Introduction
Tapu Lele, ever since I caught a Tapu Lele with HP Fire (on my birthday to top it off) I wanted to make a team around this beautiful Pokémon.
At a few anime conventions they have Pokémon competitions. At these competitions it's more about having fun than anything else. This year I only had trouble with the Champion I had to beat even though I had a very good OU rain tea. This time however I want to bring a fun team which I can enjoy just as much as the rain team with Tapu Koko and Hawlucha.
Let's get into the team shall we!
The Team
The team is obviously surrounded around Tapu Lele. So first member was Tapu Lele
Tapu Lele synergizes well with Mega-Alakazam. It was suggested to start with a core like this. Scarf Lele and Mega-Zam give a lot of choices but have common weaknesses.
Since I liked Hawlucha and desperatly needed a Pokémon that could deal with Steel type Pokémon, I chose this mon. Hawlucha with Psychic Seed seemed interesting and worth a try.
Next up was a defensive Pokémon I thought fitted the team well. I needed some hazards so that the sweepers could get certain KO's they otherwise wouldn't.
With no hazard control in a defogger or rapid spinner I thought about a Pokémon that could deal with the annoying Toxapex and was able to Defog. Zapdos was the obvious choice and a good defensive wall.
Even though I hate Toxapex as a Pokémon because it's such a stupid playstyle, I ended up adding it to the team. Toxapex was a good defensive mon I needed to deal with certain mons. As well as haze being a nice move to have with Pokémon setting up.
I quickly noticed I only had Hawlucha to deal with Grass type Pokémon and Ferrothorn wasn't really adding too much to the team. I swapped him out for Heatran with Stealth Rocks to keep the hazards and made it Special Defensive so I have a nice defensive core next to my offensive mons.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
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Tapu Lele, a good scarf user and revenge killer. Generally I switch Tapu Lele in when one of my other mons faint so I can get some pressure out on the opponent. Most of the time it forces a switch and either a good chunk of damage or a tactical double can swap the momentum in my favor. Psychic Terrain is what part of this team is about so keeping Tapu Lele alive is important. Psychic and Moonblast are the obvious STAB moves and with HP Fire for coverage against many Steel type Pokémon. Thunderbolt was for Skarmory in the beginning but I'm debating switching it back to Focus Blast since I've not used Thunderbolt and Focus Blast would have been nice in some situations.
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
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Psychic Terrain abuser number 1. Alakazam is one of the core suggested and Mega Alakazam is a Pokémon I've been wanting to use. So Alakazam is super fast, nice abilities and good coverage. Psychic gets a boost in Psychic Terrain and alongside Shadow Ball can cover most Pokémon. Even without Psychic Terrain Alakazam can sweep a team and it's been so much fun using this mon. With HP Fire again and Focus Blast for certain situations. Since it will be hard to breed a HP Fire HA Abra I'm debating of switching HP Fire for another move depending on your suggestions.
Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
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Psychic Terrain abuser number 2. Hawlucha is an amazingly fun Pokémon to use and a great sweeper. I've like Hawlucha ever since his release and had so much fun using it with Tapu Koko. Therefore I wanted to see how the same set would work but with Psychic Seed instead. Ofcourse Electric Seed is better since he will probably tank more physical hits instead of special. However in one game it did help me out alot when he survived a Thunderbolt from Magearna to get her low enough for the rest of the team to defeat the rest of the Pokémon. High Jump Kick for the high base power STAB and Drain Punch for recovery and a 100% accurate Fighting type move. Further Swords Dance if you can setup to become unstoppable and Acrobatis the other high base power STAB Flying type move. The only problem can be when Tapu Lele has fainted and you don't have Psychic Terrain up. Hawlucha doesn't become useless but almost since you have no way of consuming your item and gaining the extra Acrobatics damage.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
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Zapdos, a good defensive Pokémon. I needed a Pokémon with Defog or Rapid Spin and a defensive Pokémon. Defensive Zapdos was the obvious choice for me. Discharge as STAB move, with the chance to Paralyze is an amazing move on this Pokémon. I've had that the Paralysis was clutch in the game. Further Heat Wave to deal with Steel types except for Heatran. Expecially against Ferrothorn and Scizor it's proven it's worth. Further Roost for the recovery which Zapdos otherwise lacks.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
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Toxapex is an amazing wall Pokémon. Every aspect of this Pokémon was designed for it to be defensive. With great base Def and SpDef the only thing this Pokémon lacks is a decent HP stat. Regardless of that, this Pokémon tanks so many hits it's absurd. Regenerator makes sure it can survive Stealth Rock when it switches out with low HP and Recover makes sure it can stall pretty good. Knock Off has been very handy in a mirror matchup or when the opponent knows it can't beat this 1v1 and switches out. Haze hasn't been doing too much for me so I might consider changing it (probably to change it back when I get swept by a Pokémon that set up against Toxapex).
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
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The last Pokémon. Another defensive Pokémon but SpDef Heatran has proven it can take many hits. Even super effective hits like Earth Power and Scald. Lava Plume is a great move to have with a good chance to burn a Pokémon. Toxic for the Pokémon that are annoying to deal with that aren't physical attackers. Stealth Rock obviously for the hazards needed for certain KO's for the sweepers and Taunt has been good when leading off with Heatran. The only downside is that Heatran isn't the fastest and Taunt works only at certain matchups.
Conclusion
So a balanced team with Tapu Lele as Scarf sweeper and Hawlucha as set up sweeper. Alakazam packs a punch to deal with a lot of Pokémon especially when Psychic Terrain is up. To make the team more balanced, 3 defensive Pokémons that each have been doing their role.
With this team I've had great success on the lower ladder of Showdown but I feel like there are a lot of improvements. I've been struggling with Electric type Pokémon and with Water type Pokémon. Also Ground moves, which are very common, can easily wreck through this team if you don't watch out.
Having said that, I've had much fun using this team and I feel like it can be a good team on the higher ladder. I just need to improve certain aspects of the team and maybe replace Pokémon of which I didn't think during teambuilding or don't think it will fit in the team. I'll try to at least try the suggestions you make to see if it fits my playstyle and see if it might be better in most situations.
SInce I've taken the movesets and EV spreads from Smogon there might be a lot of inconsistencies in the EV's or moves. I would like to get some pointers on which EV's might be better for this team specifically instead of generally which Smogon provides.
Thanks in advance!
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Drain Punch
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog
- Roost
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Drain Punch
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 220 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog
- Roost
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Knock Off
