Team A.P.P.A.L.L.I.N.G.

[throwknife]

Acronym Production, Particulary At Lavish Level, Is No Good.​

Yeah, I'm back. After about 2 months of crap teams, I got fed up of being scraped off the floor after I got pwned by DDMences. To win in this tough meta, you really need a power behing your team. This teams current wins/losses ratio is 26/4, and it had a 14 win streak.​

Wall of Text​

This is my second team. My first team was a fun team, promoting a hax Togekiss sweep. It gave me many great battles, but I never got very high up on the ratings. Thats when I decided that I wasn't battling right, and I saw the errors of my ways. From my countless hours of ShoddyBattling, I visualised the things needing countering. with lots of practice and change, I have near perfected my offensive core on a Bulky Offense team, and even made a special Latias Set, which I highly reccommend on any team, and a special Metagross set, designed to counter the leads which threaten the team. At the moment, my CRE is 1138, my record. Latias is the MvP, as SubPetaya Empoleon is on the rise, having both a 'nape check and a pokemon to set up on Empoleon is a great, invaluable asset to any team. Instead of trying to avoid getting hit by using Sub, my Latias takes hits with her massive defensives, whilst building them too. At +6 SAtk/Def, she only fears Choice Specs Critical hits, and most teams don't even carry a Choice Specs user. She can come in on any special attack, and she has almost perfect resistances for her purpose. I even like her Ice weakness, as against Empoleon, Swampert or pretty much all Ice Beam users, Ice Beam does around 50%, so I can alternate between CM and Recover to get massive SAtk, so she doesn't take the recoil from Draco Meteor so harshly. My teams goal is to whittle down anything that could pose a threat to Latias. Even if the opponent isn't using Empoleon, Suicune, Starmie or Swampert, Latias can still set up on many different pokes, it's not even funny. Here is the team :-

At A Glance...

0 Affected by TSpikes, 0 Weak to Stealth Rock, 2 Immune to Spikes

All 6 are in the Shoddy top ten :/

I wish I could paste in one of those marriland D/P team builder pages, but alas I canny, so all I can say is that my team doesn't have a big weakness to one type, on the team builder, nothing is bright red.

The Lead​

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Clear Body / Adamant
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Bullet Punch
-Meteor Mash
252 HP / 224 Atk / 32 Spe
​

Classic LeadGross with a twist, Shuca Berry. Seeming as more and more leads run Earthquake, and Infernape isn't as common as EQ leads, Shuca Berry adds a nice twist, as you may be able to see in the Lead Threat List. It also allows him to come in on a ground attack in the lategame too, as well as allowing me to set up that vital SR. In addition, It means I can counter a non-scarfed Gyara (Explosion) and a Heatran (Earthquake) later on.
ReyScarface's idea for MM>Explosion works, so it is here to stay.

Some of these lead plans may be incorrest due to berry change from shuca to lum.

: Very Rare, but Bullet Punch to severely weaken it, then I use Stealth rock as it tries to harm me, or switches to absorb another Bullet Punch.

: Bullet Punch is a clean 2HKO, it can either set up rocks, taunt or Pinprick me with EQ.

: Lol.

: Bullet Punch is a 3HKO. I normally risk a BP then switch to Heatran regardless.

: I switch to Rotom, who is least fazed by sleep, then switch to Heatran to destroy it with Fire Blast, before he gets destroyed by EQ, but most run SR, Gyro Ball, Explosion, Hypnosis.

: Bullet Punch as they taunt, switch to Rotom-F and use my Electric attack.

: Earthquake to activate sash, then Bullet Punch. Done.

: I use Earthquake. If they use SR on the first turn or Hydro Pump misses, I use EQ again for the KO. If they used Hydro Pump and It hit, then I switch to Latias and set up.

: I can't touch it, so I generally set up rocks but not always, then switch to Rotom, as most run U-Turn, Taunt/Roost, Earthquake, Stealth Rocks, so they can't harm Rotom, and they think I'm packing Blizzard.

: Earthquake, repeat if nescessary or I switch to my Heatran.

