Team Ikkitousen - D/P Metagame
The ideas behind this team were first drafted in the earliest days of D/P, when Motor Drive was supposed to be THE most awesome ability ever and Electivire was a pretty common sight. Ikkitousen was originally a GyaraVire based team, with GrowthTran, Lucario, and Gardevoir thrown in for good measure. Obviously those are just a whole bunch of bad ideas thrown together, although the set of resistances combined with offensive potential interested me most in using the prototype team.
As the metagame evolved, I tried to create several different teams to moderate success, but always found myself trying to come back to my original Gyarados + Electric absorb concept. Seeing as Electivire really sucks *_* I tore down the entire team, only keeping Heatran and Gyarados, and tossed in early variants of the pokemon you see here. Gradual improvements were also made on my chosen Gyarados and Heatran builds, and the finalized version, posted here has a pretty impressive (I think) 25-2 win-loss record on my account.
Various metagame changes have affected the usefulness of this team, however. The first so far is the move of Garchomp into the Ubers tier, meaning that some of the Ice-type attacks running rampant on this team are somewhat unnecessary. Garchomp, however, is the least compelling reason for me to eventually discontinue use of this team; Ikkitousen has proven quite successful on the Suspect Test ladder and in the current Chompless standard. The true reason I've decided to put this team down for good is that with the upcoming moveset updates in Pokemon Platinum, its staying power is seriously compromised (for example, Gliscor no longer acts as a wall against purely physical Lucario now that it gets Ice Punch). I do plan to put serious work into a Platinum-oriented team, starting today, so maybe in a few months I'll be posting something like team Code Geass here. ;)
Anyway, this is a team that many of you may be familiar with--I posted an earlier version of it in my warstory--but I do hope you'll still enjoy this finalization. It might've taken me a little longer than most would, but I firmly believe that this team is the absolute best you can do with this combo of 6. As always, brief descriptions related to the anime Ikkitousen will come with each Pokemon, so feel free to skip those if you're just after the team rating. I hope this makes for an enjoyable read.
The Team
"Sonsaku Hakufu"
Gyarados @ Life Orb
Adamant
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
Sonsaku Hakufu is the current leader of Nanyou Gakuen, and her fighting style is simple yet powerful. During the second season, it was revealed that she contained within her a dragon whose element was Water (as pictured, frame #2).
"Hakufu", as the basis for this team, is focused on somehow getting that 1 crucial DD and sweeping clear through as many opposing Pokes as possible. With Gyarados on board, I very rarely have the luxury of seeing an "earlygame, midgame, and lategame" phase, as I often get to pass a sub very early, and easily get the necessary attack and speed boost. I lead with Gyara to intimidate, and almost always switch right out to Bronzong. Using this strategy, 80% of the time I can get rocks up second turn.
EVs: You might recognize this Gyarados build from husk's team. If not, a refresher--this outspeeds neutral base 120s and beneficial base 115s after a single DD. With max Attack and LO, Gyarados always OHKOs Starmie with Earthquake factoring in Stealth Rock damage, and 2HKOs Cresselia, Suicune, Swampert, Skarmory, Forretress, and other dangers with the respective most powerful moves.
"Gakushuu"
Bronzong @ Lum Berry
Sassy
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Atk / 96 Def / 8 SDef
IVs: 1 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
Gakushuu is one of the Four Devas (strongest fighters) of Nanyou Gakuen. His fighting style is a nearly impenetrable defense, backed up by slow but immensely powerful offense.
Using a lead 'Zong not in the lead actually helps it do its job a lot better, as I've found. Common Gyarados counters like Cresselia and Suicune can't do any real damage to Bronzong, who can gladly set up rocks and explode. I don't run Hypnosis because it interferes with Jolteon's strategy, yet most opponents don't risk me putting their sweepers to sleep, giving me room to have both Gyro Ball to hit suicide leads and counter Weavile, Mamoswine, etc. as well as Earthquake to "scout" and deal damage simultaneously.
EVs: Even-defense setup, with slight emphasis on Special Defense. 1 Spe IV allows me to outspeed opposing Bronzong to guarantee setting up rocks, while maintaining nearly the same amount of power on Gyro Ball.
"Ryomou Shimei"
Jolteon @ Leftovers
Timid
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Yawn
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Ryomou is an interesting, conflicted character and is obviously my favorite. In personality, she is somewhat shy but when she fights, she is proficient in using chi blasts and submission moves. Ryomou is also characterized by her very high speed, which allows her to avoid most severely damaging attacks.
