Stratos
Banned deucer.
In which I post three teams which I believe have the potential to be successful at the high level, explain my decisions behind everything, etc. basically it's an RMT except I'm not really looking for rates. If you want to post some suggestion you have, cool tho, I'll probably test it out.
I think a decent checklist for every team to run down is the following:
- Landorus-T switchin
- Landorus-T check
- Kangaskhan switchin
- Kangaskhan check
- Rain check #1
- Rain check #2
- Zard + Venu check
- TR Check—Type 1
- TR Check—Type 2
- Rotom-W Switchin
*When i say tr TYPE i mean one of taunt/serene grace flinch/sleep/strong dark or ghost, and make sure they're on two different pokes—taunt hydrei does not count double.
If you have all of these, your team probably still won't be great on the first try, but it'll be serviceable for testing, and you can sound out any flaws from there. If you don't have all of these, keep working in the theorymon stage because otherwise you will repeatedly get slammed and it won't even be fun.
SPL Record: 1-0 vs kingofmars
This is a 2013 team which got me a lot of wins in early XY, including my only personal win in SPL vs BLINGAS last season. Unfortunately, with changes in the metagame, most notably the invention of Substitute Kyurem-B which just absolutely dismantled the old version, it really lost effectiveness as time wore on. Coming up on kingofmars, I knew he was classically a fan of bulky teams, Kangaskhan, and was pretty bad at countering Trick Room. This team always specialized in dismantling bulky teams and Kangaskhan, and it used Trick Room, so I decided to put in serious effort to updating it for ORAS. The team doesn't really have any clear win conditions, it's mostly just trying to kill the opponent faster than the opponent can kill it, but it's not bad at the task.
The name was given to it by Braverius.
Landorus (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
U-turn | Superpower | Earthquake | Stone Edge
A classic. Team was originally built around a Lando/Manec intimidate volturn core but Manec sucked but for those not in the know, Landorus-T does not suck. My main Landorus-T and Kang switchin and, as always, a utility check to fast things. Especially for Semi-TR it's important they be able to condense their "fast things" check into a single Pokemon to keep as much of the team usable under TR as possible, and there's no better way to do that than Landorus-T. Hopefully I don't have to explain the set to anyone. Stone Edge over Rock Slide because while flinches are godly, I really like being able to OHKO Skymin who is otherwise a huge pain.
Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Heat Wave | Stealth Rock | Earth Power | Protect
Originally a classic SubTran which served as a bulky win condition, I changed Leftovers to Goggles because I used to not be able to TR if the opponent had 5 fast Pokes + Amoonguss, which really made the team hard to operate. I hate Substitute on non-Leftovers Tran—what's the point if you can't stall your way to an endgame victory IMO?—so I changed it to a Rock move. I use Stealth Rock because of the following calcs:
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Hammer Arm vs 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 346-408 (83.5 - 98.5%)
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Iron Head vs 228 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-B: 414-468 (92.4 - 108.9%)
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Hammer Arm vs 180 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 328-388 (89.1 - 105.4%)
252+ Spa Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 355-419 (85.7 - 101.2%)
252+ Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 312-368 (88.6 - 104.5%)
It also helps me deal with Talonflame and Landorus-T, two otherwise huge nuisances to the team.
Heatran isn't effective at handling much of anything that isn't Sun or Steel-types these days, so I'm looking at potentially replacing it with some sort of bulky Talonflame set, but at the moment those two things are basically what I use it for. EV spread is to live Keldeo Secret Sword (If you watch the replay, you'll see it doesn't—apparently the spread in the calc for Keldeo is 232 SpA for some ridiculous reason and gavin got a high roll ~_~). No point in beating Rotom-W if you're not Sub (since the whole point anyways was to fish for Hpump misses with Sub) so I just minimize speed, that way I don't have to play ridiculous Tran EV guessing games—I'll beat all of them under TR unless they're Eruptran. TBH I could probably drop it further but it's something I never looked into, not much inhabits the speed tier between Tran and Aegis.
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
Ice Beam | Psychic | Trick Room | Hidden Power [Ground]
I built this set explicitly for this team but it's pretty good overall I guess. Offensive Trick Room because the team can't afford to have members that sit around doing nothing or it will be hopeless against things like Substitute & boosting. HP Ground is mostly to beat Tran, but it's also nice for other steels like Mawile. Ice Beam/Psychic is standard 2 move cress coverage with Trick Room so I can be lazy with my Speed control, all I need is a well timed Trick Room to turn the tables on fast teams (as you can see in the replay) and it also lets me beat basically all full TR teams. Cress is such a tank, even with just HP investment, that it can serve as a catch-all for most threats. I've said this a lot but it bears putting in stone: Psychic on offensive Cress to break Cube subs, Psyshock on Latios to beat Sylveon.