: Stealth Rock as they do the same, then switch to Rotom or Latias.

: Metagross loses, therefore I switch.

: Earthquake as they Trick, then switch to Rotom to hit for SE damage with T-Bolt for the flyer they're trying to sponge EQ with, or in Gliscors case, pretend you know Blizzard.

: Most of the time, DynamicPunch doesn't 2HKO, so I switch to Rotom after I use EQ.

: BULLIT PAUNCH!

: I use EQ as they SR, then use SR as they switch to a Flying type or Levitator, usually Gyara.

: Bullet Punch does about 50%, after they sub up, they are dangerously low, so they BP or switch.

: I let it sleep Rotom, then kill it with Heatran. Heatran takes pitiful amounts from anything except HP Ground.

: I let it sleep (guess who) Rotom! Then I kill it with any other member of my team.

: I use Earthquake. If Hydro Pump misses, I use EQ again. If it hits the first time, I switch to latias to set up (sound familiar).

: I use SR, then I switch to Latias and set up (CM, Recover,CM,Recover repeat).

: Earthquake sorts him out good. If it falls short, then I switch to latias, and cause it grievous harm with Surf.

: Stalemate. We both set up SR, then I usually switch to something who doesn't mind getting TWaved too badly, like Scizor, who also has Pursuit.

:Halp. I use BP, but if they Taunt, I'm cool. If they use Counter, well it was nice knowing Metagross.

Fire: Heatran, Latias
Ground: Latias, Rotom



Offensive Core 1: The First Physical Threat

Lucario @ Life Orb
Inner Focus / Jolly
-Close Combat
-Swords Dance
-Crunch
-Extremespeed
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

This thing is teh bomm. I normally send him in at the endgame. He outspeeds most vital things, and OHKO's them. He even takes chunks out of his 'Counters' apart from Gliscor, who the rest of the team lures out and kills. If I net a kill, in the lategame where your opponent won't generally get to send in what they want, he can really shine. Extremespeed can kill Faster pokemon that are forced out, whilst neutral Close Combat takes massive chunks out of anything. Here are some +2 damage calcs using Metalkids calc, completely free of charge ^_^:Jolly really helps against Zapdos.
​

Damage calcs may not be valid due to nature change!
+2 CloseCombat vs:

252 HP / 176 Def +Def nature 89.52%-105.09%

252 HP / 80 Def +Def nature 110.36%-129.88%

252 HP / 168 Def in SandStorm +Def nature 81.43%-95.65%

252 HP / 144 Def +Def nature 81.43%-101.43%

No Defensive EVs Solid Rock Activating Neutral Def nature 214.82%-252.56%

252 HP Neutral Def nature 123.51%-145.3%

No Defensive EVs Neutral Def nature 315.3%-370.82%

+2 Crunch vs

252 HP / 252 Def +Def nature 63.96%-75.23%

252 HP / 228 Def +Def nature 90.14%-106.12%

252 HP / 220 Def +Def nature 81.44%-95.79%

Fire: Heatran, Latias
Ground: Latias, Rotom




Defensive Core 1: The Special Setup Wall

Latias @ Leftovers
Levitate / Timid
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Thunderbolt
-Dragon Pulse

This is the MvP. I chose Latias because of its superior stats, and many resistances. It sets up on Bulky Waters and SubPetaya Empoleon, or in general, Pokemon carrying Ice Beam. Whilst they use Ice Beam, I use Calm Mind, then Recover. I alternate until I'm on +6 SAtk SDef, then use Surf to kill the Ice beamer, and unleash Dragon Pulse 3-4 Times, killing their whole team. Many times has this trick been used to great success. If this is gone, I'm not always screwed, as the rest of the team is a secondary win condition. I've written absolutely loads about the above 2 pokemon, and I explained this set in the Wall-o-text, so all I'm going to write for this one is try it out, you'll be impressed! The Draco Meteor recoil had also proved to be sweep-ending, so I changed it. Thunderbolt over surf is working too. It helps me deal with Empo, in return for switching out on TTar. Timid to outspeed positive base 100s.


