Strength in Synergy
(I'd put an awesome picture of the team here if I had the skill to make one)
Hello fellow Smogonites!
I'm SmallFry25, and there's a very good chance you won't have the slightest idea who I am, considering I hardly ever post here. I mostly just browse the forums and battle without ever contributing much. Having previously posted a bulky offence RMT in the old UU beta metagame full of Tornadus-T and Zygarde that did pretty well, peaking very briefly at around 1450 on the ladder, I decided it was high time I posted another one.
In terms of team building style I don't tend to stray too far from the standard sets, almost exclusively using tried and trusted pokemon as scarf Mienshao and SpD Florges etc. However, I decided to embark on a different team building journey and pull together a team of under-appreciated pokemon that I felt (justified or not) needed more love. I went through several versions of the team that didn't prove to be too successful, but it did provide me with a platform to build on. I finally arrived at a team that I think has great synergy and, as a result, has provided me with my highest ladder ranking to date
Teambuilding process:
I wanted to start with a somewhat unconventional choice scarf user that could outspeed and KO most of the common scarfers in the tier, most importantly Mienshao, and also provide momentum. Cobalion seemed like the perfect choice
To pair with it I wanted a special powerhouse to blow holes in as many pokes as it could. I pulled Kyurem up from RU (why the hell is it down there) and decided on a choice specs set
With my offensive core chosen it was time to sort out some defence. Physically defensive Qwilfish seemed like a good choice, with intimidate and the ability to set up toxic spikes to support the rest of the team
Physical wall taken care of I wanted a special wall that paired well with Qwilfish but could also act as a cleric (whose name wasn't Florges). I knew I wanted a grass type, and Celebi also covered Qwilfish's psychic weakness so in he came
Now I had my offensive and defensive cores sorted I wanted a defensive pivot. I noticed I was slightly ground week, with 2 weaknesses and only 1 resist, so I decided to go with assault vest Eelektross
With my team starting to take shape I felt I needed rapid spin support. I wanted something less conventional (and I wasn't thinking too much about synergy at the time) so I went with Hitmonchan
I tested this team a fair bit but Qwilfish was almost OHKOed by a Victini's zen headbutt so I decided to switch it out for a more standard defensive Arcanine. I lost the ability to set up t-spikes but I haven't honestly missed them. Hitmonchan also wasn't pulling its weight, often dying fairly early, and I didn't have a dedicated knock off absorber, so Mega Blastoise also came in
At this point I found myself wanting a set-up sweeper. I debated for a fairly long time which member I'd miss most, and naturally the pokemon so powerful it doesn't even register on the UU viability rankings had to stay, so Kyurem went out and double dance Porygon-Z came in. This version of the team peaked at 1511, but had reached its limit
Porygon-Z wasn't really doing much for the team, so at Brawlfest's suggestion I swapped in stallbreaker Crobat to help deal with fighting types as well as hard stall teams
Eelektross had been really underwhelming and I was really missing wish support on the team. I considered several options, and my best course of action seemed to be bringing in Mega Ampharos and Vaporeon for Eelektross and Blastoise.
I'm very happy with this version of the team, it's patched up a lot of weaknesses I previously had and if I play well and predict correctly I will usually come out on top.
The team in detail: (Changes in red, occasional alternates in blue)
Cobalion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Volt Switch / Stealth Rock
Synergy:
Fighting - Celebi, Crobat
Fire - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Vaporeon
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Oh man, I love this guy. The number of battles I've won thanks to this guy is incredible. No one ever expects it to be scarfed and it can OHKO most of the other common scarfers without too much trouble. Being able to trick the opponent into thinking I had nothing for Weavile before smashing it with a scarfed CC was always fun, but alas that time has gone. His unique (in UU at least) dual STAB is incredible, and stone edge rounds out coverage on a few things, most importantly Victini. Volt switch occupies the last slot for grabbing momentum (also partly due to Cobalion's lack of any other physical coverage. He'd really benefit from earthquake), but I've considered stealth rock to further bluff the lack of scarf while freeing up a slot for thunder wave on Celebi. EVs are standard, with naive nature to guarantee outspeeding all variants of Meinshao while not taking any power away from volt switch
Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 176 HP / 192 Atk / 4 SDef / 136 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Roost
- Defog
Synergy:
Electric - Ampharos, Celebi
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
Psychic - Celebi
Rock - Cobalion
Originally a specs Kyurem, then replaced by double dance Porygon-Z, I've finally settled on Stallbreaker Crobat, as suggested by Brawlfest. I'm not sure why I didn't think of him in the first place as he's one of my favourite Pokemon, but there you go. He's definitely helped against fighting types (assuming they don't predict and use stone edge) as well as breaking through stall. Pretty standard moveset with a powerful brave bird, taunt to shut down walls and prevent hazards early game and roost for reliable recovery. I originally ran toxic in the 4th slot, but with the change from Blastoise to Vaporeon I lost spin support, so I put defog there to clear hazards. I also gained toxic on Celebi so I don't mind losing it on Crobat. EVs are to outspeed max speed base 115s and avoid download boosts to SpA while keeping a good amount of bulk and power.