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Giga Drain | Rage Powder | Protect | Spore
This Pokemon is great because it's extremely hard to make die, so I love it on bulky teams. Its RP support at times seems infinite, and when I'm dealing with a particularly dangerous threat, as long as it doesn't have Substitute, Amoonguss can be trusted to tank a hit and sleep it. Teams these days are less vulnerable to the "use TR with Cress and spore everything for four turns" strategy but it still catches some people and damn is it nice when it works. But even one crucial spore can turn a match, Amoonguss is such a great pokemon on semi-TR. Standard EV spread.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Draco Meteor | Dark Pulse | Roost | Protect
Rotom-Wash overall was fairly defensively redundant with Heatran except for beating Grounds and Waters. Grounds I had pretty well covered; I chose Hydrei for its ability to switch in on Fires and Waters while also beating Steels. I especially need it to be able to repeatedly switch in on Heatran, because otherwise Tran behind a sub is a legendary nightmare for me. I put Roost on the set because a classic way of dealing with Hydrei is letting LO damage + chips from switching in wear it down to unusable levels, but I needed to be able to use its resists repeatedly. It's ridiculously effective as a set for destroying FWG and other bulky cores. If I were to change hydrei, it would be to give it a bulkier set.
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
Hammer Arm | Zen Headbutt | Iron Head | Protect
Mega Metagross replaced Scizor because MScizor sucks in ORAS, having Hammer Arm for Heatran is super great, as is having Zen Headbutt to hit a lot more things like Thund and Zard etc neutrally effectively than Scizor could. The EV spread outruns Modest Zard outside of TR but underslows min Rotom-A inside of TR at -1. Honestly this Pokemon just brings the resists of a Steel without all the shitty baggage of Heatran (who can't switch in on too many things because whatever it wants to switch in on is going to be next to something that donks it) and also damages a lot of things. Iron Head because missing sucks but flinching rocks :D
Threats:
QD Volcarona: It was a huge threat back when I still had Rotom-W and I can't imagine the situation has gotten much better when I replaced it with Hydrei, though I've actually never faced it since. If Landorus has taken like any damage I'm probably just fucked. Fortunately it's incredibly uncommon.
Azumarill: It's not getting too much breathing room but this was a case where I handled it much better when I had Rotom-W. If it's paired with a Jirachi or comes in on Superpower or something, it can be even more annoying.
Ludicolo: GOD WHAT A PAIN IN THE NECK. Another thing that makes me want to change my Heatran, it can just dismantle my team since it's basically all special attackers. Every bulky balance team needs to have a Pokemon that they can go "This, here, is my way of Destroying Ludicolo," and I do not.
SPL record: 1-1 (probably 2-0 if venu wasn't a blind dino) vs TFC vs Laga
This is an offensive sun team I built for Enki a while ago. Honestly I didn't change it much since the first draft, just one of those things you luck into—it could probably stand a little improvement but idk what to change.
On the nickname: One time TOTEM linked this ridiculous-sounding eroge about the war between the flat-chest and big-breast kingdoms, and I remarked that the big-breast kingdom was obviously better. He then revealed his terrible taste in women and challenged me to a duel to defend the honor of the mammary gland. Though the battle looked to be sealed in my favor despite some ridiculous paralysis luck, he won with underhanded timer tactics while I kept getting distracted by someone PMing me on irc :(
Salamence @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Draco Meteor | Fire Blast | Protect | Tailwind
I think it's the only Salamence that was used in SPL but I really like it for the team. Draco Meteor is still such a good catch-all STAB and Fire Blast in Sun is basically just as good but without a SpA drop. Main reason I keep Mence, though, is Tailwind, which is just so handy, even though a sun team "shouldn't" have a use for it. It's vital for opposing sun and great for HO matchups; helps Zard out a lot when nothing can outspeed it as well as Weavile. I also really like his Water/Fire resists and ability to beat Thundurus one-on-one who is otherwise a huge pain for the team. Probably the most replaceable member, because it slightly disappoints me power-wise (I could give LO, I guess, but I like to be able to tank hits), in which case I would probably just switch it to Landorus-T.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 80 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Heat Wave | Solar Beam | Protect | Focus Blast
Focus Blast is a terrible move and should never be used, but I need it for Heatran and Hydreigon, the former of which half my team can't touch and the latter of which my "Dragon counter" is bad against. Spread can tank a Return from Adamant MKanga and outspeed Breloom. Obviously the first Pokemon I added since it's, uh, a sun team, so there's not much to say here.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
King's Shield | Wide Guard | Shadow Ball | Flash Cannon
Another one of my great many Original Sets™, I'd been hyping WP WG Aegis for a long time and then it started pissing me off when it caught on during SPL because holy crap it could be hard to play around. The idea is basically just to play it like the old Sitrus Wide Guard Aegis but if someone tries to hit you with a non-OHKO super effective move you just retaliate with a free kill and get another one every turn until they can force you out. On the team it mostly serves the role of a Rock switchin to support Charizard, but it's also my primary Dragon counter since Weavile can't really be trusted to live slash switch in on anything, and one of my two Trick Room checks. Sun teams always need a Dragon counter since Zard/Venu both fare poorly against them.
