Second Heartbeat

Fayne · May 8, 2011

The name of this team is based off one of my favorite songs from my favorite band, Avenged Sevenfold. I also decided to incorporate a medical theme into it because I have a medical fetish (not really). Anyway, this is a team built to primarily support leech seed Breloom. There are two key moves employed throughout it: Trick and Thunder Wave. 'Second' also refers to the two choice scarfs I use to maim the opposing pokemon. This is also my second team I'm posting on Smogon! There are certainly rooms for improvements, so I would like your inputs on this team.

Without further ado, I present team 'Second Heartbeat'!

Starmie @ Life Orb *** Phosphene
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 32 HP / 224 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

We keep writing, talking and planning, but everything's changing
We all know what to do but no one does it
Now this time has passed, and full of regret
Two in my heart have left me awhile, I stand alone
When they get back, it won't be the same

Starmie is a fantastic lead; not only is it able to set the pace of the battle to one's advantage, it usually exits the field at relatively good health, only to return later as a powerful weapon to punch holes in opposing teams. It also accounts for continued pressure on defensive teams, as opponents have to decide between going to Rotom to save their hazards and risking a 2HKO, or going to Blissey as a safe option at the cost of their hazards removed. Being the most reliable spinner as it is, I needed Starmie to provide the team with invaluble team support. It particularly makes a good partner to Zapdos, who appreciates Stealth Rock off the field, giving it free reign to switch into threats such as Celebi, Shaymin, Gengar and opposing Starmie which stop Breloom cold. I wanted Recover on Starmie to ensure it could still perform its job against stall teams where spikes damage would rack up each time I switched it in to spin, so I originally thought of using the standard 136 HP/156 Def/216 Spd spread with lefties. That was until I realised there was nothing better on this team in the lead spot, so I reached a compromise. This set gives me enough durability without losing the offensive presence LO Starmie has.

Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf *** Legionella
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 52 HP / 240 SpA / 216 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick

My life, you've always been there
Now you're gone, and my head's spinning
Left the childhood, left the memories, left the good times in the past
Moving on your time has run out
Wishing the clock would stand still, the world can wait
Wasting away once again, once lived as friends

Failsafe #1. I got this set from my friend Blazin Kickin Chicken who has recommended to teams in his rates. Speaking of Kevin, he gives helpful, detailed and well-presented rates; being the amazing team rater that he is, if he isn't good enough at trashing others in battle lol. Anyway, you may question the use of will-o-wisp on a choiced set. It deters pursuit users from switching in and is what I usually go for when something like a Gyarados tries to set-up early and it cripples stuff like Agiligross. I got many Tyranitars burned on the switch-in so this set has been very successful for me. It also gives Rotom-W more utility, even more so after the trick. Speaking of Trick, it is the main stradegy on this team as I can abuse choiced-locked moves with various resistances on this team. Additionally, I don't have to worry about Heatran nabbing a free flash fire boost as Tyranitar practically stops all versions of it dead in its tracks. Starmie and Rotom-W also attracts stuff like opposing Tyranitar and Shaymin, which Breloom and Zapdos can take advantage of respectively.

Tyranitar (M) @ Chesto Berry *** Agent 15
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 40 Atk / 220 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Crunch
- Rest

As time passes by, regrets for the rest of my life
The ones who I confide were gone in the black of the night.

Does it make sense to give a 1.5x speed boost to my opponent's pokes, then reduce it to a quarter? Well, it does to me. The second part of my team's stradegy is paralysis. With my opponent's speed reduced, Breloom has a much easier time performing its job. Sandstorm also negates the opponent's lefties, making leech seed more efficient at robbing them of their remaining health. Specially Defensive Tyranitar is just about the most reliable Stealth Rocker you can get right now, with Heatran making his appearance on more than a third of all OU teams (PO usage stats). Seriously, he is a beast and a half. He is my buffer against special threats such as non-life orbed Starmie, zapdos, jolteon and rotom-h. Thunder Wave coming from a Tyranitar is something that most opponents won't expect, so I can use it to my advantage and cripple common switch-ins.

Breloom (F) @ Toxic Orb *** HeLa
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Focus Punch

Never will I forget you, and all the memories past,
So rarely I get to see your face.
Growing I looked to you in guidance,
We knew that time would kill us, but you're still so close to me.