Arcanine @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Morning Sun
- Roar / Will-o-Wisp
Synergy:
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Rock - Cobalion
Water - Ampharos (after mega), Celebi, Vaporeon
On the surface, Arcanine's defence isn't exactly stellar, but when you factor in intimidate he can take almost any physical hit like a champ. I also like my walls to have decent offensive presence and Arcanine certainly covers that with his base 110 attack stat. Flare blitz may seem counter-productive to his walling capabilities, but when the next best option is fire fang you don't really have much choice. Extreme speed is an incredibly valuable move, being the only priority move on the team and also able to beat sucker punch users like Honchkrow. Morning sun provides recovery and roar (suggested by Zkillerthriller) is for phasing out set-up sweepers and baton pass chains, as well as shuffling for stealth rock damage (will-o-wisp is another option in this slot but a lot of physical threats that Arcanine counters are fire types, and I find phasing to be more useful). People are often surprised when they take rocky helmet recoil and, while I agree that losing out on leftovers occasionally leaves you open for a 2HKO you would have avoided otherwise, the residual damage it causes has proved more valuable in the long run
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 SDef / 252 HP / 36 Spd
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Toxic
- Giga Drain
Synergy:
Bug - Arcanine, Cobalion
Dark - Cobalion
Fire - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Vaporeon
Flying - Ampharos
Ghost -
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
Poison - Cobalion
I've honestly never been a huge fan of specially defensive Celebi. With a huge 7 weaknesses it's always felt like a weak link when I've used it, but it's been doing its job pretty well on this team. It's the best, if not only, pokemon that is simultaneously a cleric, can set up stealth rocks and resists ground. It also has a fantastic ability that lets it heal status simply by leaving the field of battle. Stealth rock helps net a lot of KOs for the other members of the team (thunder wave is preferred if I'm running stealth rock on Cobalion), Recover and giga drain provide reliable healing and obligatory STAB. I opted for toxic over thunder wave in the final slot because I judged residual damage to be more important than paralysis over the course of a battle, plus with Cobalion being faster than most common scarf users barring Raikou (who's immune anyway) I don't particularly need to slow many things. EVs provide a lot of special bulk as well as a slight boost to speed.
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static -> Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SAtk / 208 HP / 48 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power Ice / Rest
Synergy:
Dragon - Cobalion
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Fairy - Crobat
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
As a bulky pivots go there aren't any better than Mega Ampharos. With its new mega form it gains a bunch of resistances thanks to its dragon typing, a buff of 20 to each defensive stat and a frankly ridiculous 165 SpA. Plus, how can you resist that hair? Volt switch is incredible on Amphy as it can take a big hit before allowing me to gain momentum. Dragon pulse and thunderbolt are both really powerful and provide unresisted coverage barring things like Whimsicott and Ferroseed which are very uncommon. I normally run focus blast in the final slot, but hidden power ice would provide coverage on Whimsicott and rest would provide a way to fully heal, and with heal bell on Vaporeon I wouldn't have to burn off the turns. I run 48 speed EVs to outpace 4 EV Donphan and Tangrowth, with 252 and modest in SpA for maximum power and the rest in HP for maximum bulk.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 120 Def / 252 HP / 136 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect
Synergy:
Electric - Ampharos, Celebi
Grass - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Celebi, Cobalion
This slot has been changed several times, but I've finally settled on Vaporeon to complete a very solid FWG defensive core. I debated keeping Blastoise with leftovers in this slot in order to keep rapid spin, but wish support has brought Ampharos back from the brink of death many times so I'm definitely happy with it, and with defog on Crobat I still have a way of clearing hazards from my side. I originally had heal bell on Celebi but Vaporeon is the more reliable user having fewer weaknesses. Wish and protect are pretty self explanatory, providing health support for the rest of the team, mostly Ampharos, along with reliable healing for Vaporeon itself. Scald provides a fairly powerful STAB move with the additional 30% chance for a burn. EVs are custom to avoid ever being 2HKOed by any move from timid LO Nidoking with the rest in Def for very nice mixed bulk.