YawnJolt, as in the analysis, is my favorite build of Jolteon. Using the build is not quite as straightforward as it may seem, though: sometimes, sweeping with Thunderbolt is the smartest decision, and if in a potentially dangerous position (which is to say about 1/3 of the time), leading with Substitute is the best way to go. Reading the opponent's team and predicting how they will counter Jolteon is the best way to pass an intact sub to the right pokemon; for example, I will generally pass a sub to Weavile when Cress is out, to absorb the Psychic and/or Ice Beam, or to Gyarados (as is ideal) if something like Swampert or Mamoswine is out. Sometimes if the opponent lacks enough Fire resists, I can pass a sub to Heatran and sweep from there.
EVs: Max speed to tie with other base 130s at worst, and max special attack to ruin defensively weaker threats like Gengar and Infernape.
"Shuuyu Koukin"
Weavile @ Expert Belt
Jolly
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
- Ice Shard
- Brick Break
Koukin is often considered an easy opponent, but has proven on many occasions that he has the potential to be a top-ranked fighter through defeating multiple fighters ranked better than he. Koukin is ranked low simply because he rarely fights.
For all his speed, power, and excellent offensive typing, Weavile is a very hard pokemon to set up and sweep with. All he asks for is one free turn to SD and get that "mediocre" attack up, and in the lategame he can OHKO entire teams when sashes are away. That is why subpassing Jolteon works so well with this team: Weavile can "counter" a lot of Gyarados counters, as the sub will take that switch-in hit, and thus gets his own free turn. Ice Shard makes Weavile a handy, emergency revenge killer on fellows like DDmence, and is in general a useful STAB priority move.
EVs: Again, max Speed to tie with opposing Weavile at worst. Happily, I sometimes get 216 Spe users to guarantee the OHKO with Brick Break. Weavile's semi-decent SDef still allows it to take attacks of power up to Timid Starmie's Surf.
"Ukitsu"
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Impish
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Roost
- Knock Off
Ukitsu revised her own destiny by sacrificing herself in order to save Hakufu's life. She herself was a top-ranked fighter, more powerful than Hakufu actually, but because Hakufu alone had the power to defeat the opposing forces at the time, Ukitsu completely devoted herself to the cause.
This Gliscor is a very straightforward physical wall. She serves as a nearly all-purpose midgamer, countering Metagross, Lucario, and Heracross very handily (provided Gross and Luke aren't using their respective Ice-type moves, of course). Running Gliscor in this team spot helps me maintain a somewhat balanced strategy, and while I may not even use her in nearly 60% of my battles, she has proven to be an invaluable team member at the times that I do. With the neat evasion rate of Sand Veil against SS teams and the extra (Toxic) Spikes immunity, Gliscor really holds together the defensive core along with Bronzong, and occasionally even Heatran.
EVs: A slight variation on the rather standard 252/252 spread; I simply added 4 extra Spe EVs to outspeed opposing Gliscor walls.
"Sousou Moutoku"
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Naive
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Earth Power
Sousou Moutoku was the leader of Kyosho Gakuen, and contained a dragon whose element was Fire. When possessed by his dragon, he was impervious to nearly every attack thrown at him, and flat-out killed anyone unlucky enough to be in the vicinity.
Scarftran is the final (and most useful) variant I've used in this team slot. No longer is revenge killing Weavile a problem if Bronzong's gone--Tran easily outspeeds him, along with the following: all once-DD, Adamant Gyarados, standard Ludicolo in the rain, ScarfCross, Metagross with one Agility, and obviously all +nature base 130s. Exploding on these potent threats as a revenge kill has proven invaluable to preventing what could be total losses, and Mild Scarftran never gave me that kind of security. A handy thing to note is that with Naive nature, the maximum IVs for Hidden Power [Ice] are a legal combination on Heatran. Fire Blast and Earth Power are almost to be expected.
EVs: I took Gouki's advice and used 252/252, as 5 extra points in HP aren't really making as big a difference as losing to opposing Scarftran. I chose Naive nature so that Heatran could easily survive a 4 Atk EV Deoxys-S Superpower even with rocks up.
Simple Threat List:
Tyranitar - Bronzong takes it on earlygame, Gliscor easily handles physical variants.
Gyarados - Jolteon outspeeds most even with one DD, and with rocks up, my own Gyarados can easily 2HKO. Heatran or Bronzong explode if need be.
Infernape - Gliscor and Gyarados together can handle most any variant; Heatran revenge kills, Jolteon OHKOs with rocks up.