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Fake Out | Icicle Crash | Knock Off | Low Kick
TBH the reason I originally put Weavile on the team was that I made it during the Mega Salamence metagame, but it was so nice that I kept it even after Mence was banned. It's great at punching holes and creating pressure, best exemplified in this game, probably. 4 attacks instead of Protect because I like being able to hit Rock-types with as many things as possible to clear holes for Charizard, as well as because Heatran used to be a huge bitch for this team to deal with so I just stacked counters.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Sleep Powder | Sludge Bomb | Giga Drain | Protect
Another classic implement of a sun team, Venu serves as a TR and Rock check while also being super speedy and being able to slow down whatever it wants with Sleep Powder (as long as it hits ._.) Along with Aegislash and Charizard, this serves as one of my offensive win conditions; I mostly try to clear out Charizard counters and win that way, but if you can clear Venusaur counters it can typically pull off a rampage as well.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 132 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Protect | Thunderbolt | Hydro Pump | Will-O-Wisp
My other Rock check, a Heatran check, a Lando check, Talon check, and a catch-all counter to most physical attackers. I'm using a more physically bulky spread because this Rotom mostly takes physical hits (Zard can eat special hits up itself in most cases). The spread can tank two Diamond Storms from standard Diancie 100% of the time, and outspeeds Lando in Tailwind. Other people think the Era of Rotom-W is over but it's still a very good pick in this metagame, unlike other things for whom the meta has been much less kind.
Threats:
Goth Rain: never had faced it before Laga but it's pretty terrifying; since I don't have Overheat it's super difficult to ensure I can kill the Goth before Politoed comes in to eat my Charizard alive.
Charizard: never actually run into the mirror but since this team just lacks in solid Zard counters except Salamence it would be messy. Don't doubt I could win, but yuck. Game would rely on Mence very heavily.
SPL Record: 2-0 vs Mizuhime vs Biosci
I used the word "I" a lot in this team's description but I want it to be clear that this was a joint build by myself and Lohgock.
Coming into week 3 vs Mizuhime, I knew I wanted to use Trick Room + Sleep, because the teams she used were always either TR-weak HO or TR themselves. Starting from Amoonguss + Cress, Lohgock suggested Mega Camel because it's virtually unkillable except by water-types, and since Mizuhime had just brought rain twice, there was no way we would be facing Water-types again. I added WP Diancie as the secondary setter because most TR setters are pretty bad but Arctic had used it against me fairly effectively in the past. We then put on Scrafty for Fake Out to help TR go up and because its strong Knock Off donked ghosts; I always hated Vest Scrafty so I gave it a Life Orb, which also allowed it to use Protect. I absolutely think this is the better Scrafty set, Vest never does anything. Last we added Rotom-W to cover the weakness to Talonflame mostly. Finally, we decided on Cress's set; since we didn't really need help offensively, we went with Fangame Cress as a secondary win condition if Camel should have a bad matchup.
Any TR team has three main threats to stop it from setting up: sleep, Taunt, and strong Ghost/Dark moves. Add to that flinches, I guess, but not much you can do about those unless you're Inner Focus Hypno. Fake Out is so nice for them because for one turn you can stop all of these from a single target which really helps you get TR up; my team heavily relies on Fake Out to get past Skymin leads especially, and I prefer to use it rather than Amoonguss to get past Taunt ones as well. The two most threatening Ghost/Dark attackers which can stop setup are Bisharp and Aegislash, neither of which Scrafty can beat while not under TR, so I have to rely on Amoonguss to redirect their attacks usually. Once the first TR is up, momentum shifts heavily in the Full TR user's favor, and it's just on them to keep it that way for the rest of the match, so the majority of team support for these kinds of teams is front-end.
Full TR can be kind of matchup reliant, so I wouldn't recommend using this as your only team cough Fangame10, but if you're facing an opponent who you suspect will be weak to Full TR (protip: both of the sample teams are) then it can be easy and secure wins. It's not like there's no room for outplay from a bad matchup, either; I think full TR unfairly gets a bad rap a lot of the time.
Name cuz I used this to counterteam Shake.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Spore | Giga Drain | Rage Powder | Protect
Team's got some weird anti-Fairy tech, but you'll notice Guss lacks sludge bomb. Why? Cause it's already pretty good vs Azumarill, but having just one Azumarill check seriously wasn't enough when it destroys the rest of the team. Also Protect on Guss is nice so I can play around Taunts, I often need to preserve my Rage Powder for the next turn when I know I'm going to eat a Taunt on the current turn. Otherwise pretty classic Guss, I used Rocky Helmet on this team because it's not as secure vs Kang as my other one so I figured the residual would be nice. Can redirect Taunts and Dark/Ghost moves to let me get my set off.
Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 192 HP / 108 Atk / 208 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
Trick Room | Diamond Storm | Moonblast | Protect
Diancie is my secondary setter: less bulky than Cress but can also take an offensive role. I usually want my secondary setter to cover one of the Big Three that my primary setter doesn't beat, but WP Diancie was just so nice. I did put Mental Herb on Diancie when facing Biosci since he brought Taunt literally every week but I usually prefer WP. Besides, I'm a lot more worried about Aegis/Bisharp than Taunt users with this team, but the only TR setter that beats those is Porygon2 and I'm not sure I'm ready to take that step in my life. Thanks to Dstorm boosts and its highish natural bulk, Diancie is able to tank most hits such as Zard SolarBeam and Landog EQ, at which point it really becomes a force to be reckoned with since Clear Body prevents Intimidate from dampening its Dstorms. Spread OHKOes Lando-T with Moonblast and Rotom-H with Diamond Storm, team doesn't really have Rotom-H troubles so I've considered playing around with it some but whatever.
Cresselia (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Trick Room | Psychic | Calm Mind | Moonlight
CM Cresselia pulled in a lot of shit when youngjake93 used it last SPL but honestly he was just using a bad set; it's been flirted with by players ever since but I think only recently have high level players begun to accept that yes, it's a legitimate threat. This Cress is ridiculously tanky so it's 100% always able to get TR up, and since the rest of the team is pretty good at taking out the things that can beat it (Ghosts/Darks/Kang mostly) it's often able to just ruin teams on its own. I don't even know what the spread does.
Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Earth Power | Heat Wave | Ancient Power | Protect
Camerupt is just a legend under TR; it's borderline unkillable without a Water-type and it's absolutely impossible to switch in on unless you're like Latios or Rotom-H. Also nice cuz it DESTROYS amoonguss who is most team's TR check. Ancient Power cuz otherwise the team is a little scared of zard, but tbh only a little so HP Ice might be better to OHKO Lando and keep Latios/Hydrei from being switchins since this team already has two Pokes that can hardly touch dragons.
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Thunderbolt | Volt Switch | Hydro Pump | Trick
Rotom-W is usually defensive but it's got hella good dual STAB if you prefer to take it that route instead WHICH I DID. Specs Rotom-W is pretty powerful and has great Dual STAB allowing my team not to be garbage against things like Talonflame and most importantly Water-types, because Mega Camel teams will (obviously) struggle against Rain. I've never once used Trick successfully, I figure I would be using against things like Substitute pokes but I don't want to give Tran, Cube, or Aegis specs. But there's nothing else Rotom-W needs other than STAB so I'm keeping Trick for now. vs Biosci I actually used Discharge over Thunderbolt to hit Azumarill next to a redirector, since this team is pretty Azu weak it may still not be a bad idea to keep.
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
Fake Out | Drain Punch | Knock Off | Poison Jab
Scrafty's just really good for TR, between STAB that donks Darks and Ghosts, to Fake Out, to Intimidate, to its low base Speed. As you can see, I ended up dropping Protect for Poison Jab to deal with the Fairy (especially Azu) weakness of the team. But this thing covers so many threats it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, I'm often surprised by how piss weak it is: failing to OHKO Terrakion with drain punch, or Aegislash with Knock Off, or Sylveon with Poison Jab—I mean it has a lower base Attack than NONmega Camerupt. Still, it brings a lot to the table, and can KO everything I want to...after some chip damage.
Threats:
Azumarill: yea i mentioned it like twice but if it gets to +6 next to a partner like rachi it won't be fun, my only real way of beating this combo reliablyish is Amoonguss+Camel
Aegislash: especially the sub set which is fortunately (and rightly) falling out of vogue, it can just do a lot of damage to all my pokes pretty much.
Hydreigon: a lot of my team can't really touch it. Main reason I'm considering going HP Ice on Camel.
Thanks for reading, and sorry that I couldn't give in-depth descriptions about all my teams (especially the second two) as much as I'd have liked... I've played a lot more with the first one so I have a more solid understanding of how everything fits together. There are some other teams which I plan to do this with again at some point in the future; these include the week 6 team Lohgock used vs Zubat and the week 9 team Lohgock used vs finally, but both are not good enough yet to share. I'll keep working on those until I can post another of these threads.
I think a decent checklist for every team to run down is the following:
- Landorus-T switchin
- Landorus-T check
- Kangaskhan switchin
- Kangaskhan check
- Rain check #1
- Rain check #2
- Zard + Venu check
- TR Check—Type 1
- TR Check—Type 2
- Rotom-W Switchin
*When i say tr TYPE i mean one of taunt/serene grace flinch/sleep/strong dark or ghost, and make sure they're on two different pokes—taunt hydrei does not count double.
