For a while now, I've been using my Drapion team with some nice success and decided that it was time for a change in pace and weather. I started out with only a Solrock, Snorlax, Jirachi, Infernape, Hippowdon and a Swords Dance Gliscor and eventually ended up with this team. Before I begin this team, keep it noted to that I lack Sleep Talk on the sets that normally use it for reasons I'll get into later. So, here we go, then:
Intro (Solrock) @Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/188 Spd/52 Def/16 HP
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Will-o-Wisp
- Explosion
---
The most unexpected lead for me to date, Solrock, joins the fray of my team. It usually gets down Stealth Rock first and doesn't mind getting hit with powerful hits like an Infernape's Close Combat or, Azelf and Metagross's Explosion. Infernape's Close Combat is a 3HKO 83% of the time with Leftovers meaning that Solrock can still get up Stealth Rock and beat Infernape with either Earthquake or, Explosion. However, do keep in mind that Solrock isn't restricted to taking on only suicide leads. Swampert, Hippowdon, Tyranitar, Zapdos and even some Jirachi leads fall to Solrock's unimaginable power and beauty... okay, maybe not beauty.
Now, the moveset itself is simple. Stealth Rock is for the obvious setup while Earthquake provides excellent coverage alongside Will-o-Wisp and Explosion will most of the time, take down something on the other team. Now, Will-o-Wisp may not seem useful but, consider how many Pokemon (as leads) resist Explosion and can KO Solrock either way. Then consider how much easier it would be to pull off a sweep if I can get in one of my Pokemon in on a Pokemon who can't do much to them but just watch. Not only that, but, Solrock can still come back in later with the intention to Explode, Burn something, attack or, just setup Stealth Rock again.
Azelf and Metagross can explode, what makes Solrock so different?
Solrock vs Azelf:
Azelf's Characteristics:
Solrock vs Metagross:
Metagross's Characteristics:
What about Heatran? It can use Will-o-Wisp, Explosion and Stealth Rock, too.
Solrock vs Heatran:
Heatran's Characteristics:
Why are the EVs like that?
I did some calculations and found the maximum stat spread for Solrock to take hits better was, 281/289/245/x/166/223 with a Jolly Nature. Then, I tried Impish and got the same stat spread but with an extra 32 EVs to use anywhere. Instead of beefing up Solrock's Defense, I donated those EVs to HP and Defense to find out that Solrock takes Physical hits much better with the stat spead of 285/289/249/x/166/223. Earthquake + Explosion calculations are essentially the same as they were, Adamant. They're really off by those OHKOs on average by 1%-5%. Also, seeing as how Solrock is most likely coming back in later, it wouldn't be difficult to KO something that's already taken damage with Explosion. The Speed hits 223, outspeeding max Speed Adamant Tyranitar so I can get the Burn on him, first.
So, basically:
281/289/225/x/166/243- Jolly; 252 Atk/180 Spd/76 Def
281/289/245/x/166/223- Jolly; 252 Atk/96 Spd/156 Def
281/289/253/x/166/223- Impish; 52 Def/252 Atk/188 Spd/16 HP
---
Wish You Would (Tyranitar) (M) @Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/236 SDef/20 Atk
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Curse
- Rest
---
The Cursing Dino himself, in all of his glory is the first of the tanks on my team. With Latias in the metagame as well as some Special hitters like Azelf, Magnezone and Heatran, Tyranitar finds really easy chances to get up a Curse and keep it going. You'll never guess how many Infernapes and Lucario(s?) have switched in after the first Curse to get the revenge kill. Seriously, after a while, it begins to get annoying constantly being forced to switch out jus to have something else receive the full brunt of a Fighting (usually STAB'd) attack. With the Chople Berry, Tyranitar has been able to take Choice Banded Superpowers from Sczior, getting up more and more Curses until it gets to the point where Tyranitar can either attack or Rest. The choice of moves has always been tossed around with Tyranitar from Stone Edge + Earthquake + Rest to Ice Punch + Crunch + Stone Edge + Curse; however ,I managed to come to a nice choice. A STAB Crunch hits a lot of Pokemon hard and scares Latias and other Psychics off while Earthquake nails Steels and Fire types like Heatran (haha, see how I mixed those into one?). The coverage is only stopped by Skarmory, however, Tyranitar doesn't realy mind having to come back in after Skarmory blows him away.
There's 2 other Cursers- Snorlax and Swampert- who can both do this job, why Tyranitar?
Swampert had some nice potential, but, I found out... exactly how many Special Attackers can 2HKO and OHKO Swampert so easily. Then, I found out how many Pokemon carry Grass Knot >_>. With Tyranitar, even some 4x weaknesses would be covered by the Special Defense boost from the Sandstorm.
Snorlax was actually my primary Pokemon for use until I found out how he suffered from the dreaded 4-moveslot syndrome. With Body Slam + Crunch, Heatran, Skarmory, Scizor and Lucario had very decent switch ins with excellent potenital to OHKO or even stop Snorlax. Not only that, but, its Attack was too low to even casue some major damage after a few Curses. Tyranitar basically patched up nearly every problem I had with Snorlax and whipped up a Sandstorm to wear down the opposing team.
---
MVP (Lucario) (M) @Choice Specs
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SAtk/252 Spd/4 HP
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Vacuum Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
---
In my short abense from Pokemon, I took up playing SSBB (Super Smash Bros Brawl for those who don't know) again after months of not playing. During this time, I remembered that my main was Lucario and for the time that I was "into" Brawl, I managed to just utterly rape on wifi (using FCs of course) and in a few local matches. Bottom line, Aura Sphere was the main reason why I thought of using Choice Specs Lucario, then, I did some damage calculations, tested him a bit and remembered that Steel types were immune to Sandstorm, too. But in all honesty, Lucario is one of the best weilders of Choice Specs due to its already great Special Attack, awsome coverage, priority move and average Speed to use this from. He's made some vital KOs and revenge kills while still keeping his ability to switch in and type advantage is most cases.
In terms of power vs Speed, I decided to go with a Modest Nature, mainly because Lucario would miss some vital KO's just to outspeed what Lucario would most likely be outsped by or would've outsped with a Modest Nature. Dragon Dance Salamence and Zapdos are very good examples of this as they either outspeed Lucario already or, are slower than Lucario, anyway.
Choice Band and Swords Dance Lucario can be used, too. Why Choice Specs?
Intimidate, Burns and the fact that most of the Pokemon who switch in on Lucario tend to be more Physically Defensive rather than Special. With that said, Choice Specs Lucario is generally better at quick revenge kills and KOs on walls who tend to just wall most of Lucario's attacks, anyway. Foretress, Scizor, Machamp, Gliscor, Jirachi, Zapdos and Swampert are pure exampes of Pokemon who tend to take more damage from Aura Sphere rather than Close Combat. The only true advantage I can note is being able to dispose of Gyarados, considering that it doesn't have a Dragon Dance or isn't Jolly Natured.
Swords Dance Lucario defeats to who purpose of this slot. Choice Specs Lucario comes in, KOs something and switches back out or just sweeps from one attack without having to boost his stats with a move. Basically, Lucario crams his nice coverage and power together. Swords Dance Lucario stays it and doesn't revenge kill much with Extremespeed or even Bullet Punch.
---
Undisputed (Gliscor) (M) @Brightpowder
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP/252 Spd/4 Atk
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Roost
- Toxic
---
Okay, so this thing has got to be the most annoying Pokemon on my team. Very often has this thing been able to outstall threats such as Gyarados, Scizor, Rhyperior and Tyranitar thanks to its ability to take a hit and its evasion boosts. 100% accuracy attacks turn into 72%, 85% accuracy moves turn into 57% accuracy moves and so on. The evaison boosts alone have allowed Gliscor to stand up to even Zapdos and Vaporeon at times. The moveset itself isn't hard to explain, get up a Substitute and start stalling out a lot of Pokemon. Earthquake for the obvious STAB and damage against Steel and Poison types while Roost heals up damage and Substitutes.
Why is this even here?
Okay, I needed a Fighting resist and decided to spice things up a little by making a very potent annoyance for the other team. Not only does Gliscor scare off Heracross and Lucario, but it can also cripple some major threats to it like Vapoeon, Suicune, Swampert and Latias, making it actually useful. Personally, I just needed something that could take hits Physically for my team without a Pursuit nor, Electric weakness.
---
Nasty Girl (Celebi) @Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/188 Def/36 Spd/28 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
---
Okay, after a bit of persuasion, I decided to finally get a Cleric. Celebi is definately one of the best support options for my team thus far and can do a number of things outside of healing my team. Paralysis support really helps deal with Togekiss who will ram a huge blockade in my team if Gliscor is down, or if most of my team is Paralyzed. Thunder Wave also gives some support to Gliscor, who doesn't like being outsped while he's trying to get a Substitute up. The EVs were altered for a reason; after Stealth Rock damage, Celebi will 2HKO Adamant, CBTyranitar 100% of the time while Crunch fails to OHKO itself. When Celebi is against Careful, 252/216/40 variants of CBTyranitar, it's not really hard to beat as Pursuit does 38% maximum to Celebi meaning that Celebi can alternate between Recover and Grass Knot to beat it.
---
One More Drink (Suicune) @Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Surf
- Ice Beam
---
Okay, I've always wanted to say this:
RIDE THAT SURF!
^^^ One of the best quotes in Pokemon Stadium.
Okay, onto the last member of my team, Suicune. This Pokemon along has pulled out late game sweeps alongside Gyarados or Tyranitar just because Suicune's so hard to KO, even when he's Resting. His 404/361 Defenses are enough to keep powerful hitters at bay and Calm Mind tends to keep Special Attackers without a Super Effective move at bay until Suicune's weakened and ready to be picked off. Other than that, it's a very powerful attacker and keeps Latias from just rapeing my team when Tyranitar falls as Suicune can Calm Mind alongside it, take the Dragon Pulses that comes its way and take a chunk out of her HP with Ice Beam (note that Latias's Dragon Pulses do less than Suicune's Ice Beams when they're on the same level). Not only can Suicune outstall even Defensive Calm Mind variants of Latias, but it can also beat out most vaiants of Scizor, Blissey and Rotom-A.
Though Suicune may not seem like much of an addition to my team, he's really served his purpose of getting rid of very potent threats to my team. These threats consist of Machamp, Latias, Jirachi, Salamence, Scizor, Tyranitar, Kingdra, Vaporeon, Gliscor, Mamoswine... well, you get the point. Even though a lot of these threats can fall into the grasp of one of my other Pokemon, Suicune can really take off a lot of pressure that those Pokemon bring, instead of placing the weight on everyone else. Suicune is also the only stat booster that Skarmory takes caution switching in on.
Another Rest-Booster? If two weren't enough, why 3? Why Suicune of all Pokemon?
Pretty much, for this team I prefer to have my very bulky sweepers at the top of their game meaning that with Sandstorm, Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock, Burning, Poison and Paralysis in the metagame, they need a much more reliable way to survive. Suicune not only provided me with support on the Defensive side, but, can also take hits on the Special side with Calm Mind. Suicune also complements Celebi well, mainly with the ability to setup on or just KO most of Celebi's threats like Heatran, Metagross and Scizor.
---
This Team is weak to Trick; Why haven't fixed it?
Personally, I don't even consider Trick as much of a threat. I'm locked in on one move with a boost under my Pokemon's belt. Most of the time, I'd find myself switching back and forth between Pokemon, just to switch moves. It doesn't bother me, though since I can actually switch a Pokemon in to KO something, locked into a move that I'd be using, anyway >_>.
No RestTalk? You're just asking to be setup on...
Actually, even with Sleep Talk, there's a 1/3 chance of choosing the move that I needed to be chosen. It would either be a boosting move then Rest, the Attack I need, then Rest or the Attack I need then a boosing move. I found myself missing out on some very crucial KOs and coverage when using Sleep Talk and found it much easier to just Sleep for two turns while my opponent can't even touch me rather than waste some vital coverage and survivalbility.
In all honesty, when I was using Sleep Talk, my opponent would manage a clean, easy setup while I would be stuck using a move that I didn't even need... twice.
Intro (Solrock) @Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/188 Spd/52 Def/16 HP
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Will-o-Wisp
- Explosion
---
The most unexpected lead for me to date, Solrock, joins the fray of my team. It usually gets down Stealth Rock first and doesn't mind getting hit with powerful hits like an Infernape's Close Combat or, Azelf and Metagross's Explosion. Infernape's Close Combat is a 3HKO 83% of the time with Leftovers meaning that Solrock can still get up Stealth Rock and beat Infernape with either Earthquake or, Explosion. However, do keep in mind that Solrock isn't restricted to taking on only suicide leads. Swampert, Hippowdon, Tyranitar, Zapdos and even some Jirachi leads fall to Solrock's unimaginable power and beauty... okay, maybe not beauty.
Now, the moveset itself is simple. Stealth Rock is for the obvious setup while Earthquake provides excellent coverage alongside Will-o-Wisp and Explosion will most of the time, take down something on the other team. Now, Will-o-Wisp may not seem useful but, consider how many Pokemon (as leads) resist Explosion and can KO Solrock either way. Then consider how much easier it would be to pull off a sweep if I can get in one of my Pokemon in on a Pokemon who can't do much to them but just watch. Not only that, but, Solrock can still come back in later with the intention to Explode, Burn something, attack or, just setup Stealth Rock again.
Azelf and Metagross can explode, what makes Solrock so different?
Solrock vs Azelf:
Azelf's Characteristics:
- Superior Speed and Attack
- Taunt
- Can hit on both sides of the attacking spectrum
- Doesn't need to invest more just to attack another lead
- Coverage is superior
- Takes roughly 60% from an Infernape's Close Combat (Fire Blast does less)
- Immunity to Sandstorm
- Better typing lead-wise
- Can beat Shuca Berry Heatran
- Can beat a much wider array of leads without having to explode
Solrock vs Metagross:
Metagross's Characteristics:
- Much more superior Attack and Speed
- Strong STAB moves to use
- Can explode and most of the time, have something do down with it
- Can fend of most Latias and Salamence switch ins
- Has basically a guarenteed win against Tyranitar leads
- Much bulkier and doesn't rely on a Focus Sash
- No Pursuit weakness
- Can take on Weavile leads
- Can take on (Most) Jirachi leads
- Doesn't Explode most of the time
- Much Better typing
- Coverage is much better
- Can take on Heatran leads easier
- Can take on Infernape leads easier
- Can take on Azelf leads much easier
- Pursuit weakness
- Can take on Swampert leads much easier
- Can take on (the rare) Zapdos leads easier
- Can take on Togekiss leads easier
What about Heatran? It can use Will-o-Wisp, Explosion and Stealth Rock, too.
Solrock vs Heatran:
Heatran's Characteristics:
- Immune to Poison
- Immunity to Fire
- Resistance to Steel and Ice Moves
- Faster Speed
- Is overall, much more bulkier
- Resistance to Explosion, Crunch and Pursuit
- Takes on Azelf leads a bit easier
- Takes on Jirachi leads easier
- Immunity to Ground moves
- Neutral to Fighting
- Doesn't need a berry to survive SE moves
- Overall much more powerful Explosion
- Takes on Hippowdon leads easier
- Takes on Swampert leads easier
- Overall better coverage with Explosion, Stealth Rock and Will-o-Wisp in its moveset
- Takes on Tyranitar leads easier
- Gliscor is a thing of the past with this thing
- Skarmory isn't so eager to switch in on Will-o-Wisp
- Isn't walled by Blissey
Why are the EVs like that?
I did some calculations and found the maximum stat spread for Solrock to take hits better was, 281/289/245/x/166/223 with a Jolly Nature. Then, I tried Impish and got the same stat spread but with an extra 32 EVs to use anywhere. Instead of beefing up Solrock's Defense, I donated those EVs to HP and Defense to find out that Solrock takes Physical hits much better with the stat spead of 285/289/249/x/166/223. Earthquake + Explosion calculations are essentially the same as they were, Adamant. They're really off by those OHKOs on average by 1%-5%. Also, seeing as how Solrock is most likely coming back in later, it wouldn't be difficult to KO something that's already taken damage with Explosion. The Speed hits 223, outspeeding max Speed Adamant Tyranitar so I can get the Burn on him, first.
So, basically:
281/289/225/x/166/243- Jolly; 252 Atk/180 Spd/76 Def
281/289/245/x/166/223- Jolly; 252 Atk/96 Spd/156 Def
281/289/253/x/166/223- Impish; 52 Def/252 Atk/188 Spd/16 HP
---
Wish You Would (Tyranitar) (M) @Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/236 SDef/20 Atk
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Curse
- Rest
---
The Cursing Dino himself, in all of his glory is the first of the tanks on my team. With Latias in the metagame as well as some Special hitters like Azelf, Magnezone and Heatran, Tyranitar finds really easy chances to get up a Curse and keep it going. You'll never guess how many Infernapes and Lucario(s?) have switched in after the first Curse to get the revenge kill. Seriously, after a while, it begins to get annoying constantly being forced to switch out jus to have something else receive the full brunt of a Fighting (usually STAB'd) attack. With the Chople Berry, Tyranitar has been able to take Choice Banded Superpowers from Sczior, getting up more and more Curses until it gets to the point where Tyranitar can either attack or Rest. The choice of moves has always been tossed around with Tyranitar from Stone Edge + Earthquake + Rest to Ice Punch + Crunch + Stone Edge + Curse; however ,I managed to come to a nice choice. A STAB Crunch hits a lot of Pokemon hard and scares Latias and other Psychics off while Earthquake nails Steels and Fire types like Heatran (haha, see how I mixed those into one?). The coverage is only stopped by Skarmory, however, Tyranitar doesn't realy mind having to come back in after Skarmory blows him away.
There's 2 other Cursers- Snorlax and Swampert- who can both do this job, why Tyranitar?
Swampert had some nice potential, but, I found out... exactly how many Special Attackers can 2HKO and OHKO Swampert so easily. Then, I found out how many Pokemon carry Grass Knot >_>. With Tyranitar, even some 4x weaknesses would be covered by the Special Defense boost from the Sandstorm.
Snorlax was actually my primary Pokemon for use until I found out how he suffered from the dreaded 4-moveslot syndrome. With Body Slam + Crunch, Heatran, Skarmory, Scizor and Lucario had very decent switch ins with excellent potenital to OHKO or even stop Snorlax. Not only that, but, its Attack was too low to even casue some major damage after a few Curses. Tyranitar basically patched up nearly every problem I had with Snorlax and whipped up a Sandstorm to wear down the opposing team.
---
MVP (Lucario) (M) @Choice Specs
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SAtk/252 Spd/4 HP
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Vacuum Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
---
In my short abense from Pokemon, I took up playing SSBB (Super Smash Bros Brawl for those who don't know) again after months of not playing. During this time, I remembered that my main was Lucario and for the time that I was "into" Brawl, I managed to just utterly rape on wifi (using FCs of course) and in a few local matches. Bottom line, Aura Sphere was the main reason why I thought of using Choice Specs Lucario, then, I did some damage calculations, tested him a bit and remembered that Steel types were immune to Sandstorm, too. But in all honesty, Lucario is one of the best weilders of Choice Specs due to its already great Special Attack, awsome coverage, priority move and average Speed to use this from. He's made some vital KOs and revenge kills while still keeping his ability to switch in and type advantage is most cases.
In terms of power vs Speed, I decided to go with a Modest Nature, mainly because Lucario would miss some vital KO's just to outspeed what Lucario would most likely be outsped by or would've outsped with a Modest Nature. Dragon Dance Salamence and Zapdos are very good examples of this as they either outspeed Lucario already or, are slower than Lucario, anyway.
Choice Band and Swords Dance Lucario can be used, too. Why Choice Specs?
Intimidate, Burns and the fact that most of the Pokemon who switch in on Lucario tend to be more Physically Defensive rather than Special. With that said, Choice Specs Lucario is generally better at quick revenge kills and KOs on walls who tend to just wall most of Lucario's attacks, anyway. Foretress, Scizor, Machamp, Gliscor, Jirachi, Zapdos and Swampert are pure exampes of Pokemon who tend to take more damage from Aura Sphere rather than Close Combat. The only true advantage I can note is being able to dispose of Gyarados, considering that it doesn't have a Dragon Dance or isn't Jolly Natured.
Swords Dance Lucario defeats to who purpose of this slot. Choice Specs Lucario comes in, KOs something and switches back out or just sweeps from one attack without having to boost his stats with a move. Basically, Lucario crams his nice coverage and power together. Swords Dance Lucario stays it and doesn't revenge kill much with Extremespeed or even Bullet Punch.
---
Undisputed (Gliscor) (M) @Brightpowder
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP/252 Spd/4 Atk
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Roost
- Toxic
---
Okay, so this thing has got to be the most annoying Pokemon on my team. Very often has this thing been able to outstall threats such as Gyarados, Scizor, Rhyperior and Tyranitar thanks to its ability to take a hit and its evasion boosts. 100% accuracy attacks turn into 72%, 85% accuracy moves turn into 57% accuracy moves and so on. The evaison boosts alone have allowed Gliscor to stand up to even Zapdos and Vaporeon at times. The moveset itself isn't hard to explain, get up a Substitute and start stalling out a lot of Pokemon. Earthquake for the obvious STAB and damage against Steel and Poison types while Roost heals up damage and Substitutes.
Why is this even here?
Okay, I needed a Fighting resist and decided to spice things up a little by making a very potent annoyance for the other team. Not only does Gliscor scare off Heracross and Lucario, but it can also cripple some major threats to it like Vapoeon, Suicune, Swampert and Latias, making it actually useful. Personally, I just needed something that could take hits Physically for my team without a Pursuit nor, Electric weakness.
---
Nasty Girl (Celebi) @Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/188 Def/36 Spd/28 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
---
Okay, after a bit of persuasion, I decided to finally get a Cleric. Celebi is definately one of the best support options for my team thus far and can do a number of things outside of healing my team. Paralysis support really helps deal with Togekiss who will ram a huge blockade in my team if Gliscor is down, or if most of my team is Paralyzed. Thunder Wave also gives some support to Gliscor, who doesn't like being outsped while he's trying to get a Substitute up. The EVs were altered for a reason; after Stealth Rock damage, Celebi will 2HKO Adamant, CBTyranitar 100% of the time while Crunch fails to OHKO itself. When Celebi is against Careful, 252/216/40 variants of CBTyranitar, it's not really hard to beat as Pursuit does 38% maximum to Celebi meaning that Celebi can alternate between Recover and Grass Knot to beat it.
---
One More Drink (Suicune) @Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Surf
- Ice Beam
---
Okay, I've always wanted to say this:
RIDE THAT SURF!
^^^ One of the best quotes in Pokemon Stadium.
Okay, onto the last member of my team, Suicune. This Pokemon along has pulled out late game sweeps alongside Gyarados or Tyranitar just because Suicune's so hard to KO, even when he's Resting. His 404/361 Defenses are enough to keep powerful hitters at bay and Calm Mind tends to keep Special Attackers without a Super Effective move at bay until Suicune's weakened and ready to be picked off. Other than that, it's a very powerful attacker and keeps Latias from just rapeing my team when Tyranitar falls as Suicune can Calm Mind alongside it, take the Dragon Pulses that comes its way and take a chunk out of her HP with Ice Beam (note that Latias's Dragon Pulses do less than Suicune's Ice Beams when they're on the same level). Not only can Suicune outstall even Defensive Calm Mind variants of Latias, but it can also beat out most vaiants of Scizor, Blissey and Rotom-A.
Though Suicune may not seem like much of an addition to my team, he's really served his purpose of getting rid of very potent threats to my team. These threats consist of Machamp, Latias, Jirachi, Salamence, Scizor, Tyranitar, Kingdra, Vaporeon, Gliscor, Mamoswine... well, you get the point. Even though a lot of these threats can fall into the grasp of one of my other Pokemon, Suicune can really take off a lot of pressure that those Pokemon bring, instead of placing the weight on everyone else. Suicune is also the only stat booster that Skarmory takes caution switching in on.
Another Rest-Booster? If two weren't enough, why 3? Why Suicune of all Pokemon?
Pretty much, for this team I prefer to have my very bulky sweepers at the top of their game meaning that with Sandstorm, Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock, Burning, Poison and Paralysis in the metagame, they need a much more reliable way to survive. Suicune not only provided me with support on the Defensive side, but, can also take hits on the Special side with Calm Mind. Suicune also complements Celebi well, mainly with the ability to setup on or just KO most of Celebi's threats like Heatran, Metagross and Scizor.
---
This Team is weak to Trick; Why haven't fixed it?
Personally, I don't even consider Trick as much of a threat. I'm locked in on one move with a boost under my Pokemon's belt. Most of the time, I'd find myself switching back and forth between Pokemon, just to switch moves. It doesn't bother me, though since I can actually switch a Pokemon in to KO something, locked into a move that I'd be using, anyway >_>.
No RestTalk? You're just asking to be setup on...
Actually, even with Sleep Talk, there's a 1/3 chance of choosing the move that I needed to be chosen. It would either be a boosting move then Rest, the Attack I need, then Rest or the Attack I need then a boosing move. I found myself missing out on some very crucial KOs and coverage when using Sleep Talk and found it much easier to just Sleep for two turns while my opponent can't even touch me rather than waste some vital coverage and survivalbility.
In all honesty, when I was using Sleep Talk, my opponent would manage a clean, easy setup while I would be stuck using a move that I didn't even need... twice.
