Standard
Introduction
For about 2 months I was away exploring the foreign lands of India, or what my family calls a "vacation". Those 2 months I was deprived of all electronics from a computer to a microwave. Now that I've returned from the vacation/torture, I can indulge myself in technology and try to teach my self about the metagame I left in it's unstable state. This far into the 5th gen, I previously believed that most of the worthwhile sets and Pokemon were accounted for, but I was wrong. When I was on vacation I had a lot of time to think about these "gimmicky" sets, and have come up with a few that are actually quite effective.
The basic thought of this team is to setup a sub and sweep with either Latios or Terrakion. I've had a decent degree of success with this team, as most of my losses are do to misclicks, bad prediction, or just plain stupid mistakes.. I peaked in the 100's with a score of 1335 CRE in the PBC server during the first stages of this team before getting haxed back down. While this team may seem gimmicky, I did my best to figure out which overlooked sets work well in the current metagame. And as I've always said, creativity makes the world go round!
Without further adieu…
The Team
Smeargle @ Choice Scarf | Own Tempo
Nature: Jolly | EVs: 216 HP / 40 Def / 252 Spe
Spore l Stealth Rock l Encore l Switcheroo
When I made this team, I knew I was going to use Scarf Smeargle as my lead. I have no idea why they aren't as common as before. There are an infinite amount of move sets Smeargle can run, and this is without a doubt one of the craziest sets I've ever used. But it really is effective. It's really a thing that makes people rage quit if they fall for it, which happens often. Basically it cripples 2 Pokemon and sets up Stealth Rock for sure. It functions as my "counter", so to say, to the omnipresent Stealth Rock / Taunt leads that plague the current metagame. I almost always begin the match with Switcheroo unless the opposing lead is a possible attacking or Choice lead, though seldom have I seen more offensively oriented leads bar Genesect. One of the issues to this set is a slight weakness to one of the only Scarf leads, Jirachi. Jirachi can outpace and cripple or KO Smeargle, especially when I lose to Paralysis. Most offensive Scarf leads, actually, can give me some trouble. Though this seems like a fatal flaw, Smeargle has been an MVP on many occasions.
The EV's should be obvious, or at least the Speed should be. Max Speed with a positive nature is enough to outspeed most of the common leads bar Deoxys-S. 216 HP and 40 Def EV's are enough to survive the seldom seen Choice Band Metagross Bullet Punch, but they still add a little bit of bulk to Smeargle. The move set is the fun part. Either Switcheroo or Spore the first turn. Switcheroo is if I believe it's a Stealth Rock or Taunt lead and Spore if I think they will attack. If I spore I can try and predict an Espeon switch and double switch to Latios. Encore is cool. It makes sure I can still cripple lategame when I've lost my Scarf. Smeargle is most importantly the Pokemon that sets up Stealth Rock for my team, something that is necessary to achieve key KO's with Latios and Terrakion, and is as reliable as they come at doing the job. Skarmory was lacking a place in his move set so Smeargle was obviously the one to get it. The best part about Smeargle is his ability to come in and cripple late-game if he didn't succeed as a lead.
Latios @ Lum Berry | Levitate
Nature: Timid | EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Calm Mind l Dragon Pulse l Hidden Power [Fighting] l Substitute
Latios is an indispensable piece of my offensive core. Its combination of power and speed make it a pain to take out, and opponents assuming I run a Specs set get to face Latios with 1 less Pokemon. Calm Mind isn't a bad set by any means, just an underrated one. In my opinion, the Calm Mind set outclasses the Specs in all elements. Consider the following: With all the Pursuit users running around just to counter Lati@s, the ability to switch attacks is a god send. The 2 weird ideas on here are Lum Berry and HP Fighting. Though it seems redundant with Substitute, it makes me immune to status while switching into Latios and bluffing Choice Specs and KOing or Subbing while the opponent switches is great. HP Fighting lets me KO Latios's greatest nemesis, Tyranitar, and prevent it from KOing me with Pursuit. LO CM would be ineffective in a metagame based on the use of Sandstorm and her abusers, and combined with Substitute, would wear me down to quickly. Substitute's unique niche is that it allows me to scout if his #1 counter, Tyranitar, runs Crunch or Pursuit. Then I can decide to either HP Fighting or flee. Synergy-wise, being weak to Dark-type moves [other than Pursuit] is a god-send. Terrakion appreciates the Attack boost due to it's ability, Justified, and allows Skarmory to come in and set up.
Max Speed and SpA are obviously to deal the most damage possible. The move set is what I think works best for Latios. For one, I don't get why people run Refresh over Substitute. Sure, you can get rid of status as you switch in, but what else? Substitute lets you take a hit, set up, block status, and a lot of other stuff. It also has saved me many times from the dreaded Sucker Punch. Lum Berry clears status when you switch in anyways. Calm Mind works well with Sub against special attackers. Dragon Pulse is for a consistent STAB as Draco Meteor wouldn't work well with Calm Mind, and HP Fighting is for Ferrothorn and Tyranitar (and Steels in general). I really don't care about losing speed ties with other Lati@s. I'll be switching to Blissey anyways. If your doubting HP Fighting's potential, note that is 2HKO's 252/252+ Tyranitar in the Sand Storm with +1 HP Fighting, and has a 39% chance to OHKO 4/0 Neutral Tyranitar (always a OHKO with Stealth Rocks).
Blissey @ Leftovers | Natural Cure
Nature: Bold | EVs: 24 HP / 252 Def / 140 SAtk / 92 Spe
Flamethrower l Seismic Toss l Thunder Wave l Softboiled
A more offensive form of the common Blissey. It has one me some matches just because I took out the opponents Ferro/Scizor trying to setup on me with Flamethrower. Flamethrower actually works really well with all the Sun teams running around now that Drizzle + SS has been all but eradicated. This is the Blissey I have and always will use during the 5th gen since it catches almost everyone off-guard. It also functions as my surprise Excadrill counter. She survives a +2 Stone Edge and can 2HKO (1 turn for the boost, another to Attack gives me 2 turns) with Flamethrower and Stealth Rocks in play, but +2 Earthquake KO's me. Blissey's spectacular Specially defensive capabilities of saved this team many times and has given Latios and Terrakion several extra chances to set up by crippling faster threats with much-appreciated Paralysis support.
Skarmory @ Shed Shell | Sturdy
Nature: Impish | EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Spikes l Roost l Taunt l Whirlwind
Taunt Skarmory. Excellent. This thing rarely doesn't get 3 layers of Spikes up during the game. Of course, no attack is just begging to get Taunted, I really don't mind it. Everything on here is important and Whirlwind deals more damage then Drill Peck or Brave Bird would anyways. The move set is designed to get as many layers of Spikes on the field as possible, and on most occasions I do get all 3. Spikes support really helps out Terrakion and Latios nab some KO's they normally wouldn't achieve. Skarmory's other role on this team is checking deadly set up threats like Swords Dance Excadrill and Double Dance Terrakion. Skarmory brings some helpful resistances to Dragon, Bug, Dark, and Grass to the table and without his support, sweeping with Terrakion and Latios would be much more challenging.
252 HP and 164 Def add some bulk while 92 Speed is enough to outspeed standard Restalk Gyarados and Taunt him before he can Sleep Talk. Shed Shell is great for stupid Magnezone's coming in to trap and KO me. Roost is if I have an opportunity to, which is more often then not. Taunt is the crux of this set. I can let something try and set up on me, be it Swords Dance or Spikes, and Taunt them before they get many up. Taunting Ferrothorn and the like is great as it forces switches and gives me even more chances to set up Spikes. Whirlwind is to abuse Spikes and Stealth Rock when they're in play.
Starmie @ Choice Specs | Natural Cure
Nature: Timid | EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Trick l Hydro Pump l Thunder Bolt l Ice Beam
Life Orb Starmie is the predicted set. No thanks, Choice Specs are much better. Of course, with sun everywhere, it's a little hard to deal damage with Hydro Pump, but it still deals a truck load to everything that doesn't resist it, and even things that do. Standard Ferrothorn takes (I think) 39% from Hydro Pump. That's a 3HKO on Ferrothorn with a resisted attack. That's Ferrothorn, who have base 139 SpD. Starmie is sort of the glue that keeps this team afloat. Without Starmie, I'd lose to many faster threats that would otherwise put a stop to a sweep. Not only that, but Starmie takes out Terrakion and Latios' counters out, making their sweep much more simple. It's just as good as it was in the 4th Gen, if not better. Choice Specs Starmie is a devastating asset to this team, checking strong, fast threats that would cause many problems, and should not be though of as an inferior Life Orb Starmie.
Standard EV's of 252/4/252. Max Speed to outspeed other HP Fire Starmie and base 114's and below. Trick is great for Blissey's and other walls. I love to predict Blissey switch in and cripple it with Specs. It has caused many rage quits. Hydro Pump is extremely powerful. The accuracy is sometimes the trigger of [my] rage quits, but I still prefer it over Surf. Surf misses out on many important KO's. Thunder Bolt and Ice Beam form the boltbeam combo. I've considered going HP Fire over Thunder Bolt, but I don't like getting walled by Water-types, and Ferro takes good damage from Ice Beam and Hydro Pump either way.
Terrakion @ Life Orb | Justified
Nature: Jolly | EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Swords Dance l Close Combat l Stone Edge l Substitute
The second force in my offensive core with Latios, Terrakion is my favorite Pokemon on this team. Substitute Swords Dance Terrakion is also the most effective "gimmicky" Pokemon set I've made. Skarmory will still take major damage from +2 Close Combat. Another important factor in the success of Terrakion is that with Starmie and Latios, there comes Dark-type attacks. With Dark-type attacks, comes a Justified Attack boost. And most of the time, when people see I got an Attack boost, they switch. That means I can have +1 - +3 Attack and a Sub. The single problem is that, with Substitute and Life Orb recoil, he doesn't have a lot of staying power, and often dies before he gets a full sweep. Don't bother asking me to change this to standard Double Dance. I wont. There are a few changes I'm considering, though. Rock Polish over Swords Dance would help me with my Excadrill weakness, but with a Substitute I can handle Excadrill fine. The loss of key KO's significant, though.
Standard sweeper EV's. Max Speed combined with Terrakion's awkward base Speed stat let it outspeed common threats Garchomp and under. Swords Dance is to boost Terrakion's already stellar Attack stat. Close Combat along with Stone Edge offer excellent dual STABs, although Close Combat makes me even more susceptible to the ever-so-common priority but that is negated by Substitute. A +2 Rock Gem Stone Edge KO's many of defensive stuff, ranging from Slowbro to Gliscor and Skarmory, after Stealth Rock damage. Substitute plays a major role in if Terrakion is successful or not. It blocks priority, status, Trick, and Super Effective attacks. There is no doubt in my mind that without Terrakion I would be victim to many of the metagame's most devastating Sweepers.
Conclusion
In closing, I'd like to extend my gratitude to the many players who helped me test and improve my team. I hope you realize that not all the worthwhile sets of this mildly stale metagame have been dug up. I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT.
Smeargle @ Choice Scarf | Own Tempo
Nature: Jolly | EVs: 216 HP / 40 Def / 252 Spe
Spore l Stealth Rock l Encore l Switcheroo
When I made this team, I knew I was going to use Scarf Smeargle as my lead. I have no idea why they aren't as common as before. There are an infinite amount of move sets Smeargle can run, and this is without a doubt one of the craziest sets I've ever used. But it really is effective. It's really a thing that makes people rage quit if they fall for it, which happens often. Basically it cripples 2 Pokemon and sets up Stealth Rock for sure. It functions as my "counter", so to say, to the omnipresent Stealth Rock / Taunt leads that plague the current metagame. I almost always begin the match with Switcheroo unless the opposing lead is a possible attacking or Choice lead, though seldom have I seen more offensively oriented leads bar Genesect. One of the issues to this set is a slight weakness to one of the only Scarf leads, Jirachi. Jirachi can outpace and cripple or KO Smeargle, especially when I lose to Paralysis. Most offensive Scarf leads, actually, can give me some trouble. Though this seems like a fatal flaw, Smeargle has been an MVP on many occasions.
The EV's should be obvious, or at least the Speed should be. Max Speed with a positive nature is enough to outspeed most of the common leads bar Deoxys-S. 216 HP and 40 Def EV's are enough to survive the seldom seen Choice Band Metagross Bullet Punch, but they still add a little bit of bulk to Smeargle. The move set is the fun part. Either Switcheroo or Spore the first turn. Switcheroo is if I believe it's a Stealth Rock or Taunt lead and Spore if I think they will attack. If I spore I can try and predict an Espeon switch and double switch to Latios. Encore is cool. It makes sure I can still cripple lategame when I've lost my Scarf. Smeargle is most importantly the Pokemon that sets up Stealth Rock for my team, something that is necessary to achieve key KO's with Latios and Terrakion, and is as reliable as they come at doing the job. Skarmory was lacking a place in his move set so Smeargle was obviously the one to get it. The best part about Smeargle is his ability to come in and cripple late-game if he didn't succeed as a lead.
Latios @ Lum Berry | Levitate
Nature: Timid | EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Calm Mind l Dragon Pulse l Hidden Power [Fighting] l Substitute
Latios is an indispensable piece of my offensive core. Its combination of power and speed make it a pain to take out, and opponents assuming I run a Specs set get to face Latios with 1 less Pokemon. Calm Mind isn't a bad set by any means, just an underrated one. In my opinion, the Calm Mind set outclasses the Specs in all elements. Consider the following: With all the Pursuit users running around just to counter Lati@s, the ability to switch attacks is a god send. The 2 weird ideas on here are Lum Berry and HP Fighting. Though it seems redundant with Substitute, it makes me immune to status while switching into Latios and bluffing Choice Specs and KOing or Subbing while the opponent switches is great. HP Fighting lets me KO Latios's greatest nemesis, Tyranitar, and prevent it from KOing me with Pursuit. LO CM would be ineffective in a metagame based on the use of Sandstorm and her abusers, and combined with Substitute, would wear me down to quickly. Substitute's unique niche is that it allows me to scout if his #1 counter, Tyranitar, runs Crunch or Pursuit. Then I can decide to either HP Fighting or flee. Synergy-wise, being weak to Dark-type moves [other than Pursuit] is a god-send. Terrakion appreciates the Attack boost due to it's ability, Justified, and allows Skarmory to come in and set up.
Max Speed and SpA are obviously to deal the most damage possible. The move set is what I think works best for Latios. For one, I don't get why people run Refresh over Substitute. Sure, you can get rid of status as you switch in, but what else? Substitute lets you take a hit, set up, block status, and a lot of other stuff. It also has saved me many times from the dreaded Sucker Punch. Lum Berry clears status when you switch in anyways. Calm Mind works well with Sub against special attackers. Dragon Pulse is for a consistent STAB as Draco Meteor wouldn't work well with Calm Mind, and HP Fighting is for Ferrothorn and Tyranitar (and Steels in general). I really don't care about losing speed ties with other Lati@s. I'll be switching to Blissey anyways. If your doubting HP Fighting's potential, note that is 2HKO's 252/252+ Tyranitar in the Sand Storm with +1 HP Fighting, and has a 39% chance to OHKO 4/0 Neutral Tyranitar (always a OHKO with Stealth Rocks).
Blissey @ Leftovers | Natural Cure
Nature: Bold | EVs: 24 HP / 252 Def / 140 SAtk / 92 Spe
Flamethrower l Seismic Toss l Thunder Wave l Softboiled
A more offensive form of the common Blissey. It has one me some matches just because I took out the opponents Ferro/Scizor trying to setup on me with Flamethrower. Flamethrower actually works really well with all the Sun teams running around now that Drizzle + SS has been all but eradicated. This is the Blissey I have and always will use during the 5th gen since it catches almost everyone off-guard. It also functions as my surprise Excadrill counter. She survives a +2 Stone Edge and can 2HKO (1 turn for the boost, another to Attack gives me 2 turns) with Flamethrower and Stealth Rocks in play, but +2 Earthquake KO's me. Blissey's spectacular Specially defensive capabilities of saved this team many times and has given Latios and Terrakion several extra chances to set up by crippling faster threats with much-appreciated Paralysis support.
24 HP EV's gives a Leftovers number. Maxed defense because it's not Skarmory and can't take Physical hits well. Thunder Wave works well with Terrakion and Latios, giving them a chance to set up a Substitute and boost as well as makes sure they don't get outsped before they set up a Sub. Softboiled is obviously for recovery. 140 SpAtt adds a little "umph" to Flamethrower and 92 Speed outspeeds other Blissey, Chansey, Scizor, Skarmory, Hippowdon, Forretress, and Ferrothorn. You may think that taking EV's from HP is really hampering Blissey's bulk, but I don't think Blissey gets OHKOed by anything important now. Flamethrower should be concealed until late-game where it can be deployed at the right time and nab the game-winning kill.
Skarmory @ Shed Shell | Sturdy
Nature: Impish | EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Spikes l Roost l Taunt l Whirlwind
Taunt Skarmory. Excellent. This thing rarely doesn't get 3 layers of Spikes up during the game. Of course, no attack is just begging to get Taunted, I really don't mind it. Everything on here is important and Whirlwind deals more damage then Drill Peck or Brave Bird would anyways. The move set is designed to get as many layers of Spikes on the field as possible, and on most occasions I do get all 3. Spikes support really helps out Terrakion and Latios nab some KO's they normally wouldn't achieve. Skarmory's other role on this team is checking deadly set up threats like Swords Dance Excadrill and Double Dance Terrakion. Skarmory brings some helpful resistances to Dragon, Bug, Dark, and Grass to the table and without his support, sweeping with Terrakion and Latios would be much more challenging.
