Team Hook, Line, and Sinker.

[XxBlueCleric.xX]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduction:

Hi there, I figured I'd make an RMT for my most recent team. School's starting in a couple weeks as this was my better of my two summer teams. Anyways, onto my Team:

My team is bulky offensive (I think it's the best style) and the title refers to the fact that my team utilizes lures and has quite a bit of synergy behind it that I will explain for each Pokemon.

This team is one of my most successful ones and got my CRE into the mid-1500s. It's got a few weaknesses but I managed to play around most of them. I've done quite a bit of testing with this team and this is probably the best version I could come up with and maybe with your help I could take this team in a direction I had not foreseen.


TEAM AT A GLANCE:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

• 1 Stealth Rock weakness and 1 resist
• All pokemon are OU
• Only 1 pokemon affected by Toxic Spikes
• 4 Pokemon affected by Spikes (damn)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Team IN-DEPTH:

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk | 128 Speed | 128 HP
Nature: Modest (+Special Attack, -Attack)

Flamethrower

Will-o-Wisp

Stealth Rock

Explosion
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

The lead is probably one of the most crucial parts in competitive pokemon as losing the tempo of the match in the beginning can really suck. I've found that ShucaTran really does a nice job in helping my team avoid that calamity and possibly get the advantageous start myself.

First and foremost is Stealth Rock, which is a must on any team. Heatran is a solid lead to get them up.

Will-o-Wisp is on the set to screw over the many Swampert leads I've faced and doesn't make Heatran a Gyarados set-up fodder to an extent and DDLO varients can really damage this team when it's weakened.

Flamethrower was chosen over Fire Blast due to accuracy reasons and for the fact that it has more PP. Lava Plume wasn't chosen because I have Will-o-Wisp although a Lava Plume + Toxic combination would be somewhat appealing.

Explosion is so that Heatran doesn't stick around as dead weight. With the number of water types and dragon types around, Heatran's STAB attack isn't really plowing through teams. Usually, upon seeing Will-o-Wisp, Blissey's stay in on Heatran and it ends up being an easy Explosion kill.

The EVs and nature make him quite bulky. Going with Rash or something else wasn't worth it since I've switched in Heatran on Rotom-forme Shadow Balls several times. 128 Speed hits 222 speed to outspeed neutral-natured Tyranitar. The rest was just put into HP. I don't care to tie with other Heatran since I can't hit them anyways.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:

Apart from setting down the Rocks, Heatran can Will-o-Wisp Swampert leads. This is very useful as wearing down Swampert often means that my CM Jirachi w/ Flash Cannon + Thunderbolt will have an easier time beating their team.

Another key attribute is Explosion. If Heatran catches Blissey off-guard, then my Latias and Suicune can have a hell of a time with the opposing team.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk | 252 Speed | 4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Speed, -Attack)

Draco Meteor

Thunderbolt

Surf

Recover
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

To be honest, I didn't think LO Latias would be this awesome until I tried it. The power is pretty murderous and Draco Meteor spamming is extremely fun if Blissey went down to a Heatran Explosion.

The moveset provides awesome coverage and Draco Meteor is really the jewel of the set that hits as hard as MixMence's Meteor does.

Surf is for Tyranitar, who's a major bitch to Latias. It's also got nice coverage together with Draco Meteor.

Thunderbolt is for Empoleon who resists the other two moves. It also smacks bulky waters around.

Recover is to regain health lost by Life Orb so I can further abuse Draco Meteor.

So the EVs are the standard 4/252/252 and Timid is so I can at least tie with other Latias and Gengar (or revenge HP Fire varients).

Latias is a good choice for this team as it handles the Fire type beasts of Heatran and Infernape. It's also my only Electric resist and so my only hope of taking down stuff like SpecsJolt. There are numerous things latias can revenge thanks to her amazing speed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:


LO Latias is very useful since it's the Electric resist. It also gives the team a push on the offensive thanks to Draco Meteor and makes an amazing revenge killer with her great 350 speed.

LO Latias can be useful in weakening Tyranitar in the least. This can only help my CM Jirachi. But usually Latias is more useful than that.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk | 248 HP | 8 Speed
Nature: Adamant (+Attack, -Sp.Atk)

Bullet Punch

U-Turn

Pursuit

Superpower
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

Now we're back to some of my creative movesets that I love to talk about. :P

But seriously, CB Scizor is a must for most bulky offensive teams. It's got amazing synergy with Latias which is abused to the fullest through U-Turn.