Leech Seed Breloom takes a dump on so many unprepared teams, it's not even funny. With the Defense EVs, it is able to counter Tyranitar and non-taunt Gyarados to hell and back, while posing a serious threat to stall teams. Defensive teams that pack Celebi are still put under a lot of pressure with Zapdos and my dual trick scarfers. This is the MvP of my team, and I've come to love this set a lot lately. Breloom can come in on Blissey (which half my team lures), Forretress, Gyarados, Hippowdon, Swampert, Vaporeon, Bronzong, Rotom-A without overheat, Scarfed Flygon, Magnezone, Snorlax and Tyranitar, among other stuff and stall them all out with leech seed. That's at least a third of the metagame. If they switch, I usually maintain my sub, and only Celebi can force Breloom with a sub out and not get severely dented in the process. Rinse and repeat, and your opponent's resources against Breloom gets depleted fast. Breloom behaves like a cancerous cell; frightening, persistent and virtually immortal, hence the name. There is little else that needs to be said about this guy.
If you haven't used leech seed Breloom yet, this is a set you have to try before knocking!

Zapdos @ Leftovers *** SCA10
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 SDef / 44 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Heat Wave
- Roost

To me you were my life,
To me you were my soul companion.
Now you are so far away,
Nothing can take away the times, and the memories we've had.

Breloom's parther in crime. Usually if I build a team from Breloom or Zapdos, it will usually go like this: Breloom --> SubToxic Zapdos for Celebi --> Starmie for spin support --> Tyranitar for Rocks and to compliment Breloom, or Zapdos --> Leech Seed Breloom for Blissey --> Starmie to spin --> Heatran w/ Rocks to pair with Starmie. Zapdos and Breloom really compliment each other well; I'm still trying to use each of them without the other on a team. Specially Defensive Zapdos was chosen as I need some insurance against Gengar if I don't it on the switch with leech seed with Breloom. It also helps with LO Starmie issues and checks Offensive Cune decently. Thunder Wave is incredibly useful for crippling threats that I can pick off later with Breloom. With T-Wave, I can forgo running speed evs to outrun Cune and even remain at full after killing Suicune by stalling for parahax. Heat Wave is chosen mainly because I wanted to hit Breloom who gets free set-up against Tyranitar. I think this set fits into the team nicely, but if there are better options, let me know!

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf ***Siderophobia (Sid)
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Trick

Come back - To the days when we were young,
Come back - To the days when nothing mattered,
To the days where nothing mattered.

Failsafe #2. Do I really have to--
Okay fine, this is my second revenge killer. Jirachi helps this team a lot by giving me a second check to dangerous threats such as Tyranitar and Lucario. There isn't too much viable pokemon in the current metagame that can check Dragonite well, but Jirachi is among the few. I'd be careful about tricking the scarf off this one though, as the primary switch-in into Jirachi is Heatran, who obviously is crippled by Choice Scarf. However, if I've scouted my opponent's entire team, then Jirachi doesn't mind losing the scarf as long as my opponent does not have dragon dance Dragonite. That isn't to say you hit trick as soon as Jirachi gets in though, usually I can establish an endgame where I'm down to 2 scarfers and Breloom and my opponent has 3 or less pokemon left
(usually one among these is Celebi if my opponent has it and isn't a complete retard). This is where the TrickScarf tactic really shines.

A Final Glance:

That concludes my team. Please do give feedback and offer some advice to improve this team; they are greatly appreciated. I hope you had a good read.

DarthChocoboz · May 8, 2011

Hey fayne this is a really cool team but would you consider running HP ice on zapdos? Using HP ice allows you to hit breloom which zapdos counters and you can hit dragonite which otherwise might cause some problems.

I really like the idea of wilo on rotom too. Not much else i can say about an awesome team.

BKC · May 8, 2011

Mix Tyranitar is pretty hard for this team to deal with because it'll lure in Breloom and then torch it with a Fire Blast but thats basically the only threat I really see. You can check for them by double switching to Tyranitar after you send Loom out; if they Fire Blast, you can then switch to Starmie on the Superpower in order to hit it with a Hydro Pump. This is really just a precaution, and other than that, this is an excellently built team. Well done bro.

Also, second heartbeat ftw.

@Darth: taking Heat Wave off Zapdos means that late-game bulky SD Scizor will just use it as setup fodder and eat him alive. Rotom will be dead or in +2 Bullet Punch range because Sciz is often paired up with Pursuit Ttar, and Jirachi isn't bulky enough to KO with Fire Punch while a boosted Bug Bite+Bullet Punch will take it out. Dragonite is dealt with easily once it gets the -2 drop, I don't think that HP Ice is worth it just to make checking an already taken care of threat easier to deal with.

