Phasers Set for Stun
Howdy!
As the title says, this is my first RMT, as well as my first post (yay!), though I have been lurking here for a number of weeks. This is also my first attempt at building a team on my own, so suggestions are most welcome!
Team Building
I wanted to build this team around phasing, so I needed a good one, bring in Riolu, the only poke with the ability to priority phase.
Next, I needed some poke to lay hazards, enter fort and scarf garchomp. Fort also doubles as a spinner, which saved a slot.
The spinblocker is a definite for a stall team, so I went with sableye, mainly because I like it and it has prankster :D
To round out the team, I went with Breloom for spore shenanigans, and Cloyster, well, because it's Cloyster and skill link + shell smash is fun (Yes, I realize that I'm using a lot of things because they look "fun", but I figured you have to start somewhere).
After some testing with the above, I realized that weather, and fire, hurts...bad. I also figured that having your hazard poke the same as your spinner poke does not work so well in a team that relies so much on hazards. So I move Spin to Cloyster, and out goes Fort and Garchomp, in come Ferrothorn and Tornadus-I using Prankster Rain Dance.
Immediately it was apparent that Tornadus-I was a tad to fragile for the workload I was trying to put on it, and trying to win a weather war with him just wasn't going to happen. Plus, I found that when I had cloyster set up, I never wanted to spin, even though I needed to more often than not.
It was at this point I took another look at the team as a whole, and questioned what I was trying to do. I scrapped everything except what I considered the "core".
From here, I attempted to deal with the Weather/Fire issue.
To get a Turn 1 SR layer, who might also be able to take out opposing opening poke.
And finally a Spinner. I realized having toxic spikes might be beneficial to me, as being able to "soak up" toxic spikes myself.
The only issue with this choice is that now half my team take "super effective" damage from psychic attacks. If Sableye is down, this becomes a problem, open to suggestions on this one.
The Team
Yes, it's Star Trek themed...:P
James T. Kirk (Riolu) @ Eviolite
Prankster
248 HP/ 112 Def/ 96 SDef/ 52 Spd
Calm
-Substitute
-Roar
-CopyCat
-Drain Punch
This guy is the focal point of the team (hence the name, as Kirk was the focal point of ST). Once set up, he can severely damage, or completely sweep the opponents team. The priority sub really helps him get set up. Getting a roar off is the key. The Drain Punch was suggested by Smogon, so I went with it. That slot really doesn't get used much, if every. I went with the suggested EVs off of Smogon until I can better figure out exactly what they should be, so suggestions there if you've got them. :)
Montgomery Scott (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs
IV: 0 Spd
252 HP/88 Def/188 SDef
Relaxed
-Power Whip
-Gyro Ball
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
The main hazard threat of the team and all around wall. I'm running both SR and spikes as Terrakion will more than likely die laying his SR, and on the off chance they manage to clear them, having a backup plan is nice, and the team revolves around entry hazards, so kinda gotta have spikes as well. Gyro Ball is primarly for taking down all those speedy threats (and magic bouncers like espeon), while Power Whip I keep on to attempt to check water poke in the rain (as I make rain as well). If I see the opposing team has an espeon or xatu, I will send this guy out first, and proceed to turn 1 gyro ball.
Mr. Spock (Sableye) @ Leftovers
Prankster
252 HP/120 Def/136 SDef
Calm
-Taunt
-Will-O-Wisp
-Foul Play
-Recover
I just love this guy. He's my spin blocker, and as half of my team really doesn't like psychic attacks, he's my switch in if I expect a psychic attack. Between Taunt, Will, and Recover, he can even be a makeshift wall if the need arises. Foul Play is there just so he doesn't become taunt bait as well. I'm considering changing this with a Sub/Disable Gengar, however, that would just exasperate my "psychic" problem further.
Hikaru Sulu (Politoed) @ Leftovers
Drizzle
252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Bold
-Scald
-Perish Song
-Protect
-Toxic / Encore
His primary purpose is controlling the weather, and then giving support as needed. I'm back and forth on Encore and Toxic. Encore could potentially lock a poke into a useless move, while toxic, is well toxic...
There are positives and negatives to both. With his defensive set, he can tank a hit from outrage if needed.
Pavel Chekov (Terrakion)@Focus Sash
Justified
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Close Combat
-Sword Dance
My primary lead, sash guarantees SR, which is kind of important. I like him primarily in this role because he has the potential to SD and sweep an unsuspecting team even after a SR, and even if he doesn't completely sweep, dwindling the number of threats the opposing team has is never a bad thing, even if it's just setting up SR and killing their lead.
Leonard McCoy (Tentacruel)@Black Sludge
Rain Dish
252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Bold
-Scald
-Toxic Spikes
-Protect
-Rapid Spin
And lastly, my spinner. Toxic Spikes round out the hazards of the team. Protect has changed multiple times throughout testing. From Rain Dance (added weather control) to Giga Drain, and now to protect. Upon reflection, I wonder now if I should be going SDef instead of Def, thoughts? I've also comtemplated making this a bulky Starmie with Reflect Type and Recover to cut down on the Psyhic vulnerability...thoughts on that as well?
Challenges
The main issues I've had come up while testing this are as follows:
Psychic STABs - Half my team is vulnerable to them, and if Sableye is down, or I cannot predict the STAB, things could go downhill quick.
Opposing Priority Moves - Any opposing priority moves will break the CopyCat/Roar chain, causing me to have to set it up with a roar again, and possibly losing Riolu in the process. Having a Sub up helps, though that is not always an option.
Magic Guard - Poke sporting this are a major pain, and the fact that they are Psychic just exasperates it. Suggestions on this would be helpful.
Sandstorm / Hail - The damaging weather types are a hindrance, especially if I cannot win the weather war, as they will eventually eat away at my Riolu's HP.
All in all, this is a team I've quite enjoyed piloting, and have met with some success. I'm uncertain where to go from here to fix the above issues I've come across in testing (plus any you might see that I haven't noticed yet), so I'm hoping you good people can give some good advice.
SoM