Bullet Punch is here so I can revenge kill several threats. It also halts any sweeping chance an Outraging Dragon may think he has. (bar Kingdra because he's a beast)

Pursuit is very useful to smack Blissey. Too bad most of them carry Flamethrower. :/ But Pursuit can be used for a lot more things than just that although I never really find myself using it.

Superpower is here since Scizor is hit-and-run and I can dent steel types and most importantly, other Scizor.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:


Basically it does what all CB Scizors do....revenge kill, give LO Latias or LO Suicune a free switch-in, etc.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 156 HP | 108 Atk | 100 Def | 144 Speed
Nature: Adamant (+Attack, -Sp.Atk)

Dragon Dance

Waterfall

Stone Edge

Earthquake
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

BulkyGyarados has proven to be very useful in today's metagame. It stops several major threats like Scizor, Lucario, etc.

I went all-out attacking because the coverage is what really allows Gyarados to defeat the stuff it can potentially handle in a 1-1 situation. (if I bring it into a Salamence after a U-Turn for example) Taunt hasn't proven useful when I tried it.

The moveset is rather standard as it provides the best neutral coverage and Dragon Dance is to sweep if I can eliminate their Gyarados counter(s).

The EVs are the new BulkyGyara standard. 156/100 are for bulk and 144 Speed is to outrun base 110s after a Dragon Dance. The 108 Attack allows Gyarados to 2HKO Blissey after a Dragon Dance (and Blissey is so annoying to a team with 4 special attackers).

Overall, Gyarados really holds the team together thanks to the sheer number of threats he can cover.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:


Gyarados is actually tremendously useful with Suicune since both of them weaken each other's counters. Gyarados is mainly countered by:

Celebi:- It's a common switch-in to Suicune and can faint if it doesn't expect a +1 LO Ice Beam.
Vaporeon:- A common switch-in to Suicune that abhors +1 LO HP Electrics.
Suicune: See Vaporeon
Porygon2:- Most of my team can take it on to an extent, but I'm more concerned about the OU counters.
Rotom:- Rotoms can't easily revenge +1/+1 Suicune, but Gyarados'd love it if they tried their hand at it.
Zapdos:- Since it can survive my Stone Edge, but LO Suicune is notorious for bringing this down.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP | 220 Def | 36 Speed
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)

Calm Mind

Flash Cannon

Thunderbolt

Wish
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

I tried out the SubCM Jirachi but still don't like it as much as the bulky varient. There really aren't many common pokemon in between 246 speed and 299 speed that stop my sweep. (Lucario stops it anyways and Mence runs max speed.)

I knew I wanted Wish since it allows me to heal up Gyarados (i'm disinclined to run RestTalk). It also allows me to heal up my other LO pokemon and Scizor that happen to lack recovery moves.

I chose Flash Cannon as my main STAB because it can actually damage Tyranitar. I'd really hate to give CB Tar free switch-ins since this Jirachi is my only Rock resistance.

Thunderbolt provides good coverage together with Flash Cannon and is a must for any special-attacking moveset.

Jirachi is mostly a good switch-in into several pokemon. It's defense is really awesome and it tanks hits very well. Compounded with Calm Mind, not much is bringing it down quickly. I don't use it like a late-game sweeper as most SubCM Jirachi are used.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:


CM Jirachi basically reaps most of the benefits from the other team members, but my particular set is especially adept at tearing most stall teams down.

Wish is another of Jirachi's main assets. Wish support for a pokemon like BulkyGyara. is definitely useful especially seeing as though Jirachi and Gyarados cover each other's weaknesses so beautifully.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Suicune @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP | 252 SAtk | 252 Speed
IVs: Suicune has Hidden Power {Electric}
Nature: Modest (+SAtk, -Atk)

Calm Mind

Hidden Power { Electric }

Ice Beam

Hydro Pump
.......................
Comments & Thoughts:

I had the most trouble picking this pokemon. I wanted a bit more power to the team and needed something that would fare decently against DDLO Gyarados for otherwise, he would massacre my team. I tried out various pokemon like Kingdra, Specs Vaporeon (lol), etc. and finally decided that this was the best.

Suicune is primarily a defensive pokemon and running an offensive moveset is definitely anti-metagame. Hidden Power Electric saves me from a potential Gyarados sweep but I still have to be careful as I'm not running any defensive EVs.