Threats:
Conclusion:
While it's by no means perfect this team can handle most of what anyone can throw at it. I'd love a better answer to the Nidos (they're always a thorn in my side), but without ruining synergy I can't think of a way to make it happen. Every replacement I can think of would either lose a resistance or gain a weakness so I've decided not to bother.
If you made it this far you're a trooper and you have my full respect. I'll welcome any suggestions, I've probably missed a glaring weakness that I just haven't come across yet that can be fixed very easily
Thanks for reading :)
(I'd put an awesome picture of the team here if I had the skill to make one)
Hello fellow Smogonites!
I'm SmallFry25, and there's a very good chance you won't have the slightest idea who I am, considering I hardly ever post here. I mostly just browse the forums and battle without ever contributing much. Having previously posted a bulky offence RMT in the old UU beta metagame full of Tornadus-T and Zygarde that did pretty well, peaking very briefly at around 1450 on the ladder, I decided it was high time I posted another one.
In terms of team building style I don't tend to stray too far from the standard sets, almost exclusively using tried and trusted pokemon as scarf Mienshao and SpD Florges etc. However, I decided to embark on a different team building journey and pull together a team of under-appreciated pokemon that I felt (justified or not) needed more love. I went through several versions of the team that didn't prove to be too successful, but it did provide me with a platform to build on. I finally arrived at a team that I think has great synergy and, as a result, has provided me with my highest ladder ranking to date
Teambuilding process:
I wanted to start with a somewhat unconventional choice scarf user that could outspeed and KO most of the common scarfers in the tier, most importantly Mienshao, and also provide momentum. Cobalion seemed like the perfect choice
To pair with it I wanted a special powerhouse to blow holes in as many pokes as it could. I pulled Kyurem up from RU (why the hell is it down there) and decided on a choice specs set
With my offensive core chosen it was time to sort out some defence. Physically defensive Qwilfish seemed like a good choice, with intimidate and the ability to set up toxic spikes to support the rest of the team
Physical wall taken care of I wanted a special wall that paired well with Qwilfish but could also act as a cleric (whose name wasn't Florges). I knew I wanted a grass type, and Celebi also covered Qwilfish's psychic weakness so in he came
Now I had my offensive and defensive cores sorted I wanted a defensive pivot. I noticed I was slightly ground week, with 2 weaknesses and only 1 resist, so I decided to go with assault vest Eelektross
With my team starting to take shape I felt I needed rapid spin support. I wanted something less conventional (and I wasn't thinking too much about synergy at the time) so I went with Hitmonchan
I tested this team a fair bit but Qwilfish was almost OHKOed by a Victini's zen headbutt so I decided to switch it out for a more standard defensive Arcanine. I lost the ability to set up t-spikes but I haven't honestly missed them. Hitmonchan also wasn't pulling its weight, often dying fairly early, and I didn't have a dedicated knock off absorber, so Mega Blastoise also came in
At this point I found myself wanting a set-up sweeper. I debated for a fairly long time which member I'd miss most, and naturally the pokemon so powerful it doesn't even register on the UU viability rankings had to stay, so Kyurem went out and double dance Porygon-Z came in. This version of the team peaked at 1511, but had reached its limit
Porygon-Z wasn't really doing much for the team, so at Brawlfest's suggestion I swapped in stallbreaker Crobat to help deal with fighting types as well as hard stall teams
Eelektross had been really underwhelming and I was really missing wish support on the team. I considered several options, and my best course of action seemed to be bringing in Mega Ampharos and Vaporeon for Eelektross and Blastoise.
