a filler to aura sphere. Since then I have tried Thundurus with Lefties and LO but prefer Raikou as Thundurus just adds to my weakness to stealth rocks (which I can't remove).
Dog With Tache (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
Although my team had alot of Fast and Powerful pokemon, it lacked bulk and was VERY weak to ground. Apart from Raikou I couldn't switch into things, so I needed a pivot and the attack lower is nice as well. U - Turn + Volt Switch is an INCREDIBLE momentum machine so Lando just fit in + it had an immunity to Ground. Earthquake and U - Turn are ESSENTIAL on Lando T as it provides a POWERFUL STAB as well as the ability to switch out safely. Stone Edge allows me to 1V1 any Talonflame and Stealth Rock is just good overall as it racks up damage nicely. I ran 252 HP and 252 + Defense to take physical attacks incredibly well on top of the attack drop from Intimidate. Lefties also help me regenerate health nicely so I can last longer. I run 30 Speed IVs to guarantee slow U-Turns on other Landos and switch accordingly, however it also allows me to still outspeed other poke's such as uninvested Rotom - W.
ForesTT (Serperior) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dragon Pulse
This spot used to be filled with Virizion and has been tried with Breloom. Serperior is here to do what Virizion did, but BETTER. Serperior wallbreaks SO EASILY with essentially an OFFENSIVE Nasty Plot and a Life Orb. Also I feel my team lacked a bit of pure Special POWER, so Serperior was perfect. My moveset is pretty Self Explanitory - BLOW UP things and gain a SpA boost with Leaf Storm, recover your residual damage with STAB Giga Drain and it also works if you don't want to miss a Leaf Storm, Hidden Power Fire is there to beat opposing steel types who would otherwise wall me (particularly Ferrothorn and Scizor) and finally Dragon Pulse is purely for Dragons who would also otherwise wall me and also is good against pokemon who resist grass as a neutral hit. Max Speed ensures I outspeed Gengar, Metagross - Mega, Latios, Keldeo and even Thundurus and Max SpA means along with LO I can blow ALOT up with neutral Leaf Storm.
ChubbyDaDragon (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch/Superpower
This spot used to be filled by CB Entei. Entei was a pretty good Mon on this team and did his job fairly reliably, but I found CB Dragonite to just be better in almost every way (barring speed and occasional burns), Dragonite has a better movepool for a Choice Band, a better ability, better typing/STAB and is ALOT stronger. Outrage is probably the move I use whenever I need to straight up KO something and it even has a 25% chance to OHKO PHYSICALLY DEFENSIVE Rotom-W after Stealth Rocks, whilst doing a considerable amount to Defensive Lando - T. Earthquake allows me to beat Mons that resist my stab and also does ALOT of neutral damage, Fire Punch/Superpower are there for coverage and helps me beat certain specific Mons like Ferro, Scizor, Tyranitar, Skarmory, etc (I prefer Fire Punch honestly). HOWEVER my best move is ultimately Extreme Speed which is incredible for sweeping late game and cleaning up after the opposing Mons are slightly weakened. Max attack (ADAMANT) is there to get the most out of my 135 base power with CB and I run 252 speed as well just to out speed as much as possible and fire off AMAZINGLY powerful hits before they get a chance to strike back.
Well this is my first ever team and I would really appreciate criticism to help make it better, btw I know its got a
SIDE NOTE: This team gets REKT by Standard Mega Abomasnow with EQ in TRICK ROOM. But I guess Mega Abomasnow's not that common so its cool. XD
EDITS MADE SO FAR:
CB ENTEI ---> CB DRAGONITE
LO VIRIZION ---> LO BRELOOM ---> SASH BRELOOM ---> LO SERPERIOR
AV RAIKOU ---> LO THUNDURUS ---> LEFTIES THUNDURUS ---> AV RAIKOU
Thanks cya
Last edited: