So a dragon, a hippo, and a bagworm walk into a sandbar...

strengthofheart

Hey guys,

First time thread-starter on Smogon and long-time Pokemon fan, so figured I'd pop my RMT cherry with the team that has gotten me to a 1300+ ranking on PO. I'm not posting looking for a complete revamp of my team, but more for small suggestions regarding movesets, items, EV spreads that may be useful, or battle strategies that I can manipulate to catapult me into the Smog stratosphere. So without further ado:

450.png

HungryHungry (Impish) @ Leftovers
Sand Stream - 252 HP / 252 DEF / 4 ATK
  • Stealth Rock
  • Earthquake
  • Slack Off
  • Roar
I know having dedicated leads in 5th gen is out-of-style, but screw it, I'm old school. And Hippowdon is a great lead due to the fact he's extremely useful for the entirety of the battle. With the amount of Politoed and Ninetales leads, it's been harder getting SR up as early as I want, but Hippowdon's low speed always means weather will be in my favor from the jump. Earthquake is to provide some sort of buffer from Taunters. Roar is excellent for phazing even if I have just rocks up, plus Hippowdon is able to take most SD-boosted attacks and save the team from a quick collapse. Lastly, Slack Off: the reason (along with Sand Stream) why I don't get why Donphan is used so much more than Hippo. It's crucial to it's walling capabilities able to soak up a hit, phaze, then heal is what a real wall does. Also, Sand Stream can completely screw with the million weather-centric teams on PO. Sorry, Donphan, but my African wildlife animal of choice is Hippowdon.

205.png

MightyForr (Sassy) @ Leftovers
Sturdy - 252 HP / 252 SDEF / 4 DEF
  • Spikes
  • Rapid Spin
  • Gyro Ball
  • Volt Switch
I heart Forretress. Especially it's Specially Defensive spread. This team doesn't take Draco Meteors well, but Forry is there to alleviate the pain. Its typing helps deal with Dragon-type attacks in general. Spikes racks up the passage damage and Hippo's Roar makes Spikes that much more valuable. Rapid Spin is crucial (especially for my revenge killer) since all but one of my Pokes are grounded and my team is more suited to longer, grind-it-out matches. Gyro Ball can really pack a punch and Volt Switch is great for baiting out Magnezone and putting it in a real bind when a counter is staring it down.

646AKyurem.png

FrozenTurkey (Timid) @ Choice Scarf
Pressure - 252 SATK / 252 SPE / 4 SDEF
  • Draco Meteor
  • Ice Beam
  • Focus Blast
  • Dragon Pulse
THIS thing. Quite frankly it's difficult to use as a revenge killer because entry hazards eat it up and Forry can't guarantee to have spinned before I need to put Kyurem in play. But I can't pass up this much power and coverage. Draco Meteor and Ice Beam STAB is more than enough most times, but I love Focus Blast for trainers who get too cute and try to switch in Tyranitar. Dragon Pulse is for quick late game clean where Draco Meteor is inefficient (or Ice Beam is insufficient). Other than typing, Kyurem's got it going on. And it's typing isn't thaaat bad. It has pretty neat resistances that can really change the tide of a battle just by switching in.

593Burungel_Pink_Dream.png

QueenJelly (Bold) @ Leftovers
Water Absorb - 252 HP / 216 DEF / 44 SPE
  • Scald
  • Toxic
  • Taunt
  • Recover
This Jelly is pretty standard, but it's vital for spinblocking, defending against rain teams, and general protection against certain threats like Scizor, Crunch-less Lucario, and Jirachi sans Thunder/Wave. There isn't much in the status department of this team, but Jelly can burn offensive foes with Scald and poison defensive foes with Toxic. As a spinblocker, it has issues with Starmie, but that's something that Kyurem can switch into and dispatch in a heartbeat.

534.png

Grawp (Adamant) @ Leftovers
Guts - 120 HP / 252 ATK / 136 SDEF
  • Bulk Up
  • Mach Punch
  • Drain Punch
  • Stone Edge
My only boosting sweeper, but I love it because it's defense, EVs, Leftovers and Drain Punch give it staying power. The ability to take a status and use it to its advantage is indispensable. A +1 Stone Edge plus a status condition can take out pretty much all Dragonite if rocks are up. Mach Punch means frail sweepers/revenge killers can't just step up to Conkeldurr without thinking twice or taking a licking. Another thing I love about Conkeldurr is it's ability to cause heavy damage without boosting, especially when statused.

381Latios.png

JetBlue (Timid) @ Choice Specs
Levitate - 252 SATK / 252 SPE / 4 SDEF
  • Draco Meteor
  • Surf
  • Hidden Power [Fire]
  • Trick
Latios is the single-most dangerous offensive weapon on my team and defending it from Tyranitar and Scizor's Pursuits is this teams primary mission. It has all the firepower to take out nearly any pokemon that doesn't resist Draco Meteor. Surf has solid coverage and is boosted by rain. HP Fire takes out the usurper to Forretress' throne, Ferrothorn. And Trick is the cherry on top for those bold (careful?) enough to try and withstand his attacks.

So that's the team. What started out as a team with Dusclops, Vaporeon, and Landorus really developed into a team that I had a fair bit of success with, including winning a PO tourney the first time I entered. However, we struggle against Volt-Turn teams and Sun teams when rocks are not in play. All suggestions will be taken into account and I may test them when I get the chance. Thanks to all!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top