Team Knockout

[Drace]

This is my first RMT and on a team I've used and thought it could need some help. It gets me more wins then losses which is a good thing but, like most teams it could be better. The team itself is based around a Mixmence mid-late game sweep.

Team At A Glance:

Azelf@ Focus sash
levitate
Naive: 4atk, 252 sp atk, 252 speed
-Stealth rock
-Explosion
-Taunt
-Psychic

Although you can find alot of anti-leads who are made to stop Azelf, I still find it to be a reliable lead. The game plan usually depends on the lead. Slower leads usually get taunted and then I proceed to set up rocks. Faster leads like aero, I slowly hit with pshychic until I get the KO. In most situations, setting up rocks is a main priority and my main stragety and I'm pretty happy if that gets accomplished.

Starmie@ Expert belt
Natural cure
Timid: 4hp, 252 sp atk, 252 speed
-Ice beam
-Thunderbolt
-Rapid spin
-surf/psychic

This is my spinner. It is essential for Salamence that rocks are not a concern. I run full speed to thunderbolt other starmies. Boltbeam has good coverage and hits a majority of things for super effective damage. I run surf for stab and heatran but, surf isn't always getting the ko on heatran I seek. I'm considering running psychic for rotoms who try to anti-spin me. I wont lose stab and can counter rotom's and gengars. Expert belt>LO in an attempt to save HP.

Magnezone@ Choice Scarf
Magnet pull
Naive: 4atk, 252 sp atk, 252 speed
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden power[Fire]
-Flash Cannon
-Explosion

I knew this team would need a steel trapper because the more steels are left the harder it is for Salamence. The choice scarf set works wonders. I get the suprise jump on a lot of steels and usally get the KO thanks to hp fire. It also cancels out scarf jirachi's they trick while trapped and are rendered conpletely useless as i destroy them. The scarf gives him 358 speed which also ties his sp atk at 358. After I feel that most of the steels are gone I'll try and boom a Pokemon to just make the sweep a little easier for Salamence.

Machamp@ Life Orb
No Guard
Adamant: 160 hp, 252 atk, 96 speed
-Dynamic Punch
-Stone Edge
-Bullet punch
-Payback

A filler to this team...I dont really have a purpose for him or much to say. He hits hard and if played properly can get 1 or 2 pokemon out the way for salamence. He does good damage to skarm's and forretress with dynamicpunch so in the end he still pays off. Payback is for ghost and latias. Stone edge hits gyra and bullet punch is to finish off already weak pokes. [OPEN TO REPLACEMENT]

Celebi@ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold: 60 HP, 150 Def, 72 speed, 225 sp atk
-Thunder Wave
-Leech seed
-Earth power
-Grass knot

Another filler that i really have a hard time explaining his role. The real role behind the set is to twave pokemon that could counter salamence or take him out. His attacks are fillers i guess. Leech seed to help sip away at health. Grass knot is for salamence and other certain bulky waters. Earth power helps with steels left by magnezone. He too is open to replacement or even another set, although i want this team to have a twaver.

Salamence@ Life Orb
Intimidate
Adamant: 80 atk, 252 speed, 176 speed
-Draco Meteor
-Earthquake
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage

This set is pure BEAST! Once i know the oppenent's team and most of Sala's counters are gone, its a wrap. I draco meteor first. To get a kO and make a switch to a sp def wall or steel. Once i know the switch is coming i DD and SWEEPP. Outrage is for stab and for maximum destruction. EQ is for heatran's who try and wall my set.

​

Team Knockout:

Thanks for reading!! Pardon any spelling and grammer, I'm from Brazil and am still perfecting my english.

 

[Gaborik]

I was skeptical when I first glanced at your team, but the more I look into I actually think its quietly a solid team. Scizor will pursuit trap Starmie pretty easily, but it almost plays into what you want so you can trap Scizor yourself to help Salamence setup in the late game.

Most of the top threats that go uncovered seem to be find for your team: Gyarados can be covered by Celebi, Lucario is at least revenged by Magnezone, Scizor is trapped by Magnezone, Machamp is a shaky Tyranitar counter so we might want to bulk him up and consider a RestTalk set. Salamence is probably the biggest problem to this team, but what team isn't weak to Salamence? With rocks up and no easy switches for Salamence you can prevent him for the most part.

The special side seems to be a problem for your team. +Speed attacking type Rotom appliances, Gengar, Latias are all nightmares for you to switch into. I think the best option would be for you to turn your Starmie into a bulkier version of the rapid spinner so he can be a check to Gyarados still. I would go to http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/starmie and copy that rapid spinner set on top. That way we can replace Celebi much easier with a pokemon that can help you handle the Rotom appliances, Gengar, and Latias. I know the goal of the team is to let Salamence sweep, and kicking up a sandstorm isn't ideal, but a bulky pursuit trapping CBTar would probably fit best into the role to somewhat cover Gengar/Latias/Rotom appliances problems.