If you have all of these, your team probably still won't be great on the first try, but it'll be serviceable for testing, and you can sound out any flaws from there. If you don't have all of these, keep working in the theorymon stage because otherwise you will repeatedly get slammed and it won't even be fun.
The Pwnemon Special
Landorus (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Trick Room
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
- Spore
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Roost
- Protect
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
- Iron Head
- Protect
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Trick Room
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
- Spore
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Roost
- Protect
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
- Iron Head
- Protect
SPL Record: 1-0 vs kingofmars
This is a 2013 team which got me a lot of wins in early XY, including my only personal win in SPL vs BLINGAS last season. Unfortunately, with changes in the metagame, most notably the invention of Substitute Kyurem-B which just absolutely dismantled the old version, it really lost effectiveness as time wore on. Coming up on kingofmars, I knew he was classically a fan of bulky teams, Kangaskhan, and was pretty bad at countering Trick Room. This team always specialized in dismantling bulky teams and Kangaskhan, and it used Trick Room, so I decided to put in serious effort to updating it for ORAS. The team doesn't really have any clear win conditions, it's mostly just trying to kill the opponent faster than the opponent can kill it, but it's not bad at the task.
The name was given to it by Braverius.
Landorus (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
U-turn | Superpower | Earthquake | Stone Edge
A classic. Team was originally built around a Lando/Manec intimidate volturn core but Manec sucked but for those not in the know, Landorus-T does not suck. My main Landorus-T and Kang switchin and, as always, a utility check to fast things. Especially for Semi-TR it's important they be able to condense their "fast things" check into a single Pokemon to keep as much of the team usable under TR as possible, and there's no better way to do that than Landorus-T. Hopefully I don't have to explain the set to anyone. Stone Edge over Rock Slide because while flinches are godly, I really like being able to OHKO Skymin who is otherwise a huge pain.
Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Heat Wave | Stealth Rock | Earth Power | Protect
Originally a classic SubTran which served as a bulky win condition, I changed Leftovers to Goggles because I used to not be able to TR if the opponent had 5 fast Pokes + Amoonguss, which really made the team hard to operate. I hate Substitute on non-Leftovers Tran—what's the point if you can't stall your way to an endgame victory IMO?—so I changed it to a Rock move. I use Stealth Rock because of the following calcs:
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Hammer Arm vs 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 346-408 (83.5 - 98.5%)
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Iron Head vs 228 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-B: 414-468 (92.4 - 108.9%)
252+ Atk Mega Metagross Hammer Arm vs 180 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 328-388 (89.1 - 105.4%)
252+ Spa Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 355-419 (85.7 - 101.2%)
252+ Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 312-368 (88.6 - 104.5%)
It also helps me deal with Talonflame and Landorus-T, two otherwise huge nuisances to the team.
Heatran isn't effective at handling much of anything that isn't Sun or Steel-types these days, so I'm looking at potentially replacing it with some sort of bulky Talonflame set, but at the moment those two things are basically what I use it for. EV spread is to live Keldeo Secret Sword (If you watch the replay, you'll see it doesn't—apparently the spread in the calc for Keldeo is 232 SpA for some ridiculous reason and gavin got a high roll ~_~). No point in beating Rotom-W if you're not Sub (since the whole point anyways was to fish for Hpump misses with Sub) so I just minimize speed, that way I don't have to play ridiculous Tran EV guessing games—I'll beat all of them under TR unless they're Eruptran. TBH I could probably drop it further but it's something I never looked into, not much inhabits the speed tier between Tran and Aegis.
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
Ice Beam | Psychic | Trick Room | Hidden Power [Ground]
I built this set explicitly for this team but it's pretty good overall I guess. Offensive Trick Room because the team can't afford to have members that sit around doing nothing or it will be hopeless against things like Substitute & boosting. HP Ground is mostly to beat Tran, but it's also nice for other steels like Mawile. Ice Beam/Psychic is standard 2 move cress coverage with Trick Room so I can be lazy with my Speed control, all I need is a well timed Trick Room to turn the tables on fast teams (as you can see in the replay) and it also lets me beat basically all full TR teams. Cress is such a tank, even with just HP investment, that it can serve as a catch-all for most threats. I've said this a lot but it bears putting in stone: Psychic on offensive Cress to break Cube subs, Psyshock on Latios to beat Sylveon.