Fayne · May 10, 2011

Darth:
HP Ice isn't necessary to beat Dragonite with my current Zapdos set though; replacing Heat Wave just for Dragonite would also mean Zapdos would be doing pittance to the likes of Scizor, Lucario, Shaymin and Celebi, all of which are equally threatening. Zapdos can comfortably take a Draco Meteor from MixNite and fire off a T-Wave in return. Dragonite cannot set-up on Zapdos either due to T-Wave. If it locks itself into Outrage, then Jirachi comes in after Zapdos faints and this means the end of Dragonite. Thanks for the suggestion though!

BKC:
Yeah, Mixed Tyranitar is an issue. My initial plan against Tyranitar is to switch in Breloom, then double switch to Zapdos if SR isn't up to scout for Fire Blast and perhaps catch the Celebi switch-in. Thanks!

george182 · May 10, 2011

Seems like a solid team and abuses paralysis well, but could have a little bit of trouble with stall. To help with this I have a few suggestions for you to try out.

On Tyranitar I suggest trying out leftovers. Firstly, chesto rest is really a one time only thing, as a sleeping t-tar without leftovers is kinda useless. Leftovers will give you less survivability, but you don't need to use a move up recovering and you get a spare movelsot. With this I recomend using Fire blast, Fire blast helps against stall, it provides good coverage with crunch and gives you a move to hurt fighting types like Brelloom and Machamp. Chesto rest does seem useful, but it also looses momentum.

WoW Rotom isn't that useful anymore because Scizor isn't that popular at the top level anymore. (WoW was orrginially used to hit both Scizor and Scarf tar on blind switch ins). But atm your lHydro pump is your best bet for random switch ins. You could try out thunderwave, it serves a completely different use to WoW, but fits in with the theme of the team, and works well with Hydro pump as it can nail ground types.

As you already have an electric type you could try out Togekiss over Zapdos. Togekiss makes a great counter to Gengar, fits in better with the t-wave theme and is better against stall.

Smith · May 10, 2011

Excellent team Fayne, I got your message. It's very well constructed but there is one obscure threat that can get your goat- and that is SubCharge Lanturn. It can set up easily on Jirachi, Rotom, Starmie or Zapdos and from behind a Substitute, cannot be tricked a choice item. Breloom takes a lot of damage from Ice Beam and Tyranitar from Hydro Pump, such that countering it actually becomes rather tricky. Granted it won't sweep you, but as a hit-and-run pokemon and Substitute minimizing prediction, you'll be hard pressed to get at it. I also am really not a fan of Lead Machamp- your entire team is weak to either DynamicPunch, Payback or Ice Punch and I really don't think Jirachi can win a flinch war against Machamp reliably enough to be considered any kind of stop.

Obviously there isn't really a fool-proof way of stopping those two, but I think a step in the right direction would be to use a WishCM Jirachi over your current set. I don't really see why you need two scarfers, as Scarf Rotom covers a lot of the threats that concern you enough to use Jirachi, like Dragonite and the like. CM Jirachi beats Lanturn almost 100% of the time unless they get a critical hit and is a very potent sweeper to add to the mixture. Jirachi also handles Machamp better by getting a guarenteed 2HKO with Psychic- I understand that you'll end up taking a Dynamic Punch in the process, but you can wish it off later. The Wish support is very helpful for Tyranitar, Rotom-w etc. The set I advocate still outruns Lucario so don't worry about him. This will also provide a more definitive solution to Suicune instead of just tricking them a scarf and praying they didn't use Hydro pump. Here's the set:

Jirachi @ Leftovers
252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe, Timid
Wish | Calm Mind | Psychic | Thunderbolt

Still a very good team, I hope this helps!

Faladran · May 10, 2011

SubCharge Lanturn is a major threat, so I'm going to build off Smith's rate. The only issue with CM Jirachi is that it opens up another opportunity for DDTar to set up on, which is problematic considering Jirachi itself is your current DDTar check. Perhaps you could go with specially defensive Jirachi instead. It maintains the paralysis theme and Wish support and covers a lot of special threats.

I'm personally not a fan of that Tyranitar set. It seems it doesn't do enough outside of its support role, and you should have enough paralysis anyway. I also think you have some stall issues, as defensive teams don't care much about paralysis and can cover all your threats. You could go with a MixTar of your own to help against stall. There's a lot of move options, but something like SR / Crunch / Fire Blast / Superpower is what I had in mind. Jirachi can also pass Wishes to Tyranitar so the loss in Special Defense becomes less of an issue.

george182 · May 11, 2011

Faladran said:
SubCharge Lanturn is a major threat, so I'm going to build off Smith's rate. The only issue with CM Jirachi is that it opens up another opportunity for DDTar to set up on, which is problematic considering Jirachi itself is your current DDTar check. Perhaps you could go with specially defensive Jirachi instead. It maintains the paralysis theme and Wish support and covers a lot of special threats.