 

[Drace]

Thanks for the rate, ill test the resttalk machamp and bulkier starmie set. I just wanna be able to outspeed other starmies and ko with tbolt

 

[forestflamerunner]

personally, i think a gengar with shadow ball and HP fire would work really well to counter the threats listed above if you can deal with 2 pokemon weak to pursuit

 

[Drace]

hmm it wouldnt matter because magnezone could kill scizor and so could gengar with hp fire also with anti spin the team might get more of an advantage off to test...the sleep talk machamp aint that bad

 

[syrim]

I'm about to suggest the ultimate niche pokemon (well, one of them).
Whenever your building a Salasweep team, focus on it's hard counters, because most decent teams will have at least one. For instance, Scarf latias and Mamo. You have Mamo covered in that you don't show Sala till late game and have machamp besides. Any scarfers you haveextreme trouble with. T-tar is out of the question, SS is counter productive. Try this set in the place of celebii, who will have a hard time t-waving what needs to be t-waved.

Metagross
Adamant @ expert belt
252/HP 252/ Att 6/Sp. Def
Pursuit
Meteor Mash
Earthquake/ Thunder punch
Explosion

Basically, this set provides an end all soloution to most any scarfed sala check you'll find. The massive Hp ( or Sp. Def) investment insures minimal damage from the attacks of starmie, latias, azelf and gengar. Really trick is all this set fears, and late game with your lack of true walls besides Resttalk machamp trick isn't that much of a fear. This set also keeps Metagross's massive attack alive, allowing decimation of anything not ghost typed with explosion. EQ complements MM and explosion, EQ removng most steel who resist both, and MM removing the ghosts who resist both and arent prone to switch out. You'll never be set up on (besides Damp) because of explosion. It functions almost as well as T-tar, but without the SS.

It also provides many opportunities for said Salamence to switch in, mainly on immune EQs. It also severly dents skarmory, who almost always switches into it once it realizes Thunderpunch isn't there, which of course make thunderpunch an option.

Good luck!

 

[Drace]

after some test the sleep talk machamp is not working so well...and i really feel like replacing him. Im still undecisive on the gross set, it works sometimes but haven't reached a final decision....some more rates would help

 

[Emery]

Seems fair. Not sure how to explain, but the weaknesses on your team are even'd out.

Ice (Celebi and Salamence)
Ghost (Azelf, Starmie, and Celebi)
Electric (Salamence and Starmie)

Those are the main weaknesses on your team, really.
As for Rest Talk Machamp, I run it in my team.

Dynamic Punch, Rest, Sleep Talk, and Thunder Punch.

It works like a charm.

 

[ToF]

You're kind of Gyarados weak because your Celebi's EV's are completely fucked up. First off, just run the standard 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Speed Celebi and Gyarados is covered. What's up with the odd moveset? Just run Grass Knot / Recover / Reflect / U-Turn. Much better than what you currently have.

I'd also run Leftovers over Expert Belt on Starmie. Scarf Heatran is really annoying to this team, and since your current Starmie doesn't have any form of recover, a couple of Fire Blasts and you basically lose. Drop one of the attacks for Recover, I'd say Thunderbolt since you already have Celebi for Gyarados, and run a more defensive EV spread as Gaborik suggested. Something like 136 HP / 156 Def / 216 Spe covers Heatran fine.

I don't think Machamp fits too well with this type of team, especially not the way you're using it. If you want another LO attacker, just use LO Lucario. Similar typing and purpose, just that the latter one is more threatening. A simple set of SD / Close Combat / Crunch / Extremespeed also helps out in beating Mamoswine and Scarf Latias as one of the above posters mentioned.

 

[Aircraft Cemetery]

Hello,

I recieved your message, so let's see what we could improve.
Well, the basic concept of setting up Salamence for a sweep with Rapid Spin and Magnezone Support is okay. The main Problem is the fact that your 'Filler Pokemon' as you call them really don't fit into this team and don't really do anything for you. Also there are some threats you will have serious problems with, namely opposing DD Salamence, DD Tyranitar, DD Gyarados and Calm Mind Latias and Suicune. What I will try to do is change the two filler move slots in order to support Salamence better and simultaneously check more threats.