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Giga Drain | Rage Powder | Protect | Spore
This Pokemon is great because it's extremely hard to make die, so I love it on bulky teams. Its RP support at times seems infinite, and when I'm dealing with a particularly dangerous threat, as long as it doesn't have Substitute, Amoonguss can be trusted to tank a hit and sleep it. Teams these days are less vulnerable to the "use TR with Cress and spore everything for four turns" strategy but it still catches some people and damn is it nice when it works. But even one crucial spore can turn a match, Amoonguss is such a great pokemon on semi-TR. Standard EV spread.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Draco Meteor | Dark Pulse | Roost | Protect
Rotom-Wash overall was fairly defensively redundant with Heatran except for beating Grounds and Waters. Grounds I had pretty well covered; I chose Hydrei for its ability to switch in on Fires and Waters while also beating Steels. I especially need it to be able to repeatedly switch in on Heatran, because otherwise Tran behind a sub is a legendary nightmare for me. I put Roost on the set because a classic way of dealing with Hydrei is letting LO damage + chips from switching in wear it down to unusable levels, but I needed to be able to use its resists repeatedly. It's ridiculously effective as a set for destroying FWG and other bulky cores. If I were to change hydrei, it would be to give it a bulkier set.
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
Hammer Arm | Zen Headbutt | Iron Head | Protect
Mega Metagross replaced Scizor because MScizor sucks in ORAS, having Hammer Arm for Heatran is super great, as is having Zen Headbutt to hit a lot more things like Thund and Zard etc neutrally effectively than Scizor could. The EV spread outruns Modest Zard outside of TR but underslows min Rotom-A inside of TR at -1. Honestly this Pokemon just brings the resists of a Steel without all the shitty baggage of Heatran (who can't switch in on too many things because whatever it wants to switch in on is going to be next to something that donks it) and also damages a lot of things. Iron Head because missing sucks but flinching rocks :D
Threats:
QD Volcarona: It was a huge threat back when I still had Rotom-W and I can't imagine the situation has gotten much better when I replaced it with Hydrei, though I've actually never faced it since. If Landorus has taken like any damage I'm probably just fucked. Fortunately it's incredibly uncommon.
Azumarill: It's not getting too much breathing room but this was a case where I handled it much better when I had Rotom-W. If it's paired with a Jirachi or comes in on Superpower or something, it can be even more annoying.
Ludicolo: GOD WHAT A PAIN IN THE NECK. Another thing that makes me want to change my Heatran, it can just dismantle my team since it's basically all special attackers. Every bulky balance team needs to have a Pokemon that they can go "This, here, is my way of Destroying Ludicolo," and I do not.
BIG TITTIES
Salamence @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Protect
- Tailwind
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 80 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Protect
- Focus Blast
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 132 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Protect
- Tailwind
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 80 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Protect
- Focus Blast
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 132 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
SPL record: 1-1 (probably 2-0 if venu wasn't a blind dino) vs TFC vs Laga
This is an offensive sun team I built for Enki a while ago. Honestly I didn't change it much since the first draft, just one of those things you luck into—it could probably stand a little improvement but idk what to change.
On the nickname: One time TOTEM linked this ridiculous-sounding eroge about the war between the flat-chest and big-breast kingdoms, and I remarked that the big-breast kingdom was obviously better. He then revealed his terrible taste in women and challenged me to a duel to defend the honor of the mammary gland. Though the battle looked to be sealed in my favor despite some ridiculous paralysis luck, he won with underhanded timer tactics while I kept getting distracted by someone PMing me on irc :(
Salamence @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Draco Meteor | Fire Blast | Protect | Tailwind
I think it's the only Salamence that was used in SPL but I really like it for the team. Draco Meteor is still such a good catch-all STAB and Fire Blast in Sun is basically just as good but without a SpA drop. Main reason I keep Mence, though, is Tailwind, which is just so handy, even though a sun team "shouldn't" have a use for it. It's vital for opposing sun and great for HO matchups; helps Zard out a lot when nothing can outspeed it as well as Weavile. I also really like his Water/Fire resists and ability to beat Thundurus one-on-one who is otherwise a huge pain for the team. Probably the most replaceable member, because it slightly disappoints me power-wise (I could give LO, I guess, but I like to be able to tank hits), in which case I would probably just switch it to Landorus-T.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 80 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Heat Wave | Solar Beam | Protect | Focus Blast
Focus Blast is a terrible move and should never be used, but I need it for Heatran and Hydreigon, the former of which half my team can't touch and the latter of which my "Dragon counter" is bad against. Spread can tank a Return from Adamant MKanga and outspeed Breloom. Obviously the first Pokemon I added since it's, uh, a sun team, so there's not much to say here.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
King's Shield | Wide Guard | Shadow Ball | Flash Cannon
Another one of my great many Original Sets™, I'd been hyping WP WG Aegis for a long time and then it started pissing me off when it caught on during SPL because holy crap it could be hard to play around. The idea is basically just to play it like the old Sitrus Wide Guard Aegis but if someone tries to hit you with a non-OHKO super effective move you just retaliate with a free kill and get another one every turn until they can force you out. On the team it mostly serves the role of a Rock switchin to support Charizard, but it's also my primary Dragon counter since Weavile can't really be trusted to live slash switch in on anything, and one of my two Trick Room checks. Sun teams always need a Dragon counter since Zard/Venu both fare poorly against them.
