Well, technically there are just six. Because shut up.
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my first RMT. I was thinking a long time about which team should be my first on smogon. I was always a big fan of offense. But Heavy Offense with double screens and mindless sweeping afterwards has been done to an extent already. I wanted to do something less common yet effective. After some searching I found an old time of mine I never finished. It centered around a Rotom-W/Scizor-Core with the goal to pressurize the opponent with a VoltTurn-Strategy. I decided to pick up this rather old team of mine and adjust it to the new metagame. First of all I needed a weatherbringer, because in todays metagame, almost no team works without weather. I decided to use Politoed, because its Specs-Version really fit into the whole Rotom-W/Scizor-Concept of the team. Next, I needed something to counter other weaterteams. By using both Virizion and Dragonite I can be sure to put a lot of pressure on each weatheruser. At last, all I needed was a Pokémon to spin away hazards and set them up. Forretress is almost perfect for this job so my team was complete. For your information, my English isn't perfect. So please ignore any spelling mistakes and try to concentrate on the rating of the team. Without further ado, lets take a look at it:
Team in depth
Asmodeus @ Shed Shell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Forretress is just a great Pokémon overall and a very important member of this team. Not only can it lay the so important hazards, it is also able to keep your side of the field clean of them. This is very important, because when using a strategy based on Volt Switch/U-Turn both, you and your opponent, will switch a lot so entry hazards will deal a lot of damage. There are other Pokémon who could do this job (Tentacruel for example), but I decided to use Forretress because of it's unique typing which helps me to sponge most dragon-type-attacks. In the rain, it also loses it's 4x weakness to fire which makes it even harder to knock out. When using a defensive steel-type there's always one question to answer. It's wether you should use Leftovers for the recovery or Shed Shell. I decided to use Shed Shell on Forretress. The reason for that is that I'm using two steeltypes so the popular MagDrag-strategy would be really dangerous if I didn't have the possibility to switch neither of them. The Ev's used are nothing really special. Max HP and SpecDef for the bulk. I used a calm nature to give it even more bulk on the special side in cost of the attack which I don't need on this set. With sturdy Forretress will always live atleast one hit from any pokémon to have an opportunity to setup hazards. The moves I'm using might look a bit unusual, but they work. The first move I decided to use is Spikes. The reason for that should be clear. Being able to setup spikes helps the team a lot because of the reasons mentioned above. I know that I won't be able to setup all three layers all the time, but even 1-2 layers help. Because I'm not using Leftovers I needed another way of recovery and found Pain Split. It's a really great move and let me win against similar pokémon like Ferrothorn or other Forretress. Next, there's Rapid Spin, another pretty important move. My side of the field should always be clean because I'm switching a lot. On the last spot, I'm still not sure which move to use. Screens can be pretty helpful for my other teammembers to live longer, but I feel that I need Stealth Rocks more so I can break Dragonites Multiscale which otherwise would destroy my team.
Lucifer @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Pursuit
Scizor is, in my opinion, the best U-Turn user in the game, even more so when using a Choice Band. With it's raw power it can destroy a lot of teams which aren't prepared for an offensive Rotom/Scizor-Core. With it's steel-typing it helps Forretress to defend against most dragon-types and can destroy threats like Latios by pursuing them. As said before, Choice Band Scizor and Scarfed Rotom build a great core together and can sweep hole teams if they don't contain the right pokémon (e.g. Celebi). Choice Band Scizor is such a beast. I totally prefer this thing over the bulkier SD-Version because of it's power. Also, Scizor takes the best use from U-Turn and Pursuit when it's banded. I don't use any SpeedEv's so I'm slower than other Scizor with Speed investment. This means that I will U-Turn later than the opposing Scizor and I can react on the Pokémon the opponent brings in. I used the standard moveset for CB-Scizor. Bullet Punch is a really good attack in lategame and Scizor can sweep whole teams with it when played right. It's also great to finish off Terrakion which otherwise poses a big threat to this team. Superpower is just a good coverage move and lets me win against steels and other bulky things such as Blissey. I just love U-Turn on CB-Scizor, because not only does it let you switch out to a counter but it also deals a lot of damage if predicted correctly. The last move is Pursuit which helps a lot against common threats such as Lati@s or Reuniclus. U-Turn and Pursuit are a great combination, because the opponent never knows wether he should switch or not.
Beelzebub @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder/HP[Ice]
- Trick
As I said before, Rotom-W builds a great offensive core with CB-Scizor. Aside from that, it is just a great pokémon overall. With great double-STAB and a rain-boosted Hydro Pump it can destroy most pokémon without very good defenses. Another great thing about Rotoms typing is its defensive nature. Electric/Water resists a lot of common threats which helps me because I always can switch into that thing. I decided to use a Choice Scarf because with it, Rotom-W performs as a great revenge killer because of its Electic/Water-coverage. Not really anything to say here. Max Special Attack and Speed so Rotom-W is able to hit as hard and fast as possible.