Ice Beam is to hit Celebi and Dragon types that resist my STAB move, Hydro Pump.

Basically, this Suicune has 306 special attack and Hydro Pump has 180 BP factoring in STAB. That's pretty much as powerful as an unboosting MixApe Fire Blast.

I'm open to ideas for pokemon in this slot, but the synergy is helpful. I despise the second Electric weakness though and I only have one resist.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Synergy:


I guess I'll just say "see Gyarados".

But Suicune can also sweep if Blissey is down. (Most Blisseys stay in and die CM Jirachi or get exploded on because they didn't expect Heatran to Explode) Scizor never gets his Pursuit :/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion:

Well, thanks for taking the time to read this far. I don't really have much more to say. (Threat List will be on the EDITed into this post and I may make another post for Team Building Process later.)

Thanks again.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- XxBlueCleric.xX

 

[Blackhawk11]

The only thing I might add is that you would have trouble with a MixApe (after a Nasty Plot).

NPMixApe is no problem at all for this team. He has (at least) two counters in Gyarados and Latias. Suicune can also be used as a counter, although slightly less reliably. NP MixApe will only run one of Grass Knot and HP Ice, so Gyara can handle non-GK variants and Latias can handle non-HP variants. A MixApe with both of those over NP wouldn't pack enough power to threaten him.

 

[franky]

Problems:

SD Lucario (Stone Edge versions)

How to fix:

This might be a mild threat, but as a late game sweeper with your team injured with Stealth Rock and such, it will be trouble. My first suggestion would be using a Timid Nature on Suicune to outpace Lucario, Hydro Pump will kill it for sure dealing 93.62% - 110.64% with Life orb recoil, it won't do much to you.

As for other options go, I would really revert back to Substitute on Jirachi. Why? Because having 101 subs would be great because after a few Calm Minds, some special attackers like Vaporeon need two shots to break the Sub, allowing yourself to grab more CM's. Wish isn't THAT necessary. Substitute is absolutely required to set up on Blissey anyways. Other suggestion I might add is watching out for Jolteon. Jolteon in conjuction with a Pursuit user, might leave the team exposed a bit (especially Charge Beam versions). So careful with Latias. Also Taunt, might be the best option over Earthquake. Taunt is the real crux of the set, stopping Skarmory from phazing you, giving you a potential second boost, enough to take grab the kill on Scarf Rotom when its weakened. Taunt also prevents Swampert from phazing (and set up better due to will-o-wisp on heatran). Overall, I highly suggest Taunt over EQ, gl.

 

[XxBlueCleric.xX]

ScarfRachi is sometimes a lead, but Heatran works well against it.

NP MixApe is beaten by Latias/Gyarados and Suicune for HP Ice versions.

@ Franky:

Yeah, you've nailed this team's weaknesses. Stone Edge Lucario is a major problem for the team, but I can usually play around it. It's best opportunity to set up is Pursuit-locked Scizor, but I use Pursuit sparingly anyways. I'll definitely try out Timid on Suicune, but if it misses out on crucial KOs (especially against Celebi + Zapdos), I might find it unappealing.

You're very right about Jolteon and Pursuit-user, but I haven't faced any. Several SpecsJolt actually use Shadow Ball and Scizor can Pursuit kill it.



Thanks for the rates, guys.

 

[Bad Ass]

hey, i really like your team. it has a lot of potential to be a really nice team, so it stuck out to me as a team i would like to rate. i like your format as well, it's really easy to read and looks very nice on the eyes, so i applaud you for that. to start, i look at what your team goal is. now, it doesnt really have a specific goal (eg, lucario sweep), but it does have a purpose. you use your powerful sweepers to chip away at the opponent's core, then you just break through when they cant take any more of your pounding. to start, i'd suggest removing your gyarados. he can't keep the high pace up, even if he gets a dragon dance up. he may provide some nice resistances, but all in all he just isn't a nice fit. you do, however, need some physical attacking power, lest you get eternally walled my the fat whore known as blissey. imo a restalk machamp would fit nicely in that slot. he can take u turns just as well as gyarados, isn't stealth rock weak, and has more attacking power out of the gate. a better stab in dynamicpunch helps a lot as well, along with the ability to take out rotom. he is also a nice weapon against stall.