Azelf - Lead Azelf can't beat Bronzong if it wants to get rocks up; sweeper variants are easily dispatched by Weavile.
Rhyperior - Walled by Gliscor and Bronzong, destroyed by Heatran and Gyarados.
Electivire - Never gets the speed boost, as Jolteon is either yawning or subbing in its face.
Heracross - Gliscor.
Salamence - Usually takes SR damage; 1-DD Gyara OHKOs with Ice Fang, Weavile can revenge kill, Heatran switches in on Draco Meteor and easily kills with HP Ice.
Togekiss - Rocks cripple it, everything can kill it.
Gengar - If it leads, I let Gliscor activate sleep clause and switch to Bronzong to set up rocks with impunity. Weavile and Heatran usually scare it sufficiently.
Raikou - Usually can't CM. If it does, Heatran or Zong explode, Jolteon puts it to sleep and sets up for a team member.
Lucario - Gliscor handles non-HP Ice variants pretty well; Heatran can switch in on E-Speed and OHKO with Earth Power or Fire Blast. Otherwise I usually encounter "hidden" Lucario after I've already DD'd once with Gyara and they are very rarely a problem.
Starmie - Jolteon, Weavile can survive Surf and threaten.
Weavile - Bronzong, revenge killing with Heatran. Gyara isn't too concerned either.
Dugtrio - Weavile. Heatran on non-scarfers.
Porygon-Z - Scarfed variants mean I can either set up easily with Jolteon, or hit hard with Heatran. Non-scarfed variants can't deal with my team at all.
Machamp - Pretty tough to play around without sacrificing, but Bronzong and Heatran can both explode. DynamicPunch is my main problem.
Snorlax - Usually gets boomed. It's quite slow and has subpar defense, so Gyarados has few problems getting in a DD. Body Slam can be annoying.
Zapdos - Zong can explode, Jolteon beats it one-on-one and can pass subs with impunity.
Blissey - Everything but Jolteon beat it one-on-one, and Jolt yawns and sets up a sub.
Suicune - Gyara sets up on non-HP Electric variants. It tends to stay in on exploding Bronzong as well.
Breloom - Sleep clause activates and it's useless.
Ninjask - Gyarados sets up in its face and ruins the receiver with Waterfall. Jask is just bad overall.
Metagross - Gliscor and Bronzong; Gyara easily EQ's and Heatran has Fire Blast.
Heatran - Gyara deals with non-HP Electric variants, which are few and far between. Scarftrans are easy to play around.
Celebi - Can be trouble to take down; Heatran usually does a fine job when it doesn't have Thunder Wave. Weavile revenge kills, Gyarados 2HKOs with Ice Fang.
Jirachi - Never had a problem. For some reason it always comes in on Gyarados who easily kills with EQ.
Dragonite - Heatran comes in on anything but EQ, Gliscor can stop purely physical DDers. Weavile revenge kills while it Outrages. Similar to Salamence, except much less scary.
Mamoswine - I see it most often when Jolteon yawns on the switch, and later I can kill it with Gyarados. Otherwise, Bronzong is a nearly full stop, and Heatran scares it off.
Gallade - Gliscor and Gyarados combined can kill it. A tiny bit more trouble than Infernape, whom I deal with similarly.
Yanmega - Annoying in the early game. As with Breloom, I let it activate sleep clause and bring in Bronzong to set up and kill.
Kingdra - I can only foresee lategame HP Electric variants being a problem, as I can easily outstall rain in the earlygame, and lategamers tend to be Mixdra. It's uncommon, and I let Gyarados set up on it most of the time.
Roserade - Activate sleep clause, and 4/6 of my pokemon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Force it to switch out or kill it using Heatran, and SR breaks the sash later on.
Scizor - Technician Quick Attack is a pain; however, everyone but Weavile and Jolteon take its attacks just fine.
Deoxys-S - Bronzong and Heatran. Lategamers are tough sometimes, but Jolteon beats it one-on-one (as I've found).
Afterword
This team utilizes a bit of "scouting" and a lot of prediction in order to be used properly, and I do enjoy battling with it because it's suited exactly to my playing style. If I were to describe it, it's a balanced team with heavy emphasis on offense, so while the offensive style requires prediction, the slightly balanced build allows for a bit of leeway, hence the scouting element. I've been told it has "bad Pokemon" (mostly Weavile!) but as I've tried to demonstrate using this team, it's possible to tap into the potential of a bad Pokemon simply by surrounding it with strong and/or compatible teammates. I hope you enjoyed reading; please rate my team!