It should be clear why I use Volt Switch on this set. Hydrop Pump on the other hand is just powerful as fuck and can knock out most pokémon in one hit, especially when rain boosted. I'm still not sure which attack to use on the third slot. HP [Ice] would be nice against dragons such as Dragonite wanting to come in on Rotom. But I have the feeling that another Electric-move that doesn't force me to switch after using it would come in handy in certain situations. Trick is just a filler move. It's pretty funny to cripple pokés like Ferrothorn or Blissey. Aside from being a great pokémon on its own it is the glue holding the team together. Not only is it a beast when it comes to countering most parts of a rain-team, it stands well against almost all sorts of teams such as sun or other offensive teams.
Belphegor @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Ah, Politoed. Teams in todays metagame don't work without a weatherchanger, simple as that. And I'm not mad about it, 'cause Politoed is a really great pokémon. Rainboosted Specs-Hydro Pump DESTROYS everything. Aside from that, it's just the best Politoed-Set in my opinion. Choice Scarf is also pretty good but I think Rotom-W does the job as a scarfer better. I never was a big fan of defensive Politoed because the set just wastes Politoed's great stats and movepool in my opinion and the set just wouldn't fit into a team which is very offensive. Rain plays a big role in this team. Forretress and Scizor lose their 4x weakness to fire, Rotom-W gets a rain boosted Hydro Pump and I can counter opposite weather a lot easier. Rain is just the best weather. Ninetales can't do much to Politoed because it has pretty good defense. Politoed on the other hand can completely destroy Ninetales and almost no switch-in will appreciate a Hydrom Pump to the face. Tyranitar is a bit harder to handle because of the SpecD boost in Sandstorm so I have to keep up the rain so I can destroy Ttar with a Focus Blast. The movepool is explained pretty quickly. Hydro Pump, as I said before, is just a great move in rain and I gladly risk a miss by playing this over surf/scald because of it's sheer power. Ice Beam is really just a coverage move which lets me win against most dragons like Salamence or Dragonite which aren't touched by my other moves. Focus Blast is a big help against bulky steel types like Ferrothorn. Hidden Power [Grass] is the most important move in this set, because it lets me win against Gastradon which would block Politoed completely without it. Politoed works best if I'm able to ko most of his counter with my other teammembers. Scizor can pursuit Latios/Latias. Virizion can come in on both Vaporeon and Suicune and proceed to finish them. But even without having them out of the way Politoed can, with a bit of prediction, destroy whole teams.
Satan @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 192 Atk / 64 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Work Up
- Giga Drain
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Another pretty unusual set which was recommended to me, a mixed Virizion using Work Up. But first of all: I love Virizion! It's a pretty underrated pokémon with a great movepool and overall great stats. Without Virizion, this team would get walled pretty hard by Blissey and other defensive threats. Aside from that, nobody expects a mixed set, I don't know why. Opponents often get get their Gliscor demolished by a Hidden Power [Ice] and switch in their Blissey just to wall the special set... and get destroyed by a boosted Close Combat. One of the reasons I love Virizion for is its ability to completely stop Rain teams in their tracks. Ferrothorn or Ludicolo can't leech seed or stall it out. Most water can't even touch it and it doesn't really mind a burn by Rotom's WoW. To be honest, I never played something as epic as this before. It's just incredible how many sweeps I can start with it and it defeats a lot of threats to this team such as Dragonite.
My choice of Ev's, Nature and Item should be pretty clear. Max Speed lets me tie with Terrakion and Infernape. I use Leftovers over Life Orb because I live longer and it's just better in combination with Giga Drain.
Leviathan @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- ExtremeSpeed
The last, yet one of the most important members of the team. Dragonite is, without a doubt, the best pokémon from B/W. It's just broken on how many pokémon this thing can set up and proceed to sweep. What's so great about Dragonite is its versatility. Depending on the opponent's team it can play a completely different role. I can use it as a lead so it can rip big holes in teams right from the beginning. Or it can come in later, setup and revenge kill everything with ExtremeSpeed. I just have to be sure that there are no Stealth Rocks on the field and the fun can begin. Dragonite fits really well in the team, because with Multiscale, it can take any hit before boosting. With this ability and my constant switching because of VoltTurn it can come in on various pokémon and start to setup. The Moveset is the standard offensive Dragon Dance set. As said before, with Multiscale it can boost 99% of the time. I'm not a big fan of Outrage on this team, because it's all about fast attacking without letting the opponent any team to react so being confused could really fuck me over so I'm using the weaker Dragon Claw. Earthquake is perfect against most steeltypes and especially Heatran whose Ballon I can break first with Extreme Speed. Speaking of Extreme Speed, I really fell in love with this move. At first it was just a filler because I couldn't use Firepunch in the Rain and I didn't feel like using Roost so I tried out this. ESpeed is great when cleaning up after a boost or against Scarfers or such. With it, Dragonite can't even be stopped by priority.