I'm very happy with this version of the team, it's patched up a lot of weaknesses I previously had and if I play well and predict correctly I will usually come out on top.
The team in detail: (Changes in red, occasional alternates in blue)
Cobalion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Volt Switch / Stealth Rock
Synergy:
Fighting - Celebi, Crobat
Fire - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Vaporeon
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Oh man, I love this guy. The number of battles I've won thanks to this guy is incredible. No one ever expects it to be scarfed and it can OHKO most of the other common scarfers without too much trouble. Being able to trick the opponent into thinking I had nothing for Weavile before smashing it with a scarfed CC was always fun, but alas that time has gone. His unique (in UU at least) dual STAB is incredible, and stone edge rounds out coverage on a few things, most importantly Victini. Volt switch occupies the last slot for grabbing momentum (also partly due to Cobalion's lack of any other physical coverage. He'd really benefit from earthquake), but I've considered stealth rock to further bluff the lack of scarf while freeing up a slot for thunder wave on Celebi. EVs are standard, with naive nature to guarantee outspeeding all variants of Meinshao while not taking any power away from volt switch
Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 176 HP / 192 Atk / 4 SDef / 136 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Roost
- Defog
Synergy:
Electric - Ampharos, Celebi
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
Psychic - Celebi
Rock - Cobalion
Originally a specs Kyurem, then replaced by double dance Porygon-Z, I've finally settled on Stallbreaker Crobat, as suggested by Brawlfest. I'm not sure why I didn't think of him in the first place as he's one of my favourite Pokemon, but there you go. He's definitely helped against fighting types (assuming they don't predict and use stone edge) as well as breaking through stall. Pretty standard moveset with a powerful brave bird, taunt to shut down walls and prevent hazards early game and roost for reliable recovery. I originally ran toxic in the 4th slot, but with the change from Blastoise to Vaporeon I lost spin support, so I put defog there to clear hazards. I also gained toxic on Celebi so I don't mind losing it on Crobat. EVs are to outspeed max speed base 115s and avoid download boosts to SpA while keeping a good amount of bulk and power.
Arcanine @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Morning Sun
- Roar / Will-o-Wisp
Synergy:
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Rock - Cobalion
Water - Ampharos (after mega), Celebi, Vaporeon
On the surface, Arcanine's defence isn't exactly stellar, but when you factor in intimidate he can take almost any physical hit like a champ. I also like my walls to have decent offensive presence and Arcanine certainly covers that with his base 110 attack stat. Flare blitz may seem counter-productive to his walling capabilities, but when the next best option is fire fang you don't really have much choice. Extreme speed is an incredibly valuable move, being the only priority move on the team and also able to beat sucker punch users like Honchkrow. Morning sun provides recovery and roar (suggested by Zkillerthriller) is for phasing out set-up sweepers and baton pass chains, as well as shuffling for stealth rock damage (will-o-wisp is another option in this slot but a lot of physical threats that Arcanine counters are fire types, and I find phasing to be more useful). People are often surprised when they take rocky helmet recoil and, while I agree that losing out on leftovers occasionally leaves you open for a 2HKO you would have avoided otherwise, the residual damage it causes has proved more valuable in the long run
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 SDef / 252 HP / 36 Spd
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Toxic
- Giga Drain
Synergy:
Bug - Arcanine, Cobalion
Dark - Cobalion
Fire - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Vaporeon
Flying - Ampharos
Ghost -
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
Poison - Cobalion
I've honestly never been a huge fan of specially defensive Celebi. With a huge 7 weaknesses it's always felt like a weak link when I've used it, but it's been doing its job pretty well on this team. It's the best, if not only, pokemon that is simultaneously a cleric, can set up stealth rocks and resists ground. It also has a fantastic ability that lets it heal status simply by leaving the field of battle. Stealth rock helps net a lot of KOs for the other members of the team (thunder wave is preferred if I'm running stealth rock on Cobalion), Recover and giga drain provide reliable healing and obligatory STAB. I opted for toxic over thunder wave in the final slot because I judged residual damage to be more important than paralysis over the course of a battle, plus with Cobalion being faster than most common scarf users barring Raikou (who's immune anyway) I don't particularly need to slow many things. EVs provide a lot of special bulk as well as a slight boost to speed.