I'm personally not a fan of that Tyranitar set. It seems it doesn't do enough outside of its support role, and you should have enough paralysis anyway. I also think you have some stall issues, as defensive teams don't care much about paralysis and can cover all your threats. You could go with a MixTar of your own to help against stall. There's a lot of move options, but something like SR / Crunch / Fire Blast / Superpower is what I had in mind. Jirachi can also pass Wishes to Tyranitar so the loss in Special Defense becomes less of an issue.

Without sp.def Tyranitar he gets ripped apart by Heatran, especially life orb Varients.

Unscarfing Jirachi also makes him weak to Dragonite.

To solve this I recomend using a Scarf Flygon over Zapdos and changing Jirachi to a calm mind variant. This also helps you against threats like Kingdra and DD-tar, Kingdra being a huge threat to your team at the moment. CM Jirachi and Scarf Flygon can both counter Gengar. This also provides you with a valuble Electric resist in the form of Flygon. As Smith said CM Jirachi helps against Lanturn and provides a nice sweeper. Flygon also covers Heatran, allowing you to make t-tar more offensive. Flygon and Jirachi are both imune to sandstorm.

Fayne · May 11, 2011

Smith said:
Excellent team Fayne, I got your message. It's very well constructed but there is one obscure threat that can get your goat- and that is SubCharge Lanturn. It can set up easily on Jirachi, Rotom, Starmie or Zapdos and from behind a Substitute, cannot be tricked a choice item. Breloom takes a lot of damage from Ice Beam and Tyranitar from Hydro Pump, such that countering it actually becomes rather tricky. Granted it won't sweep you, but as a hit-and-run pokemon and Substitute minimizing prediction, you'll be hard pressed to get at it. I also am really not a fan of Lead Machamp- your entire team is weak to either DynamicPunch, Payback or Ice Punch and I really don't think Jirachi can win a flinch war against Machamp reliably enough to be considered any kind of stop.

Obviously there isn't really a fool-proof way of stopping those two, but I think a step in the right direction would be to use a WishCM Jirachi over your current set. I don't really see why you need two scarfers, as Scarf Rotom covers a lot of the threats that concern you enough to use Jirachi, like Dragonite and the like. CM Jirachi beats Lanturn almost 100% of the time unless they get a critical hit and is a very potent sweeper to add to the mixture. Jirachi also handles Machamp better by getting a guarenteed 2HKO with Psychic- I understand that you'll end up taking a Dynamic Punch in the process, but you can wish it off later. The Wish support is very helpful for Tyranitar, Rotom-w etc. The set I advocate still outruns Lucario so don't worry about him. This will also provide a more definitive solution to Suicune instead of just tricking them a scarf and praying they didn't use Hydro pump. Here's the set:

Jirachi @ Leftovers
252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe, Timid
Wish | Calm Mind | Psychic | Thunderbolt

Still a very good team, I hope this helps!

Scarfed Rotom-W isn't a very good check to Dragonite, but other than that you've really hit the nail on the head. I've never noticed my team's issues with Lanturn. It isn't unbeatable though, but it will cause major problems if it gets in safety on an electric move. Thankfully, Lanturn and lead Machamp is really uncommon nowadays.

WishCM Jirachi looks good, so I'll definitely try it out! Since removing Ice Punch leaves me a little open to Dragonite, I'll also place HP Ice on Scarf Rotom-W over the current Will-o-Wisp. ScarfRachi also helps somewhat against ChestoRest Kingdra with Trick, so I was also considering Swampert (SR / Ice Beam / EQ / Protect) over Tyranitar as my Stealth Rocker. With Rachi in place as an additional check to Breloom, and Tyranitar, who provides secondary paralysis support, removed, I think I could run Substitute + Toxic on my Zapdos with my current EV spread, which is my favorite Zapdos set.

This leaves me with: LO Starmie, Swampert, Scarf Rotom-W (w/ HP Ice), Leech Seed Breloom, SubToxic Zapdos and WishCM Rachi - which looks solid.

Thanks again!

Faladran said:
SubCharge Lanturn is a major threat, so I'm going to build off Smith's rate. The only issue with CM Jirachi is that it opens up another opportunity for DDTar to set up on, which is problematic considering Jirachi itself is your current DDTar check. Perhaps you could go with specially defensive Jirachi instead. It maintains the paralysis theme and Wish support and covers a lot of special threats.