Dragon: Heatran, Scizor, Metagross, Lucario
Ice: Heatran, Metagross, Lucario




Offensive Core 2: The Second Physical Threat

Scizor @ Choice Band
Technician / Adamant
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-Superpower
-U-Turn
252 Atk / 244 HP / 8 Spe


This is a classic, boring CBScizor. I tried SDScizor, but I found that I lacked the power off the bat, as the point of Scizor IMO isn't to set up, but to finish off a pokemon on about 50% health with priority, then bugger off to his pokeball. Priority sweepers are the way forward, I use 2 ^_^. He also has great synergy with Heatran. This is the second player closest to the MvP award, as many times, he has finished off a team with his powerful Bullet Punch. This one is a very powerful team player, and is the poke I'm least willing to sac.Added more Bulk, at the expense of speed.

Fire: Heatran, Latias


Revenge Killer / Offfensive Core 3 / Defensive Core 2

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Flash Fire / Naive
-Explosion
-Fire Blast
-HP Ice
-Earth Power
4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe


This set of Heatran has snuck in on every one of my teams and for good reason. With so many fire-weak pokemon on my team, Heatran is a godsend. He has saved the puny lives of Scizor, Metagross and even Lucario many times, and eliminated the force responsible. When there is a double KO, I normally send in Heatran, as he is incredibly likely to get in a KO in a prediction situation. Not much else to say, this poke is pretty self-explainatory.



Ground: Rotom, Latias
Fighting: Rotom, Latias
Water: Latias, Rotom


L33t P00nz0rzzz

Rotom-Frost @ Leftovers
Levitate / Timid
-Charge Beam
-Substitute
-HP Fighting
-Shadow Ball
64 HP / 232 SAtk / 212 Spe


This is Broken. Product of the Menstrual Cycle (Period). As if 1 defensive set-up sweeper wasn't enough, I have 2. He can come in with relative impunity on Gyarados, Choiced Ground and Choiced Normal attacks and Sub up on the switch. Also, he can utilise his 2 immunities to greater effect. Blissey is a common switch in to Rotom, and if the opponent makes the mistake of sending her in, I proceed to blast her with Charge Beams until I'm on rather quite a high SAtk level. Then I use the lengendary, unresisted 'Fighting Ghost' attack combo to unleash hell on my opponents. Its simple as that. This rotom can also act as a spin blocker, as SR is integral to my team. It's as simple as that.

Conclusion


This team is my centerpiece. It isn’t as efffective as it once was though. Why bother with innovation or creativity on your team when DDMence is as creative as competitive pokemon gets. DO NOT SUGGEST DDMENCE FOR THIS TEAM! That blue dragon has destroyed me many times, and I plan for it to end now. I'd feel too guilty destroying others with it. Thanks for reading! ^_^




Changes in Bold

Threat List
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[d2m]

I find that Thunderbolt/Dragon Pulse is a better combo on CM Latias. Draco Meteor keeps dropping your SpA and wasting Calm Minds. Thunderbolt also helps you much better with Empoleon and the bulky waters that tend to switch in, whereas Surf only hits Tyranitar, whose Pursuit is actually setup bait for your Lucario anyway.

Rate the rest later.

 

[reyscarface]

Hello! First of all nice team, I like a lot of it.

Now to the rate:

Is there any reason of having Explosion on Metagross? Because boy, in your lead threat list, apparently, theres no reason at all to have Explosion. I think its a better idea to go straight with Meteor Mash > Explosion. This totally decimates lead Azelf, Abomasnow, and hits a lot more things better. As for Gyarados, Gyara will never try to set-up on you fearing Explosion, so it sounds kind of counter-productive.
Also, have you considered using Lum Berry > Shuca on Gross? This means you dont have to let Rotom take sleep, and Smeargle/Roserade wont get any layer on you, which is amazing. Shuca is very "meh" to be honest, since the only things you cover are Mamoswine, a very rare lead, and Aero, who you beat anyways.

In Latias, Draco Meteor + CM is a big no-no. It may look extremely powerful, but the drop after 1 attack is pitiful, meaning it can end a sweep. I would totally use Dragon Pulse over it, as d2m said.