Machamp (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Payback
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
---

nitpicky, but i think you should put leftovers + surf on suicune. if the opponent sees no lefties recovery at the end of the turn, there is no way you get a surprise kill on their zapdos or celebi. surf is also nice and reliable; i'd rather do 80% to a lucario than 0%.

i'd also like hidden power grass + fire blast on heatran. fire blast does enough to heatran and gyarados to prevent them from setting up on you anyways, and hp grass does a number on swampert early, which is really good. anyways, nice team, hope i helped!

 

[XxBlueCleric.xX]

@ Bad Ass: Replacing Gyarados with Machamp would add on to my Scizor weakness. I don't really have anything that would switch into Superpower and Latias still takes quite a bit. Swords Dance varients would beat me if Heatran was down (it usually explode in the earlier stages with him) But yes, Machamp can take quite a few U-Turns.

The bigger issue resides with Lucario who would become an even larger problem. (the stone edge varients are still a pain).

The thing about Gyarados isn't his offensive potential, it's mostly the fact that he keeps many large threats in check.

I'll definitely test out HP Grass on Heatran (over Will-o-Wisp right?). KOing Swampert early on would definitely be awesome.

If I switch to Surf and Leftovers on Suicune, should I add on defensive EVs and a Bold nature? It'd at least make Suicune more specialized overall.

Thanks for the rate, Bad Ass.

 

[Dormin]

Sorry for the late rate bro. I'm usually good about responding to PMs, but school just started and its been murderously busy.

Aaaaanyway, the team. I would definitely try out HP Grass on Heatran for the surprise KO on Swampert at the moment, though WoW is definitely viable. You also discuss Toxic+Lava Plume, which isn't bad either. The eventual choice of moveset will depend ultimately on the current state of the metagame. Right now, HP Grass sounds cool to just straight up remove Swampert as a Jirachi counter.

I'm a fan of bulky offense, and I think you could utilize the "bulky" portion a bit more. On BulkyGyara, I'm a firm believer in Taunt over Earthquake. The ability to stop T-waves from the likes of Blissey (who can't be OHKOed with a Bulky +1) and phazing is just too good to pass up. The only thing I can think of that you lose with Taunt over EQ is coverage on Empoleon, but its not like it can do much to stop Gyara from DDing anyway.

On Suicune, I've had a lot of success with an offensive CM set with Leftovers and just enough speed to outrun DDgyara (288). Your opponent will automatically think "slow and bulky" when they see leftovers, and therefore won't expect stuff like HP Elec or enough speed to prevent a revenge kill from the likes of Lucario or Mamoswine. 164 HP, 120 SpA, 224 Spe is the spread your looking for I think.

Finally, I like a bit of special defensive presence on Scizor. A spread I've had a lot of success with is Adamant 160 HP, 176 Atk, 168 SpDef, 4 Spe. You retain the bite of a CB Bullet Punch, but gain the defense to take on a weak HP Fire from Celebi or a Surf from Latias.

With these small changes, your team gains a lot more staying power, which will allow you to wear down opposing teams longer to help create a Jirachi/Suicune/Gyarados/Latias sweep. Good luck!!

 

[ThePatriot]

I have a couple of suggestions

1. Run taunt on Gyrados over earthquake to help block status and lets gyrados stick around for muhc longer.

2. Use substitute instead of wish on jirachi, the reason with that is that it blocks from status and lets you net some free calm minds.

3. I would consider surf over hydro pump on suicune because hydro pump, while powerful, is an unreliable basterd.

4. Maybe try Hp grass on heatran

Nothing other than that
Good Luck :)

 

[Witnessed]

Wow, excellent team here. In my short time on Shoddy so far, I have used the Scizor-Latias-Heatran trifecta, and it works fabulous. However, I am noticing something here. SpecsJolt might be a real terror for this team. One with Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball alone can wreck half of your team. You only option to deal with it is Gyara's Earthquake, and your just asking to be KO'd by a Thunderbolt there. Because nothing can safely counter Jolteon without getting hurt by Shadow Ball or HP Ice/Grass, I suggest you add Earth Power on Heatran. This will KO Jolteon easily. You could replace Will-o-Wisp, due to the popularity of Heatran. They probably will expect you to Flamethrower or Burn their own lead. This grants the opposing Heatran easy access into the battle and KO you with their own Earth Power, while you can't do much to them except explode. With Earth Power on your leadTran, you can nail the opposing Tran switch in. Sorry if that might be confusing.

Hope I helped, and good Luck. Great Team!