I'm personally not a fan of that Tyranitar set. It seems it doesn't do enough outside of its support role, and you should have enough paralysis anyway. I also think you have some stall issues, as defensive teams don't care much about paralysis and can cover all your threats. You could go with a MixTar of your own to help against stall. There's a lot of move options, but something like SR / Crunch / Fire Blast / Superpower is what I had in mind. Jirachi can also pass Wishes to Tyranitar so the loss in Special Defense becomes less of an issue.

Thanks for the rate Faladran. ;) Sp.Defensive Jirachi + MixTar sounds great; I'll definitely give that a shot. MixTar is a good pokemon to have against stall too. I'll have to allocate some EVs into Attack to reliably break Lanturn's substitutes with Body Slam though, but Sp.Defensive Jirachi is an excellent answer to Lanturn as well. As with Smith's suggestion of removing Scarf on Rachi, I'll place HP Ice on Scarf Rotom-W. However, I will be more than happy to keep the paralysis theme with your suggestions implemented.

So, it'll be: LO Starmie, Scarf Rotom-W (w/ HP Ice), MixTar w/ SR, Leech Seed Breloom, Sp.Defensive Zapdos and Sp.Defensive Jirachi - looks good to me.

george182 said:
On Tyranitar I suggest trying out leftovers. Firstly, chesto rest is really a one time only thing, as a sleeping t-tar without leftovers is kinda useless. Leftovers will give you less survivability, but you don't need to use a move up recovering and you get a spare movelsot. With this I recomend using Fire blast, Fire blast helps against stall, it provides good coverage with crunch and gives you a move to hurt fighting types like Brelloom and Machamp. Chesto rest does seem useful, but it also looses momentum.

WoW Rotom isn't that useful anymore because Scizor isn't that popular at the top level anymore. (WoW was orrginially used to hit both Scizor and Scarf tar on blind switch ins). But atm your lHydro pump is your best bet for random switch ins. You could try out thunderwave, it serves a completely different use to WoW, but fits in with the theme of the team, and works well with Hydro pump as it can nail ground types.

As you already have an electric type you could try out Togekiss over Zapdos. Togekiss makes a great counter to Gengar, fits in better with the t-wave theme and is better against stall.

To solve this I recomend using a Scarf Flygon over Zapdos and changing Jirachi to a calm mind variant. This also helps you against threats like Kingdra and DD-tar, Kingdra being a huge threat at the moment. CM Jirachi and Scarf Flygon can both counter Gengar. This also provides you with a valuble Electric resist in the form of Flygon. As Smith said CM Jirachi helps against Lanturn and provides a nice sweeper. Flygon also covers Heatran, allowing you to make t-tar more offensive. Flygon and Jirachi are both imune to sandstorm.

Scizor has never fallen out of the top 5 positions in the usage stats despite Heatran's popularity IIRC, it is still a high level threat which is fairly common even in the current metagame. Thunder Wave is viable on Rotom-W, but since I'm using a scarf variant, paralysing a CBTar switch-in doesn't do me any favours.

Togekiss doesn't counter Gengar; Thunderbolt on Gengar has been rising in popularity which takes a ton out of Togekiss. Not to mention that Togekiss over Zapdos makes me much more vulnerable to many threats, which includes, but is not limited to, Suicune, Breloom and Lucario.

Gengar is checked by CMRachi, not countered. Scarf Flygon cannot touch Gengar behind a sub without locking itself into Outrage or Stone Edge (both easily exploited by a potential steel partner) while Gengar does upwards of 67% back with Life Orbed Shadow Ball; this makes it a mediocre check at best, and should only be used in a last ditch attempt to stop a Gengar sweep.

As stated, replacing Zapdos would open me to many threats as not many pokemon can cover what Zapdos does, so that is out of the question. Replacing Zapdos with Flygon, in particular, will leave me with a huge weakness to Life Orb Shaymin.

I will take your suggestion of Scarfed Flygon, but over my current Rotom-W set. With the removal of Rotom-W, I'm more vulnerable to the likes of Infernape, so I'm going to replace Tyranitar with Swampert, who is the only Stealth Rocker capable of reliably checking said threat. Unlike the team modified from Smith's advice though, I lack an additional check to SD Scizor with Rotom-W now gone. Hence, Heat Wave will stay in Zapdos and I will retain one paralysis spreader. It makes this variation of my original team a little more speedy and a good mix between the two teams above.

In summary, I now have: LO Starmie, Swampert, Scarfed Flygon, Leech Seed Breloom, Sp.Defensive Zapdos and WishCM Rachi.

Thanks!