On Scizor, 252 Speed isnt necessary at all, since you will likely use BP or be outsped anyways, having 48~ around speed is everything you need, and everything else can go into HP so you can counter Latias, Tyranitars and switch-in draco meteors from mixmence better.

This is a very solid team and theres nothing more besides that to point out, so good luck!

 

[iKitsune]

Seems like a good team to me, although you are weak to a lot of common threats.

The main weakness this team has is Gyarados, but you are also weak to lots of other commonly used pokemon and even some strategies - stall mainly. Hopefully i can help fix the majority of these.

This teams major weakness is Gyarados. It can set up on half your team and very little can even threaten to revenge it the good news is if you beat Gyarados your team is going to have a much easier time sweeping particularly Lucario.

I dont think this team really needs too many drastic changes to be able to better cope with the threats so i'm just going to suggest you shuffle some things around.

Gyarados is a huge problem but the solution is at hand. There is the possibilty to choice Rotom and that would definitely solve your problem with Gyarados, with a timid nature you always outspeed even jolly +1 and KO with Tbolt. If you did choice Rotom then stall would find it difficult to handle the Scarf when Tricked. This is helpful as you will battle against it with your main stall breaker, in the form of sub rotom, out of the picture. With this change in place you have pretty much what a Scarf on Heatran was covering covered.

This is the set:

Rotom W @Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball

This is the standard scarf Rotom set. Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball cover the majority of threats whilst Trick is just generally an amazing move. I suggest you use Hydro Pump and therefore a Rotom W. I find Hydro Pump to be an excellent move it makes Rotom a good choice to revenge kill Heatran and actually threaten Tyranitar. As Rotom is a fairly crucial member i think you will find it is best if these two threats are scared away from what would otherwise be freely switching in. Without Overheat Rotom cannot ohko Lucario and Scizor but these should not be big problems. Heatran perfectly covers scizor and Scizor+Lucario and rotom can beat Lucario.

I suggest we change Heatran's set. I'd like heatran to act as a lure to Gyarados. Heatran is now your main stall breaker and just general threat to the opponent . Heatran's role against stall is basically just to do damage to Gyarados (the preferred Lucario counter) enough that it can no longer wall Lucario and from there you should easily beat stall with a +2 Luke.

This is the set:

(Heatran) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Grass]/Dragon Pulse

Either that set which should easily nab a KO against stall or..

@ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Substitute

The substitute is the key difference which will definitely help against offensive teams, which will likely lose multiple members against this volcano of pain. The majority of teams will either have a Latias/Gyarados or perhaps TTar to cover Heatran this set will definitely do a lot of damage to all these members. Which will make it a lot easier for your other members to sweep.

I suggest you give both sets a go and see which one works best.

I think youll find that you dont really have a Salamence weakness.

Bullet Punch from scizor will do a load to it. Extremespeed from Lucario will be useful if its on low health. You definitely need to make Latias Timid so it outspeeds even positive base speed 100s and therefore acts as a nice revenge killer to many threats in that speed tier. It will also help with Infernape.

If you miss the power from Modest i suggest you add a LO instead of leftovers to Latias.

Finally it may be an idea to change 244hp/8spe/252atk scizor rarely needs speed due to bp but it definitely takes advantage of Bulk, especially when switching into Dragons.

Dragon Pulse over Draco Meteor too.

Hope this helps.

 

[Snorlaxe]

Hi! =)

On your Metagross, I wouldn't run Shuca Berry. While there are quite a bit more Earthquake leads these days, Metagross has a very high Defense stat that lets him take almost all Earthquakes with relative ease. Metagross's special defense is rather lacking, however, and Occa Berry helps make up for that. Besides, you are now susseptible to a OHKO from Azelf's Fire Blast. Due to the increase in the popularity of Azelf leads, this is not a good idea. I don't really see the point of the 32 Speed EVs, I think that they would be better off placed in Defense; Metagross can actually be a relatively potent physical wall when you need him to.

