Team Nihon

Team Nihon, Destroyers of Magikarp!

Team Nihon
Shoddy Battle Win-Lose Record: 12-6
Shoddy Battle Name: Arb2
Over Used Team

At a Glance
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The Names:
Nihon is the Japenese name for Japan
All Pokemon Are Nicknamed their Japanese Names


Info:
-My first real team
-I appreciate any comments
-I realize my team is somewhat generic but it works well so far

News:
8-7-09 - Changed sprites because Mc2094 told me about another site (Link at bottom of page
8-3-09 - Got rid of the changes section because my team kept changing and it was becoming pointless
8-2-09 - From this day one i no longer care about item clause
- so many comments! YAY! Im going to make quite a few changes to my team now
8-1-09 -read the rules so i wont be getting introuble anymore :D
7-31-09 -I've Swaped Togekiss for Gengar
-Reset W-L record because i recently made a dramatic change to my team

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Goukazaru
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Lead Ape
Infernape
@ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
Evs: 64 Atk/ 204 SpA/ 240 Spe
Naive (+Spe -SpD)
-Fake Out
-Stealth Rock
-U-Turn
-Fire Blast

With this set I can use Fake out on the first turn flinching the opponent and rendering there Focus Sash/ Band useless if they have one. On the next turn i can set up stealth rock as the opponent probably does the same. Using the speed Evs and Nature i can then most likely outspeed the opponent and use U-turn to Switch out with full health and having damage the opponent significantly. If i am out speeded then i can survive with the Focus Sash then use U-turn to switch out. Fire blast also allows me to OHKO any ninjask lead before they sub & BP Later in the Battle if i still have full health i can wreak havoc with STAB fireblast and if i am damage my focus sash will allow me to hang on long enough to fire (pun very much inteneded) of at least one Fireblast assuming i outspeed my opponent (as i probably will).


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Hassamu
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Bulky Physical Sweeper/ Screen Breaker
Scizor
@ life orb
Ability: Technician
Evs: 32 Hp/ 252 Atk/ 224 Spe
Adamant (+Atk -SpA)
-Sword Dance
-Bullet Punch
-Brick Break
-Quick Attack/ X-Scizzor

With this i can utilize Scizor's spe Evs to quickly set up swords dance then sweep with brick break, STAB & Technician boosted bullet punch (90 power) and technician boosted aerial ace. Due to bullet punches priority it will be my main move but i can use Brick Break to take down threats like tyranitar and to break screens that might other wise hinder my Sweeping. If necesary i can skip swords dance and revenge kill with bullet punch, brick break and aerial ace. Im currently testing my scizor to detemine weither to use X- scizzor or Quick Attack.


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Rugaji
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Pysical Wall/ Physical Sweeper/ Phazer
Swampert
@ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Evs: 252 Hp/ 252 def/ 4 SpA
Relaxed (+Def -Spe)
-Hydro Pump
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Ice Beam

With this set i can start sweeping with STAB Hydro Pump & Earthquake and also with ice beam as soon as i switch in. Swamperts gona be my pysical wall. Swamperts also going to be used to take down dragons with ice beam With Roar i can put an end to BPers. Leftovers will add to my natural bulkyness and keep me alive even longer


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Boomanda
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Choice Band
Salamence
@choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Evs: 4 Hp/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Jolly (+Spe -SpA)
-Fire Blast
-Outrage
-Aerial Ace
-Stone Edge

This salamence is meant to catch opponents suspecting a mix-mence of guard and wreck havoc. Outrage is my STAB move that can do considerable damage to just about any pokemon. Fire Blast is to stop Bronzong and Skarmory, which cannot always be done my infenape (cause hes usualy dead). Stone Edge is my best weapon against qyarados that would otherwise lay waste to most of my team. Aerial Ace is for some much needed coverage against fighting types and ludicolo that usualy inhilate my team.