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Fake Out | Icicle Crash | Knock Off | Low Kick
TBH the reason I originally put Weavile on the team was that I made it during the Mega Salamence metagame, but it was so nice that I kept it even after Mence was banned. It's great at punching holes and creating pressure, best exemplified in this game, probably. 4 attacks instead of Protect because I like being able to hit Rock-types with as many things as possible to clear holes for Charizard, as well as because Heatran used to be a huge bitch for this team to deal with so I just stacked counters.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Sleep Powder | Sludge Bomb | Giga Drain | Protect
Another classic implement of a sun team, Venu serves as a TR and Rock check while also being super speedy and being able to slow down whatever it wants with Sleep Powder (as long as it hits ._.) Along with Aegislash and Charizard, this serves as one of my offensive win conditions; I mostly try to clear out Charizard counters and win that way, but if you can clear Venusaur counters it can typically pull off a rampage as well.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 132 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Protect | Thunderbolt | Hydro Pump | Will-O-Wisp
My other Rock check, a Heatran check, a Lando check, Talon check, and a catch-all counter to most physical attackers. I'm using a more physically bulky spread because this Rotom mostly takes physical hits (Zard can eat special hits up itself in most cases). The spread can tank two Diamond Storms from standard Diancie 100% of the time, and outspeeds Lando in Tailwind. Other people think the Era of Rotom-W is over but it's still a very good pick in this metagame, unlike other things for whom the meta has been much less kind.
Threats:
Goth Rain: never had faced it before Laga but it's pretty terrifying; since I don't have Overheat it's super difficult to ensure I can kill the Goth before Politoed comes in to eat my Charizard alive.
Charizard: never actually run into the mirror but since this team just lacks in solid Zard counters except Salamence it would be messy. Don't doubt I could win, but yuck. Game would rely on Mence very heavily.
No VoD Allowed!
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 192 HP / 108 Atk / 208 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 0 Spe
- Earth Power
- Heat Wave
- Ancient Power
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Trick
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 192 HP / 108 Atk / 208 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Protect
Cresselia (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 0 Spe
- Earth Power
- Heat Wave
- Ancient Power
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Trick
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
SPL Record: 2-0 vs Mizuhime vs Biosci
I used the word "I" a lot in this team's description but I want it to be clear that this was a joint build by myself and Lohgock.
Coming into week 3 vs Mizuhime, I knew I wanted to use Trick Room + Sleep, because the teams she used were always either TR-weak HO or TR themselves. Starting from Amoonguss + Cress, Lohgock suggested Mega Camel because it's virtually unkillable except by water-types, and since Mizuhime had just brought rain twice, there was no way we would be facing Water-types again. I added WP Diancie as the secondary setter because most TR setters are pretty bad but Arctic had used it against me fairly effectively in the past. We then put on Scrafty for Fake Out to help TR go up and because its strong Knock Off donked ghosts; I always hated Vest Scrafty so I gave it a Life Orb, which also allowed it to use Protect. I absolutely think this is the better Scrafty set, Vest never does anything. Last we added Rotom-W to cover the weakness to Talonflame mostly. Finally, we decided on Cress's set; since we didn't really need help offensively, we went with Fangame Cress as a secondary win condition if Camel should have a bad matchup.
Any TR team has three main threats to stop it from setting up: sleep, Taunt, and strong Ghost/Dark moves. Add to that flinches, I guess, but not much you can do about those unless you're Inner Focus Hypno. Fake Out is so nice for them because for one turn you can stop all of these from a single target which really helps you get TR up; my team heavily relies on Fake Out to get past Skymin leads especially, and I prefer to use it rather than Amoonguss to get past Taunt ones as well. The two most threatening Ghost/Dark attackers which can stop setup are Bisharp and Aegislash, neither of which Scrafty can beat while not under TR, so I have to rely on Amoonguss to redirect their attacks usually. Once the first TR is up, momentum shifts heavily in the Full TR user's favor, and it's just on them to keep it that way for the rest of the match, so the majority of team support for these kinds of teams is front-end.
Full TR can be kind of matchup reliant, so I wouldn't recommend using this as your only team cough Fangame10, but if you're facing an opponent who you suspect will be weak to Full TR (protip: both of the sample teams are) then it can be easy and secure wins. It's not like there's no room for outplay from a bad matchup, either; I think full TR unfairly gets a bad rap a lot of the time.