Azelf: Its only purpose is getting up Rocks and die. I think this is not the best choice for your lead. A bulkier Lead that will help check some threats for your team and be alive later in the game to get up Rocks again in case they were spun away will work better. Swampert should accomlish that.
Swampert@Leftovers
Relaxed-252HP, 252Def, 4SpDef
-Earthquake
-Ice Beam
-Roar
-Stealth Rocks
Roar is also very useful for your team to combat Baton Pass teams more effectively. Swampert will also deal with DD Salamence and Tyranitar well.

Starmie is a good Spinner for your team but with your current spread it won't be alive for long. So I would change it to this set:
Starmie@Leftovers
Timid-252HP, 200Spe, 56Def
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
This set is bulky enough to survive any attacks by + DD Gyarados and Life Orb Starmie so you will be able to retailiate for the kill with Thunderbolt. Hydro Pump is chosen over Surf in order to 2hko most Rotom-A who will switch in to block Rapid Spin. Also it ohkos all Heatran and Infernape. 200EVs with a timid nature let it outrun max speed Infernape.

Magnezone: I think you should change it to the usual steel trapper set, as it remove steel types more reliably than Scarf Zone. Also I would use HP Grass to lure and kill Swamperts, who can give Mence trouble.
Magnezone@Leftovers
Naive-252SpAtk, 216Spe, 40Atk
-Substitute
-Thunderbolt
-HP Grass
-Explosion

Salamence: If you really like the mixed Dancer you should probably keep it. Nonetheless I will usually prefer this set:
Salamence@Lum Berry
Naive-252Spe, 252Atk, 4HP
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Dragon Dance
-Roost/Fire Blast
With Magnezone most steel types will be out of the way when Salamence starts it's Rampage. Therefore you can afford to drop FireBlast for Roost in order to live longer. Also I think Lum Berry is the superior choice as you will really appreciate more Outrage turns against a team without steel types.

Machamp/Celebi: As I said they don't do anything for you, so just drop them completely. What I would suggest is Scarf Gengar and CB Scizor in that slots. Scizor will provide you with a decant check against Azelf, Latias and some Starmie, who give you some trouble otherwise. Also it can scout for steel types with its U-Turn, so you know what Zone will have to do. Pursuit can remove Scarf Latias and Gengar who try to revenge kill Salamence at +1.
The reason why I chose Gengar is the fact that your team could really need a good revenge killer of its own. Gengar is really great at this, although you will have to watch out for Pursuit. You should maybe always use Focus Blast first to ohko Scarf Tyranitar switchins. Even if it misses, you will get a 2nd chance as you are much faster. Scizors can also be troublesome but if you were able to remove it with Zone before, you don't need to worry. That leads me to the second advantage of Gengar. It also benefits greatly from Zone's ability to remove steel types and can go for a sweep itself if it got rid of its Scarf.
Gengar@Choice Scarf
Timid-252Spe, 252SpAtk, 4HP
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
It also simply adds some special attacking power to your team. Thunderbolt provides great coverage along with Shadow Ball and Focus Blast.

I think these changes should help. Good Luck !

 

[DropTheNuke]

Starmie really, really, really, needs 216 speed minimum to outrun Latias and Gengar. Without it, you're pretty much death fodder against the aforementioned threats, whom you could usually take out. Also, don't use Psychic on Starmie, as it offers terrible coverage and Hydro Pump/Surf almost always works better.

 

[Rugaji]

I don't really see HP Grass Magnezone working because most Swampert don't really stay in on Magnezone being that most Magnezone's do carry HP Grass. I'd suggest HP Fire over HP Grass. This works great because you may easily come on on a CB Bullet Punching Scizor or their Pursuits and setup the Substitute. and since CB Bullet Punch won't break your sub once you're in it, you can easily hit it with HP Fire, as your Magnezone is still in the substitute. This gives you another fre hit on the Pokemon being switched-in for the already fainted Scizor which also helps you on the defensive side to helping your Salamence sweep. I already suggested this over AIM but I'm just repeating what I told you incase you want to take it into account. Here's the set:

Magnezone @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 36 HP / 220 Spd / 252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Explosion

I put in the extra 4 Speed EVs to outspeed the locked-on Pursuiting Scizor that are hitting Adamant with 252 Speed EVs and holding CB so that you can Sub' (which won't break after they pursuit you since you'll have more speed against the standard CB set,) and you attack it right away for the KO and you're still going to have the chance to hit another Pokemon while you're under Sub' which is good on the defensive side for your "ready to sweep Salamence."

The downside of this set is that you're unable to revenge kill Lucario without Choice Scarf, but Starmie stands a chance and could weaken it with Hydro Pump, if not, KO if you come in a switch-in to his Close Combat.