The ideas behind this team were first drafted in the earliest days of D/P, when Motor Drive was supposed to be THE most awesome ability ever and Electivire was a pretty common sight. Ikkitousen was originally a GyaraVire based team, with GrowthTran, Lucario, and Gardevoir thrown in for good measure. Obviously those are just a whole bunch of bad ideas thrown together, although the set of resistances combined with offensive potential interested me most in using the prototype team.
As the metagame evolved, I tried to create several different teams to moderate success, but always found myself trying to come back to my original Gyarados + Electric absorb concept. Seeing as Electivire really sucks *_* I tore down the entire team, only keeping Heatran and Gyarados, and tossed in early variants of the pokemon you see here. Gradual improvements were also made on my chosen Gyarados and Heatran builds, and the finalized version, posted here has a pretty impressive (I think) 25-2 win-loss record on my account.
Various metagame changes have affected the usefulness of this team, however. The first so far is the move of Garchomp into the Ubers tier, meaning that some of the Ice-type attacks running rampant on this team are somewhat unnecessary. Garchomp, however, is the least compelling reason for me to eventually discontinue use of this team; Ikkitousen has proven quite successful on the Suspect Test ladder and in the current Chompless standard. The true reason I've decided to put this team down for good is that with the upcoming moveset updates in Pokemon Platinum, its staying power is seriously compromised (for example, Gliscor no longer acts as a wall against purely physical Lucario now that it gets Ice Punch). I do plan to put serious work into a Platinum-oriented team, starting today, so maybe in a few months I'll be posting something like team Code Geass here. ;)
Anyway, this is a team that many of you may be familiar with--I posted an earlier version of it in my warstory--but I do hope you'll still enjoy this finalization. It might've taken me a little longer than most would, but I firmly believe that this team is the absolute best you can do with this combo of 6. As always, brief descriptions related to the anime Ikkitousen will come with each Pokemon, so feel free to skip those if you're just after the team rating. I hope this makes for an enjoyable read.
The Team
"Sonsaku Hakufu"
Gyarados @ Life Orb
Adamant
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
Sonsaku Hakufu is the current leader of Nanyou Gakuen, and her fighting style is simple yet powerful. During the second season, it was revealed that she contained within her a dragon whose element was Water (as pictured, frame #2).
"Hakufu", as the basis for this team, is focused on somehow getting that 1 crucial DD and sweeping clear through as many opposing Pokes as possible. With Gyarados on board, I very rarely have the luxury of seeing an "earlygame, midgame, and lategame" phase, as I often get to pass a sub very early, and easily get the necessary attack and speed boost. I lead with Gyara to intimidate, and almost always switch right out to Bronzong. Using this strategy, 80% of the time I can get rocks up second turn.
EVs: You might recognize this Gyarados build from husk's team. If not, a refresher--this outspeeds neutral base 120s and beneficial base 115s after a single DD. With max Attack and LO, Gyarados always OHKOs Starmie with Earthquake factoring in Stealth Rock damage, and 2HKOs Cresselia, Suicune, Swampert, Skarmory, Forretress, and other dangers with the respective most powerful moves.
"Gakushuu"
Bronzong @ Lum Berry
Sassy
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Atk / 96 Def / 8 SDef
IVs: 1 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
Gakushuu is one of the Four Devas (strongest fighters) of Nanyou Gakuen. His fighting style is a nearly impenetrable defense, backed up by slow but immensely powerful offense.
Using a lead 'Zong not in the lead actually helps it do its job a lot better, as I've found. Common Gyarados counters like Cresselia and Suicune can't do any real damage to Bronzong, who can gladly set up rocks and explode. I don't run Hypnosis because it interferes with Jolteon's strategy, yet most opponents don't risk me putting their sweepers to sleep, giving me room to have both Gyro Ball to hit suicide leads and counter Weavile, Mamoswine, etc. as well as Earthquake to "scout" and deal damage simultaneously.
EVs: Even-defense setup, with slight emphasis on Special Defense. 1 Spe IV allows me to outspeed opposing Bronzong to guarantee setting up rocks, while maintaining nearly the same amount of power on Gyro Ball.
"Ryomou Shimei"
Jolteon @ Leftovers
Timid
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Yawn
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Ryomou is an interesting, conflicted character and is obviously my favorite. In personality, she is somewhat shy but when she fights, she is proficient in using chi blasts and submission moves. Ryomou is also characterized by her very high speed, which allows her to avoid most severely damaging attacks.
