Team Autobots
Hi, this is Magicman23 on Smogon, Shoddy and Pokémon Online, and this is my fairly successful Trick Room team. This team has peaked at 1300+ CRE but I feel its potential isn’t being utilized fully. But, I’m currently experiencing a team building mind block, and I came here, Smogon, to get my team rated. I’m open to most suggestions (barring the retarded ones) and I would like some form of positive, constructive criticism, so enough of the self introduction, it’s time for the colorful team introduction!,
Vroom! Engine’s rev as jets streak across the sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke, and out of the rubble beneath, emerge the Autobots, a fine tuned team, geared to work as a well oiled machine, prepared for battle! The assault, led by a capable Optimus Prime began to advance. And with the command, the operation commenced! “Autobots, ROLL OUT!!”
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Team Building Process
So, as I was battling around Pokémon Online, I came across a Trick Room team, and it reminded me of when I began competitive battling (My first team was a TR team) and I was feeling a bit nostalgic, so I decided to create a whole new Trick Room team. One thing I like about Trick Room teams is that even if TR isn’t up, the Pokémon can hold their own due to their amazing bulk, and I have won quite a few battles even though all my Trick Roomers had fainted. So, firstly, I was quite undecided about revealing that I had a Trick Room team early on in the match, so I decided to run a quite common suicide lead, Azelf.
Then, I knew I would obviously need more than one Trick Room setup Pokémon, so I was put into another dilemma of deciding another setup Pokémon. I was looking for slow, bulky Pokémon that could take advantage of Trick Room to sweep or punch some holes into an opponent’s team, or to create a situation where it would be much easier for another team member to sweep. Immediately, 2 Pokémon came to mind, Dusknoir and Bronzong. Bronzong fit quite well with the criteria of setting up its own sweep with Base 100 Atk and Base 135 Def/SDef, but its Base 50 HP is quite disappointing. Bronzong fit the other criteria, crippling other Pokémon with Hypnosis, Trick Rooming on the switch out, and Exploding to allow for a free switch in. I ended up choosing Bronzong because of its superior defenses and typing (338 Max HP is always better than 294).
Two Trick Room setup Pokémon seemed adequate to me, so I thought it was time to start looking for sweepers. Since I had filled out 2 slots in my party, I had four more, which I could equally divide between sweepers that lie on opposite sides of the attacking spectrum. I decided to focus on the Physical side first, and after reading the Trick Room guide right here on Smogon, I instantly fell in love with Rhyperior. With Base 115 HP and Base 140 Atk, I instantly knew no Physical wall can take Rhyperior, head on and come out fine. It solidified its position on my team, by virtue of its incredible bulk, insane Atk and abysmal speed.
Now, I needed a second Physical sweeper, and I hate Tyranitar and Salamence so much, so I decided I needed a sweeper that could take care of both without much trouble, so I went with Machamp. Its middling speed had always been a turn-off for me, but since I was running Trick Room, this was actually a good thing for me. Machamp, with access to 100% accurate Dynamic Punch and Base 130 Atk, I knew it would fit quite well in this team.
Now, On To The Next One (I love that song XD). I now had to deal with the Special side of the attacking spectrum. There were quite a few choices of special sweepers and Empoleon stood out immediately, with its lovely typing, and respectable Base 111 SAtk. I used a Tanking Empoleon on one of my more successful Sandstorm teams and it really impressed me, so I went for a similar Empoleon.
Now, I had just one more slot to be filled in my team, and I thought I needed a sweeper that could function quite well if Trick Room wasn’t up, and could reliably beat the whore known as Blissey, and Gengar just fit this perfectly. It’s just a deadly combination of speed and power, combined with the ability to beat the best special wall in the game. These qualities attracted me into using Gengar as my ‘Trick Room Fail-safe’.
Changes Made
So, after play testing this team for a while, I came to a few conclusions on the team, and which members I had to change up to further enhance my chances of winning.
1.I took out Azelf completely, because that ‘element of surprise’ didn’t really make a difference in any of my battles. And I also saw that it was pretty much a waste to use Azelf as a Trick Room lead, because it lacked the bulk to survive a hit, setup Trick Room, and keep the momentum going. I moved Bronzong up into the lead position, and it has been working great.
2.Took out Gengar because it really didn’t ‘gel’ well with the team. It performed adequately in its role but I felt it could be done better, and I found Heatran did this well. It kept drawing in Blisseys only for them to get exploded on, punching a huge hole in the opponent’s defensive core, making it easier for Empoleon to sweep.
3.Since Azelf’s ejection from the squad, I had a free slot for an additional Trick Roomer. Now, that offensive Trick Room seemed to draw me in more, and I put Dusknoir in Azelf’s place, and it has been working okay. Opponents don’t usually expect a Tanking Dusknoir, only for their switch in to get maimed by one of Dusknoir’s attacking moves. This Dusknoir really relies on the element of surprise, and it only works once, after that, opponents are the wiser, and it usually fails after that.
THE FINAL CUT
And now I present to you, the current members of Team Autobots!
*insert sprites of all team members here*
Individual Member Analysis
Ratchet
Ratchet (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/60 Def/196 SDef
Sassy nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis/Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
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I usually save Bronzong for later because it gives a key immunity to Ground moves that three of my team members are weak to. It usually sets up Trick Room twice per battle, depending on how well my opponent can stall out my Trick Room. I only use Explosion if I feel Bronzong is no longer needed, and can be sacrificed to seriously dent or KO an opponent’s Pokémon. I usually don’t use it until I know that the opponent has no Ghost, or I have KO’d their Ghost. Bronzong can’t stop opposing leads from setting up Stealth Rock, but gets the offensive momentum needed to make this team a difficult thing to counter. Stealth Rock has currently taken over Hypnosis' moveslot, and Bronzong has been working great as a TR and SR setup Pokemon.
Jazz
Jazz (Cresselia) (F) @ LeftoversAbility: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/ 4SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
-Ice Beam
-Psychic
-Trick Room
-Light Screen
Jazz, the liveliest member of the Autobots, always cracking jokes and dancing around. This persona fits Cresselia well, because that's how it made me feel when I started using it. Its ridiculous defenses, typing and ability have solidified it's place in the team. It has constantly done its job to the fullest, setting up TR even in Bronzong's absence (assuming I Exploded to early in the game). Accompanied by Wish passing from Vaporeon, its like this thing just doesn't want to die. It has single handedly made opponent's ragequit, just because I knocked out their Tyranitar early in the match.
I was told to use Cress as a replacement for Dusknoir and can also function as my Nape and Mence counter, and it does said jobs spectacularly. It OHKOs Nape with Psychic after SR, same with Mence, taking out my biggest problems with relative ease. The lack of a recovery move isn't much of a problem to me, because, the omnipresent Sandstorm makes Moonlight a waste of a moveslot, and Rest leaves me as setup fodder for 2 turns, so I just opted to have another team member pass Wish to Cresselia to aid in survivability.
Now, onto the moveset. Psychic and Ice Beam, as previously stated are there to deal with my team's biggest problems, Salamence and Infernape. Trick Room is there because this is a Trick Room team, duh, and Light Screen is there to help Cresselia sponge Special attacks better, but I haven't really used it much since I began using Cresselia.
Optimus Prime
OptimusPrime (Rhyperior) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Brave nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
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Unless you have the perfect counter (none exist IIRC) to Rhyperior, I’m sorry; you are going to lose a Pokémon. Dual STAB on QuakeEdge is just ridiculous. It is even capable of 2HKOing Skarmory after one Swords Dance. Some may say this is an overstatement on Rhyperior’s abilities, but if your predictions aren’t spot on, most Pokémon are going to lose over half of their HP, right there. While it’s typing is horrific defensively, under Trick Room, it does not need to worry about being ‘out sped and taken out, because it will most likely kill you, before you can kill it.
It works extremely well as a late game sweeper, or can be brought out on the first Trick Room to wreak havoc on the opposing team, usually leaving them with fast sweepers, who are just royally screwed by Trick Room. From there, another team member can be brought in to clean up the rest.
The persona of Optimus Prime just fits perfectly with Rhyperior. He can be the ‘head’ of the operation, creating discord in the opponents ranks, or can lie in wait and obliterate the opposition after his subordinates have sufficiently weakened the opposition.
Ironhide
Ironhide (Machamp) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SDef
Brave nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Dynamicpunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
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Only a four armed, bipedal beef cake can amply fit the role of Ironhide. Need something taken care of? Call on Ironhide to do that job. I took the Substitute+3 Attacks moveset from Smogon and it has worked wonderfully. Substitute protects me from status, and can still help Machamp net a KO after Trick Room is down. Machamp gets perfect coverage with the 3 listed attacks, and the sheer annoyance provided, courtesy of Dynamicpunch makes Machamp a great Pokémon to have.
With my Substitute protecting me from an onslaught of attacks, status moves and with confusion halving your chances of even touching my Sub, Machamp is going to be a pain to take down. I usually bring out Machamp as my physical muscle, bashing through an opponent’s walls and simplifying the objective of a sweep for my other team members.
Once behind a Sub and Trick Room is up, Machamp will get at least one kill every battle. The real gem of this set in my opinion is Dynamicpunch, allowing me to reduce the opponent’s chances of hitting Machamp by 50%, while dealing damage to them (all of this doesn’t apply to Ghost types though ). Confusion also aids in taking down some Pokémon, allowing my moves to do +10% on average.
Bumblebee
Bumblebee (Heatran) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP/252 SAtk/4 Atk
Quiet nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
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Heatran is one half of my Special offensive duo, forming a formidable sweeping pair with Empoleon. I chose Heatran because of its ability to destroy the obese pink whore, Blissey, effectively clearing a path for Empoleon to deal with the opposing side. Heatran’s primary goal is to take down the opponent’s form of special resistance, and leave a gaping hole in the defensive core of an opponent’s team. I opted for HP Grass over Dragon Pulse, because I needed a way to beat down Swampert who is just a bitch in general. Heatran just performs its role to the fullest, always leaving the opponent Special weak. ‘Bumblebee’ falls in line with Heatran’s role in the team, serving more as a pawn and an ‘expendable resource’ than a precious element such as my Trick Room setup Pokémon.
Heatran is effectively there to clear a path for an easier sweep, plain and simple. When I decided to replace Gengar, I thought, “Which special sweeper can take a dump on the Special whore that is Blissey?” And Heatran immediately popped into my head, with its access to Explosion to deal massive damage to Blissey, effectively raping a team’s defenses.
Starscream
Starscream (Vaporeon) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Quiet nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Wish
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Wow... Vaporeon does Empoleon's job so much better, its not funny. The lack of a Fighting and Ground weakness and the addition of a Water immunity makes Vaporeon a superior choice IMO. The fact that opponent's only view Vappy as a support Pokemon just makes its job that much easier. Vaporeon can switch in on the myriad of water attacks that Rhyperior and Heatran draw, and can heal up any entry hazard damage in the process, making it fighting fit. The addition of Wish makes Vaporeon even more of a team player, replenishing the health of it comrades if need be. The lovely part about using Vaporeon in conjunction with Rhyperior, Heatran and Cresselia it that all their weaknesses are covered by the other team mates, and if need be, Wish can be used on a switch to a counter, then when the other team mate comes in on a resisted hit, it can easily heal up.
Now, the moveset. Hydro Pump was chosen over Surf because the extra power was just too good to pass up, but the drop in accuracy didn't really bother me much, plus, Trick Room is supposed to hit hard until the effects wear off, then get out. Ice Beam is to deal with any unruly Celebi and Salamence that think they can beat me with ease and Hidden Power Electric rounds off the set's near perfect coverage (bar Lanturn), hitting Gyarados for the OHKO and can also help with bulky waters.
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General Comments
Now, I know you’re comments would fall along the lines of “OMFG, WTF pwnzors team!” and all that (>.<). But really though, I need some suggestions to get rid of the huge gaping Ground weakness in my team, and said suggestion should also have access to Trick Room and can serve some sort of support purpose to the team (Screw Dusknoir). And also, I would like some constructive criticism, not comments like “Dude, you suck, use Salamence cuz epic win”, no, that would only piss me off and achieve nothing for the team.
And also, I’m quite inept at EVs, so you may have noticed that all my sweepers just have Max HP and Max Attacking stat, but I want to distribute the EVs more evenly to maximize the team’s tanking potential. So if anyone can recommend some better EVs, or a guide/site where I can learn/calculate my best EV spread, it would be greatly appreciated.
I’m also having some problems with Machamp. Nothing on my team can easily switch into a STAB Dynamicpunch without getting crapped on, and this really is a concern to me. I have Dusknoir for a Fighting immunity, but I plan on replacing it soon because it seems like the weak link in the team. Rotom would’ve been the best choice for replacing Dusknoir, but it doesn’t get Trick Room (Damn Game Freak), so I would like a replacement Trick Roomer that doesn’t have much trouble countering Machamp. And also, Breloom is a big problem to this team. I usually have to sacrifice a Pokémon to Spore and bring in a Pokémon that take a Focus Punch (and judging by my team’s lack of a great Fighting resist/immune, which is quite difficult) and actually be able to KO Breloom back. [This has been solved with the addition of Cresselia to the squad)
Also, finally, this team doesn’t have a main aim, such as take out Pokémon A’s counters, therefore I get a free sweep, no. Its aim is just to get TR up, destroy your defenses and move on from there. So I don’t want any retarded comments such as “Why no speed EVs? You know everything will outspeed and pwn you? Dude, you suck.” One thing I hate is when people try to talk about a topic when they know nothing about it. If you can’t tell this is a Trick Room team by having 2 TR Pokémon, the actual move TR being mentioned several times in the RMT, you should really read up, then comment, or just refrain from dumb questions/statements.
Also, while double checking the RMT for spelling/grammar errors, I noticed I had a HUGE MixApe weakness if Trick Room was down, and I need a way to take it down without really hurting the team much, in terms of fire power. I would’ve so used a Latias, but she got booted to Ubers (Mence shoulda gone first!), but alas, my best choice is gone, so I could use some suggestions on how to deal with MixApe. [Once more, Cresselia has come and saved the day]
So, thank you for reading my RMT, it took my quite a while to write (2 days actually), so I put a lot of effort into it. All I need from you now is to have fun rating and giving reasonable, sensible suggestions to help better this team.