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static -> Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SAtk / 208 HP / 48 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power Ice / Rest
Synergy:
Dragon - Cobalion
Ground - Celebi, Crobat
Fairy - Crobat
Ice - Arcanine, Cobalion, Vaporeon
As a bulky pivots go there aren't any better than Mega Ampharos. With its new mega form it gains a bunch of resistances thanks to its dragon typing, a buff of 20 to each defensive stat and a frankly ridiculous 165 SpA. Plus, how can you resist that hair? Volt switch is incredible on Amphy as it can take a big hit before allowing me to gain momentum. Dragon pulse and thunderbolt are both really powerful and provide unresisted coverage barring things like Whimsicott and Ferroseed which are very uncommon. I normally run focus blast in the final slot, but hidden power ice would provide coverage on Whimsicott and rest would provide a way to fully heal, and with heal bell on Vaporeon I wouldn't have to burn off the turns. I run 48 speed EVs to outpace 4 EV Donphan and Tangrowth, with 252 and modest in SpA for maximum power and the rest in HP for maximum bulk.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 120 Def / 252 HP / 136 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect
Synergy:
Electric - Ampharos, Celebi
Grass - Ampharos (after mega), Arcanine, Celebi, Cobalion
This slot has been changed several times, but I've finally settled on Vaporeon to complete a very solid FWG defensive core. I debated keeping Blastoise with leftovers in this slot in order to keep rapid spin, but wish support has brought Ampharos back from the brink of death many times so I'm definitely happy with it, and with defog on Crobat I still have a way of clearing hazards from my side. I originally had heal bell on Celebi but Vaporeon is the more reliable user having fewer weaknesses. Wish and protect are pretty self explanatory, providing health support for the rest of the team, mostly Ampharos, along with reliable healing for Vaporeon itself. Scald provides a fairly powerful STAB move with the additional 30% chance for a burn. EVs are custom to avoid ever being 2HKOed by any move from timid LO Nidoking with the rest in Def for very nice mixed bulk.
Threats:
- Nidoking/queen are both huge threats with their ridiculous coverage. With prior damage or if I've mis-predicted a knock off early game, Vaporeon can't switch in and guarantee avoiding a 2HKO.
- Kyurem is a huge threat if it gets behind a sub, the usual ice/ground coverage isn't resisted by one single member of my team, and it has a lot of power behind it even without a boosting item
- Mega Manectric can threaten a lot of this team, but a lot depends on its 4th move. If it's running the usual HP ice it can hit Ampharos super effectively but can't kill Celebi, if it's running the rare signal beam it can't touch Ampharos but can OHKO Celebi. Overheat or flamethrower both miss the 2HKO on Celebi if I giga drain in between
- Quiver dancers, especially Venomoth, are somewhat of a problem. I haven't actually encountered one yet, but depending on what stage the battle was at I'd have to sleep fodder something, then go into Cobalion to OHKO with stone edge
- Cloyster was more of a problem before the switch to Vaporeon, rock blast still does a good amount of damage at +2 but it usually doesn't make an appearance until late game and I'll always still have Cobalion to outspeed and take it out with CC
- Honchkrow is a really big threat to any team, but adamant sucker punch can't OHKO Ampharos after a moxie boost and stealth rock without a crit, and either electric move will easily KO
- Probably the biggest threat to this team is Chandelure. I don't have a clear counter to it, and its threat level very much depends on which set it's running. The most common variants are sub-split that are dealt with by Vaporeon who takes around 40% from life orb shadow ball. Crobat also doesn't care if it's behind a sub thanks to infiltrator and does massive damage with brave bird. The most dangerous set is choice specs who can either cripple a member of my team with trick or 2HKO my best switch-in (Vaporeon) with energy ball.
Conclusion:
While it's by no means perfect this team can handle most of what anyone can throw at it. I'd love a better answer to the Nidos (they're always a thorn in my side), but without ruining synergy I can't think of a way to make it happen. Every replacement I can think of would either lose a resistance or gain a weakness so I've decided not to bother.
If you made it this far you're a trooper and you have my full respect. I'll welcome any suggestions, I've probably missed a glaring weakness that I just haven't come across yet that can be fixed very easily
Thanks for reading :)
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