YawnJolt, as in the analysis, is my favorite build of Jolteon. Using the build is not quite as straightforward as it may seem, though: sometimes, sweeping with Thunderbolt is the smartest decision, and if in a potentially dangerous position (which is to say about 1/3 of the time), leading with Substitute is the best way to go. Reading the opponent's team and predicting how they will counter Jolteon is the best way to pass an intact sub to the right pokemon; for example, I will generally pass a sub to Weavile when Cress is out, to absorb the Psychic and/or Ice Beam, or to Gyarados (as is ideal) if something like Swampert or Mamoswine is out. Sometimes if the opponent lacks enough Fire resists, I can pass a sub to Heatran and sweep from there.
EVs: Max speed to tie with other base 130s at worst, and max special attack to ruin defensively weaker threats like Gengar and Infernape.
"Shuuyu Koukin"
Weavile @ Expert Belt
Jolly
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
- Ice Shard
- Brick Break
Koukin is often considered an easy opponent, but has proven on many occasions that he has the potential to be a top-ranked fighter through defeating multiple fighters ranked better than he. Koukin is ranked low simply because he rarely fights.
For all his speed, power, and excellent offensive typing, Weavile is a very hard pokemon to set up and sweep with. All he asks for is one free turn to SD and get that "mediocre" attack up, and in the lategame he can OHKO entire teams when sashes are away. That is why subpassing Jolteon works so well with this team: Weavile can "counter" a lot of Gyarados counters, as the sub will take that switch-in hit, and thus gets his own free turn. Ice Shard makes Weavile a handy, emergency revenge killer on fellows like DDmence, and is in general a useful STAB priority move.
EVs: Again, max Speed to tie with opposing Weavile at worst. Happily, I sometimes get 216 Spe users to guarantee the OHKO with Brick Break. Weavile's semi-decent SDef still allows it to take attacks of power up to Timid Starmie's Surf.
"Ukitsu"
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Impish
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Roost
- Knock Off
Ukitsu revised her own destiny by sacrificing herself in order to save Hakufu's life. She herself was a top-ranked fighter, more powerful than Hakufu actually, but because Hakufu alone had the power to defeat the opposing forces at the time, Ukitsu completely devoted herself to the cause.
This Gliscor is a very straightforward physical wall. She serves as a nearly all-purpose midgamer, countering Metagross, Lucario, and Heracross very handily (provided Gross and Luke aren't using their respective Ice-type moves, of course). Running Gliscor in this team spot helps me maintain a somewhat balanced strategy, and while I may not even use her in nearly 60% of my battles, she has proven to be an invaluable team member at the times that I do. With the neat evasion rate of Sand Veil against SS teams and the extra (Toxic) Spikes immunity, Gliscor really holds together the defensive core along with Bronzong, and occasionally even Heatran.
EVs: A slight variation on the rather standard 252/252 spread; I simply added 4 extra Spe EVs to outspeed opposing Gliscor walls.
"Sousou Moutoku"
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Naive
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Earth Power
Sousou Moutoku was the leader of Kyosho Gakuen, and contained a dragon whose element was Fire. When possessed by his dragon, he was impervious to nearly every attack thrown at him, and flat-out killed anyone unlucky enough to be in the vicinity.
Scarftran is the final (and most useful) variant I've used in this team slot. No longer is revenge killing Weavile a problem if Bronzong's gone--Tran easily outspeeds him, along with the following: all once-DD, Adamant Gyarados, standard Ludicolo in the rain, ScarfCross, Metagross with one Agility, and obviously all +nature base 130s. Exploding on these potent threats as a revenge kill has proven invaluable to preventing what could be total losses, and Mild Scarftran never gave me that kind of security. A handy thing to note is that with Naive nature, the maximum IVs for Hidden Power [Ice] are a legal combination on Heatran. Fire Blast and Earth Power are almost to be expected.
EVs: I took Gouki's advice and used 252/252, as 5 extra points in HP aren't really making as big a difference as losing to opposing Scarftran. I chose Naive nature so that Heatran could easily survive a 4 Atk EV Deoxys-S Superpower even with rocks up.
Simple Threat List:
Tyranitar - Bronzong takes it on earlygame, Gliscor easily handles physical variants.
Gyarados - Jolteon outspeeds most even with one DD, and with rocks up, my own Gyarados can easily 2HKO. Heatran or Bronzong explode if need be.
Infernape - Gliscor and Gyarados together can handle most any variant; Heatran revenge kills, Jolteon OHKOs with rocks up.