I can't complain on Swords Dance Lucario, it is one of the most standard Pokemon in the metagame for a reason. However, I would suggest using a Jolly nature. This allows you to get the jump on Pokemon such as neutral Gliscor (assuming they arent running speed EVs). On Latias, do not use Draco Meteor. I can not stress this enough; While a boosted Draco Meteor certainly is very powerful, you then lose your hard-earned Special Attack boosts afterwards. A much better option is Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse provides you with reliable, accurate STAB, with 90 Base Power and no drawback. I think you will find that after a few Calm Mind boosts, there is virtually no difference in Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor. Also, Dragon Pulse has much better PP than Draco Meteor does, allowing your sweep to go on for longer. If you find yourself wanting extra power, Life Orb is a good option (seeing as Latias can Recover off recoil). However, the current Leftovers is fine.

On Heatran, I would consider putting Hidden Power Grass over Hidden Power Ice; Scizor is already able to deal with Dragons fairly easily. However, your current Heatran set is completely walled by Swampert. Swampert can just continue to switch in on your attacks unscathed, forcing you to switch out. This, in turn, gives Swampert free turns to set up Stealth Rock, or Roar to phaze your team. Most Swamperts dont expect Heatran to carry Hidden Power Grass, a mistake that can often cost them big time. Rotom-F looks fine. I might think about switching the Hp EVs into Speed (so you can outrun Adamant Lucario), but it is totally fine if you don't.

Anyway, I hope I helped, and good luck! =)

 

[throwknife]

Thanks for all the help, I have edited in the working stuff.

@d2m- *Good Rater*, yeah, DP+TBolt works wonders, especially on all the Bulky waters who switch in, and who I set up on.

@ReyScarface- In theory, I guess MM over EQ would work, but generally I bring 'Gross in during the endgame and blow something up like troublesome Scizors on Half Health with 'Tran is down, but I'll do further testing. It's really the Explosive Power vs. Consistency argument. And at 1 point I considered Lum, maybe I forgot about it. Shuca berry is on because it guarantees a KO against opposing OccaGross.

Latias' moves have been changed, and I changed Scizors Spread to the one iKitsune suggested.

@iKitsune- I will test out the changes of Scarfing Rotom-W and the Heatran changes. I'm liking the Heatran already, but Naive should be run with Explosion IMO. Most of the time, Tran gets killed because a Levitator is sent in on an Earth Power etc. HP Grass would be awesome to prevent Bulky Waters from killing tran. The only downside is unscarfing Tran gets it owned by nape.Also,how does the second one dent Gyara, TTar or Latias, and how does it benefit from the Sub, as it is immune to Toxic and benefits from Burn? I don't think it is worth it just to be immune to random para, and most Para users are way faster than Heatran (Latias, Togekiss, Rotom-A). Can you go into a bit more detail.

I changed Scizors spread.

@Snorlaxe- the 32 Speed on Meta is for the Mirror Match. I notified the Azelf problem, and thats why I'm testing Meteor Mash. getting the jump on Gliscor is kinda useless, as I can't touch it anyway, and changing nature means doing all the damage calcs agan 0_o. I like the leftovers over LO, and I changed DM for DP. The Tran iKitsune suggested uses HP Grass, and it has proven to be ery good during testing, so I may use HP Grass. I will test tommorow and the day after, and collect rates on friday.

 

[iKitsune]

@iKitsune- I will test out the changes of Scarfing Rotom-W and the Heatran changes. I'm liking the Heatran already, but Naive should be run with Explosion IMO.

Glad to hear Rotom is working out for you and i agree Naive should be run with Explosion, that was a mistake on my behalf.

Most of the time, Tran gets killed because a Levitator is sent in on an Earth Power etc. HP Grass would be awesome to prevent Bulky Waters from killing tran. The only downside is unscarfing Tran gets it owned by nape.

The key with playing this Heatran is to launch off STAB LO Fire Blast and hope they hit, with SR they should do a ton of damage to most opponents. HP grass could work well, it's all about personal preference with LO Tran what you want to target, it may be an idea to use HP electric which hits the majority of Bulky waters hard but will also sort out Gyarados instantaneously. The point about Nape owning Tran is true but it is not really the right way of looking at it.