Name cuz I used this to counterteam Shake.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Spore | Giga Drain | Rage Powder | Protect
Team's got some weird anti-Fairy tech, but you'll notice Guss lacks sludge bomb. Why? Cause it's already pretty good vs Azumarill, but having just one Azumarill check seriously wasn't enough when it destroys the rest of the team. Also Protect on Guss is nice so I can play around Taunts, I often need to preserve my Rage Powder for the next turn when I know I'm going to eat a Taunt on the current turn. Otherwise pretty classic Guss, I used Rocky Helmet on this team because it's not as secure vs Kang as my other one so I figured the residual would be nice. Can redirect Taunts and Dark/Ghost moves to let me get my set off.
Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 192 HP / 108 Atk / 208 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
Trick Room | Diamond Storm | Moonblast | Protect
Diancie is my secondary setter: less bulky than Cress but can also take an offensive role. I usually want my secondary setter to cover one of the Big Three that my primary setter doesn't beat, but WP Diancie was just so nice. I did put Mental Herb on Diancie when facing Biosci since he brought Taunt literally every week but I usually prefer WP. Besides, I'm a lot more worried about Aegis/Bisharp than Taunt users with this team, but the only TR setter that beats those is Porygon2 and I'm not sure I'm ready to take that step in my life. Thanks to Dstorm boosts and its highish natural bulk, Diancie is able to tank most hits such as Zard SolarBeam and Landog EQ, at which point it really becomes a force to be reckoned with since Clear Body prevents Intimidate from dampening its Dstorms. Spread OHKOes Lando-T with Moonblast and Rotom-H with Diamond Storm, team doesn't really have Rotom-H troubles so I've considered playing around with it some but whatever.
Cresselia (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Trick Room | Psychic | Calm Mind | Moonlight
CM Cresselia pulled in a lot of shit when youngjake93 used it last SPL but honestly he was just using a bad set; it's been flirted with by players ever since but I think only recently have high level players begun to accept that yes, it's a legitimate threat. This Cress is ridiculously tanky so it's 100% always able to get TR up, and since the rest of the team is pretty good at taking out the things that can beat it (Ghosts/Darks/Kang mostly) it's often able to just ruin teams on its own. I don't even know what the spread does.
Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Earth Power | Heat Wave | Ancient Power | Protect
Camerupt is just a legend under TR; it's borderline unkillable without a Water-type and it's absolutely impossible to switch in on unless you're like Latios or Rotom-H. Also nice cuz it DESTROYS amoonguss who is most team's TR check. Ancient Power cuz otherwise the team is a little scared of zard, but tbh only a little so HP Ice might be better to OHKO Lando and keep Latios/Hydrei from being switchins since this team already has two Pokes that can hardly touch dragons.
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Thunderbolt | Volt Switch | Hydro Pump | Trick
Rotom-W is usually defensive but it's got hella good dual STAB if you prefer to take it that route instead WHICH I DID. Specs Rotom-W is pretty powerful and has great Dual STAB allowing my team not to be garbage against things like Talonflame and most importantly Water-types, because Mega Camel teams will (obviously) struggle against Rain. I've never once used Trick successfully, I figure I would be using against things like Substitute pokes but I don't want to give Tran, Cube, or Aegis specs. But there's nothing else Rotom-W needs other than STAB so I'm keeping Trick for now. vs Biosci I actually used Discharge over Thunderbolt to hit Azumarill next to a redirector, since this team is pretty Azu weak it may still not be a bad idea to keep.
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
Fake Out | Drain Punch | Knock Off | Poison Jab
Scrafty's just really good for TR, between STAB that donks Darks and Ghosts, to Fake Out, to Intimidate, to its low base Speed. As you can see, I ended up dropping Protect for Poison Jab to deal with the Fairy (especially Azu) weakness of the team. But this thing covers so many threats it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, I'm often surprised by how piss weak it is: failing to OHKO Terrakion with drain punch, or Aegislash with Knock Off, or Sylveon with Poison Jab—I mean it has a lower base Attack than NONmega Camerupt. Still, it brings a lot to the table, and can KO everything I want to...after some chip damage.
Threats:
Azumarill: yea i mentioned it like twice but if it gets to +6 next to a partner like rachi it won't be fun, my only real way of beating this combo reliablyish is Amoonguss+Camel
Aegislash: especially the sub set which is fortunately (and rightly) falling out of vogue, it can just do a lot of damage to all my pokes pretty much.
Hydreigon: a lot of my team can't really touch it. Main reason I'm considering going HP Ice on Camel.
Thanks for reading, and sorry that I couldn't give in-depth descriptions about all my teams (especially the second two) as much as I'd have liked... I've played a lot more with the first one so I have a more solid understanding of how everything fits together. There are some other teams which I plan to do this with again at some point in the future; these include the week 6 team Lohgock used vs Zubat and the week 9 team Lohgock used vs finally, but both are not good enough yet to share. I'll keep working on those until I can post another of these threads.
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