Azelf - Lead Azelf can't beat Bronzong if it wants to get rocks up; sweeper variants are easily dispatched by Weavile.
Rhyperior - Walled by Gliscor and Bronzong, destroyed by Heatran and Gyarados.
Electivire - Never gets the speed boost, as Jolteon is either yawning or subbing in its face.
Heracross - Gliscor.
Salamence - Usually takes SR damage; 1-DD Gyara OHKOs with Ice Fang, Weavile can revenge kill, Heatran switches in on Draco Meteor and easily kills with HP Ice.
Togekiss - Rocks cripple it, everything can kill it.
Gengar - If it leads, I let Gliscor activate sleep clause and switch to Bronzong to set up rocks with impunity. Weavile and Heatran usually scare it sufficiently.
Raikou - Usually can't CM. If it does, Heatran or Zong explode, Jolteon puts it to sleep and sets up for a team member.
Lucario - Gliscor handles non-HP Ice variants pretty well; Heatran can switch in on E-Speed and OHKO with Earth Power or Fire Blast. Otherwise I usually encounter "hidden" Lucario after I've already DD'd once with Gyara and they are very rarely a problem.
Starmie - Jolteon, Weavile can survive Surf and threaten.
Weavile - Bronzong, revenge killing with Heatran. Gyara isn't too concerned either.
Dugtrio - Weavile. Heatran on non-scarfers.
Porygon-Z - Scarfed variants mean I can either set up easily with Jolteon, or hit hard with Heatran. Non-scarfed variants can't deal with my team at all.
Machamp - Pretty tough to play around without sacrificing, but Bronzong and Heatran can both explode. DynamicPunch is my main problem.
Snorlax - Usually gets boomed. It's quite slow and has subpar defense, so Gyarados has few problems getting in a DD. Body Slam can be annoying.
Zapdos - Zong can explode, Jolteon beats it one-on-one and can pass subs with impunity.
Blissey - Everything but Jolteon beat it one-on-one, and Jolt yawns and sets up a sub.
Suicune - Gyara sets up on non-HP Electric variants. It tends to stay in on exploding Bronzong as well.
Breloom - Sleep clause activates and it's useless.
Ninjask - Gyarados sets up in its face and ruins the receiver with Waterfall. Jask is just bad overall.
Metagross - Gliscor and Bronzong; Gyara easily EQ's and Heatran has Fire Blast.
Heatran - Gyara deals with non-HP Electric variants, which are few and far between. Scarftrans are easy to play around.
Celebi - Can be trouble to take down; Heatran usually does a fine job when it doesn't have Thunder Wave. Weavile revenge kills, Gyarados 2HKOs with Ice Fang.
Jirachi - Never had a problem. For some reason it always comes in on Gyarados who easily kills with EQ.
Dragonite - Heatran comes in on anything but EQ, Gliscor can stop purely physical DDers. Weavile revenge kills while it Outrages. Similar to Salamence, except much less scary.
Mamoswine - I see it most often when Jolteon yawns on the switch, and later I can kill it with Gyarados. Otherwise, Bronzong is a nearly full stop, and Heatran scares it off.
Gallade - Gliscor and Gyarados combined can kill it. A tiny bit more trouble than Infernape, whom I deal with similarly.
Yanmega - Annoying in the early game. As with Breloom, I let it activate sleep clause and bring in Bronzong to set up and kill.
Kingdra - I can only foresee lategame HP Electric variants being a problem, as I can easily outstall rain in the earlygame, and lategamers tend to be Mixdra. It's uncommon, and I let Gyarados set up on it most of the time.
Roserade - Activate sleep clause, and 4/6 of my pokemon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Force it to switch out or kill it using Heatran, and SR breaks the sash later on.
Scizor - Technician Quick Attack is a pain; however, everyone but Weavile and Jolteon take its attacks just fine.
Deoxys-S - Bronzong and Heatran. Lategamers are tough sometimes, but Jolteon beats it one-on-one (as I've found).
Afterword
This team utilizes a bit of "scouting" and a lot of prediction in order to be used properly, and I do enjoy battling with it because it's suited exactly to my playing style. If I were to describe it, it's a balanced team with heavy emphasis on offense, so while the offensive style requires prediction, the slightly balanced build allows for a bit of leeway, hence the scouting element. I've been told it has "bad Pokemon" (mostly Weavile!) but as I've tried to demonstrate using this team, it's possible to tap into the potential of a bad Pokemon simply by surrounding it with strong and/or compatible teammates. I hope you enjoyed reading; please rate my team!
