Intro
So, it's been a while since I've posted here. I'm still not used to formatting everything here and making things look attractive (forgive me for that) but the content is what matters right now so we'll just get to that.
Myself and a few friends wanted to get back into competitive battling after taking a slight hiatus for various reasons. We found out Sheer Force Gatr had been released and after seeing the speed a Jolly max speed +1 Gatr hits (I have to note one of my friends is a bit of a stoner XD) we decided to make a team around it. Unfortunately things don't pan out the way we want them to :(
Teambuilding Process
As I said, we started with Gatr. The first thing that came to mind was the DD 3 Attacks set but we were unsure on what coverage we wanted besides STAB so we left it at that for the time being.
Since Crunch was one of the options we dropped for Gatr we opted for something that had Dark coverage. Bisharp also answered a weird increase in Fairies and was good to help us get used to prediction games.
We needed a mega and I like to run a grass type to switch in to Leech Seeds and Spores. Venusaur fit that role as well as being a base for the defensive core.
We realised we needed something that dealt massive instant damage. I suggested Garchomp but Banded Dragonite was mentioned and it's access to E-Speed secured it's place on the team.
Since Garchomp was mentioned we needed a hazard setter. Mamoswine was chosen due to Oblivious and providing extra coverage that helped use narrow down what Gatr had to run.
Since Dragonite was on the team we needed hazard control. Mew fills that role as well as being a spdef check to certain threats.
After playing a bunch of games and seeing how little Gatr did (it wasn't until the third or fourth game was realised it only had DD and Waterfall because we forgot to give it the rest of it's coverage moves after making the rest of the team) I reluctantly said we had to drop it. I was also uncomfortable with how Mew was performing and dropped that too. Starmie and Zapdos then took their places and the team performed a lot better after the change.
The Team
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 144 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder
One of the major players of the team. Spreading sleep and chipping away with Leech Seed helps ensure KOs later in the game. It's also an Azu counter (or a fairy check in general). The EV spread maximises it's bulk while allowing it to outspeed the more common Azu sets.
Bisharp @ Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
Bisharp counters the Psychic types that can stomp Venu as well as a secondary counter to fairies. Dread Plate is used over Life Orb as the extra damage isn't worth the recoil you have to take.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Superpower
Gen 4 goodness :D Mamoswine helps with the residual damage mindset by setting up Rocks. Earthquake is the only other "mandatory" slot. We're currently debating between Icicle Crash, Icicle Spear and Ice Shard as a secondary STAB (Crash being reliably stronger but having low accuracy, Spear has perfect accuracy and can break through Sub/Sash/Sturdy but it's damage varies, Shard has prio but low power.) The last slot is a toss-up between Superpower as another way to hurt Ferrothorn or Stone Edge as rock type coverage.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Reflect Type
- Recover
Hazards removal, spreading burns (unreliably but it counts anyway) and checking threats by copying their typing (seriously, becoming steel/flying is funny as hell XD) helps this team immensely. One option we were tinkering with was Thunder Wave for a little team support through speed control.
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
The standard Banded Dragonite. After everything has been sufficiently weakened (or put to sleep), and hazards have been removed this monster can pick off everything. Outrage is STAB and should only be used after fairies have been removed. Thunder Wave on Starmie would help with Dragonite by allowing me to rely on E-Speed less, but as of now things are fine.
Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
My favourite member of the team. Zapdos is another throwback to Gen 4. Scarf Zapdos functions as a scout by spamming Volt Switch (or Thunderbolt once electric immune mons have been KO'd. Heatwave is mainly for Ferro but can be used for any fire-weak mons. HP Ice rounds off the coverage by hitting things like Gliscor, Garchomp and Lando-T.
As I was testing this by myself I realised I had no solid Talonflame checks. After Rocks damage, Brave Bird has a 70% chance to 2KO and Flare Blitz OHKOs. I was thinking of changing Zapdos to a defensive set with Roost and Toxic over HP Ice and Volt Switch/Thunderbolt.
Importable Team:
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 144 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder
Bisharp @ Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Superpower
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Reflect Type
- Recover
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Final Words
So far, I have a record of 21-4 on my own personal alt (user: mkoijn) with this team. Our collective testing alt was left at 10-0 last I checked (user: DeeseJugs). I would like to apologise to anyone who was unfortunate enough to be paired up against us (or will be in the future) while we were laddering but I must also say this is the internet; if you are easily offended you can click X.
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