252 HP and 164 Def add some bulk while 92 Speed is enough to outspeed standard Restalk Gyarados and Taunt him before he can Sleep Talk. Shed Shell is great for stupid Magnezone's coming in to trap and KO me. Roost is if I have an opportunity to, which is more often then not. Taunt is the crux of this set. I can let something try and set up on me, be it Swords Dance or Spikes, and Taunt them before they get many up. Taunting Ferrothorn and the like is great as it forces switches and gives me even more chances to set up Spikes. Whirlwind is to abuse Spikes and Stealth Rock when they're in play.
Starmie @ Choice Specs | Natural Cure
Nature: Timid | EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Trick l Hydro Pump l Thunder Bolt l Ice Beam
Life Orb Starmie is the predicted set. No thanks, Choice Specs are much better. Of course, with sun everywhere, it's a little hard to deal damage with Hydro Pump, but it still deals a truck load to everything that doesn't resist it, and even things that do. Standard Ferrothorn takes (I think) 39% from Hydro Pump. That's a 3HKO on Ferrothorn with a resisted attack. That's Ferrothorn, who have base 139 SpD. Starmie is sort of the glue that keeps this team afloat. Without Starmie, I'd lose to many faster threats that would otherwise put a stop to a sweep. Not only that, but Starmie takes out Terrakion and Latios' counters out, making their sweep much more simple. It's just as good as it was in the 4th Gen, if not better. Choice Specs Starmie is a devastating asset to this team, checking strong, fast threats that would cause many problems, and should not be though of as an inferior Life Orb Starmie.
Standard EV's of 252/4/252. Max Speed to outspeed other HP Fire Starmie and base 114's and below. Trick is great for Blissey's and other walls. I love to predict Blissey switch in and cripple it with Specs. It has caused many rage quits. Hydro Pump is extremely powerful. The accuracy is sometimes the trigger of [my] rage quits, but I still prefer it over Surf. Surf misses out on many important KO's. Thunder Bolt and Ice Beam form the boltbeam combo. I've considered going HP Fire over Thunder Bolt, but I don't like getting walled by Water-types, and Ferro takes good damage from Ice Beam and Hydro Pump either way.
Terrakion @ Life Orb | Justified
Nature: Jolly | EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Swords Dance l Close Combat l Stone Edge l Substitute
The second force in my offensive core with Latios, Terrakion is my favorite Pokemon on this team. Substitute Swords Dance Terrakion is also the most effective "gimmicky" Pokemon set I've made. Skarmory will still take major damage from +2 Close Combat. Another important factor in the success of Terrakion is that with Starmie and Latios, there comes Dark-type attacks. With Dark-type attacks, comes a Justified Attack boost. And most of the time, when people see I got an Attack boost, they switch. That means I can have +1 - +3 Attack and a Sub. The single problem is that, with Substitute and Life Orb recoil, he doesn't have a lot of staying power, and often dies before he gets a full sweep. Don't bother asking me to change this to standard Double Dance. I wont. There are a few changes I'm considering, though. Rock Polish over Swords Dance would help me with my Excadrill weakness, but with a Substitute I can handle Excadrill fine. The loss of key KO's significant, though.
Standard sweeper EV's. Max Speed combined with Terrakion's awkward base Speed stat let it outspeed common threats Garchomp and under. Swords Dance is to boost Terrakion's already stellar Attack stat. Close Combat along with Stone Edge offer excellent dual STABs, although Close Combat makes me even more susceptible to the ever-so-common priority but that is negated by Substitute. A +2 Rock Gem Stone Edge KO's many of defensive stuff, ranging from Slowbro to Gliscor and Skarmory, after Stealth Rock damage. Substitute plays a major role in if Terrakion is successful or not. It blocks priority, status, Trick, and Super Effective attacks. There is no doubt in my mind that without Terrakion I would be victim to many of the metagame's most devastating Sweepers.
Conclusion
In closing, I'd like to extend my gratitude to the many players who helped me test and improve my team. I hope you realize that not all the worthwhile sets of this mildly stale metagame have been dug up. I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT.