If the opponent sends in Nape you should go to either Latias the safe option or predict the CC and go to Rotom. Both these pokemon outspeed it with Timid, Latias can even use Infernape as an oppurtunity to set up a CM and begin a sweep.

Also,how does the second one dent Gyara, TTar or Latias, and how does it benefit from the Sub, as it is immune to Toxic and benefits from Burn? I don't think it is worth it just to be immune to random para, and most Para users are way faster than Heatran (Latias, Togekiss, Rotom-A). Can you go into a bit more detail.

A LO Fire Blast/Earth Power does a considerable amount of damage to all three, whilst explosion is a good choice to finish them off. Substitute is a good move on Heatran because it has excellent resistances, so it is easy to set up, and poses an immediate threat forcing the opponent to switch. The key to the subsitute is not to evade status but rather to not have to predict, you set up a sub while your opponent switches and from there pick the most effective move. Hope i explained this better.

I suggest you give both sets a go, tweaking the move sets on either to work out which is the most effective for your team.

 

[throwknife]

Thanks, I will test the Heatran sets. I just find that if I stay in on Latias or Gyara, they OHKO me with Surf/Waterfall unless they are sufficiently weakend, and Latias can outspeed. I haven't faced TTar yet, but I don't think Earth Power will be doing much with a Sandstorm blowing.

 

[iKitsune]

Sorry if this wasnt clear enough, but substitute is useful because you dont need to outspeed the opponent you just let them break your sub and smack them with your move of choice.

I think you'll find earth power is a 2HKO on standard CB Tyranitar

359 Atk vs 354 Def & 404 HP (90 Base Power): 170 - 202 (42.08% - 50.00%) 87.51% to 2HKO

lO Fire Blast vs max hp Bulky Gyarados

33% + 25% from SR its not a 2HKO but it does easily enough for Lucario to pick up the pieces + it wont outspeed because it has no speed investment. If that was a max speed/max atk then there is a small chance to 2hko. Regardless it should no longer be a threat even scizor may be able to pick it off.

Dont underestimate the raw power of Heatran!

 

[locopoke]

Gyarados is a huge problem but the solution is at hand. There is the possibilty to choice Rotom and that would definitely solve your problem with Gyarados, with a timid nature you always outspeed even jolly +1 and KO with Tbolt. If you did choice Rotom then stall would find it difficult to handle the Scarf when Tricked. This is helpful as you will battle against it with your main stall breaker, in the form of sub rotom, out of the picture. With this change in place you have pretty much what a Scarf on Heatran was covering covered.

This is the set:

Rotom W @Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball

Gyarados is a big problem but I don't think changing Rotom is the only way to go about fixing this problem. Rotom is not the only Pokemon on this team that is capable of dealing with Gyarados. SubCharge Rotom destroys the current metagame because very few teams are prepared for it, I think you should take advantage of this. Do not change rotom's set (although I will suggest changing to Rotom-h for the sake of bluffing Overheat, there's no reason to use Rotom-f).

Now to fix your Gyarados problem, I think you should change Latias to a scarf set, Draco Meteor / Surf / Thunderbolt / Trick with 252 / 252 speed/special attack. This lets you revenge +1/+1 Gyarados and Salamence without a problem (as well as Jolly DD Mence which outspeeds Scarf Rotom). Also, with LO Heatran I think you should use Taunt over HP Grass / DPulse so that he can completely rip through stall. HP Grass is only useful for Swampert who is usually used as a lead. If it's not a lead then it's most likely CursePert in which case you can Trick Scarf onto it or Explode if nessecary. Anything that Dragon Pulse hits super effectively is most likely faster than Heatran and can KO him before you do anything.

 

[throwknife]

I have done pretty much all of my testing, and here is the team. I have muddled around most of the sets and I am pleased of the result. If I followed your advice, thank you, and I would like to find ways to further improve this team. The main problem in testing is that I die to latias, and I have no exploders.

Bump