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Enperuto
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Mixed Wall/ Special Sweeper
Empoleon
@Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Evs: 252 Hp/ 160 Def/ 94 SpD/ 4 Spe
Calm (+SpD -Atk)
-Surf
-Grass Knot
-Ice Beam
-Yawn


With this set i can utilize Empoleon's 12 resistances and higher def and SpD stats to effectivly wall a multitude of pokemon. Surf, Grass Knot and Icebeam give me decent type coverage. If Yawn is used the pokemon will most likely switch. If the pokemon doesnt i can wreak havoc while it sleeps. Leftovers Allow me to stay alive even longer.


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Gangar
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Special Sweeper
Gengar
@ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Evs: 48 Atk/ 4 Def/ 204 SpA/ 252 Spe
Hasty (+Spe -Def)
-Shadow Ball
-Thunder Bolt
-Focus Blast
-Explosion

This set is designed to come in and instantly start sweeping. Shadow Ball gives me a good STAB move to wear down the opponent. Also Shadow Ball in conjuncture with Focus Blast gives Gengar Complete Type coverage. Focus Blast is used to stop and dark type that might try to pursuit me, It is also my best way to eliminate tyranitar. Thunder Bolt is useful against bulky waters my empoleons grass knot can't handle, In particular Suicune and put a hurt on pesky togekiss. Explosion is my Desperation move. I will use it only when my health falls below 25%. With life orb it might not be to long till it does hehe but life orb will still give me more power when i do go bang.


Disclaimer:
Sprites Except Scizor from this site http://www.pokesho.com/icon1.html Navigation is at bottom of that page

Icons from pokemonelite2000.com
Scizor Sprite Made by me :)
 
Changes & Threats

Pokemon Previously On team:
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Threats:
to save time for both the reader and I, i have listed
only the major threats to my team (as i find them)

If its not on this list then i have yet to have a problem
with it. Still feel free to suggest possible threats


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Breloom
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Breloom just love to spore, substitute and procede to destory my team. My best counters to it are Infernape and salamence but they cant survive long enought to wait for substitute to fade so im forced to use empoleon.

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Magnezone
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Magnezone loves the abundance of steel types on my team and can do real damage by trapping my wall or revenge killing my Revenge killer (Scizzor).

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Rotom A
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All forms of rotom (H is the most threating thought) Can Substitute and wreak havoc H can OHKO my scizzor with overheat and just be plain annoying.
 
Magnezone Problem

Magnezone can be a annoyance to you. Trapping Scizor, and Empoleon.

Scarfed Magnezone can some in on the SD, then OHKO you with HP Fire.

Maximum nutreul special attack vs minimum nuetrul special defense.

359 Atk vs 196 Def & 290 HP (70 Base Power): 368 - 436 (126.90% - 150.34%)


Magnezone can also come in on Empoleon, although it has to be weary of Yawn, although he can come in on Greass Knot and Ice Beam.


Although Magnezone fails to OHKO, it can wear Empoleon down, the first Thunderbolt doing around; 359 Atk vs 196 Def & 290 HP (70 Base Power): 368 - 436 (126.90% - 150.34%).

If that same Magnezone has HP Grass, then Swampert falls to the big magnet.
 
For Swampert, the nature for (+Def, -Spe) is Relaxed, not Lax. And on Salamence use Jolly. You have no special attacks on him, so your wasting your defences by using Naive.

Sorry for not doing an in-depth RMT, im kinda crunched on time right now lol.
 
Question: Why does Salamence have Naive nature when it's not using any Special Attacks? Seems like a waste of a SpD drop if you ask me. I'd replace Fire Fang for Fire Blast seeing as many Physical Defenders have very low Special defense in comparison. If you do plan to keep Fire Fang though, you might as well change the nature to Jolly.
 
thanks bossnine and sabafish for pointing out naive nature. I used smogons choice band set and originally had fireblast but i substituted it for fire fang and forgot to change the nature :P
 
On Empoleon (Enperuto, lol): Wouldnt the SubPetaya sweeper work better? It is a phonemonal late game sweeper, and can check many threats that your team would otherwise struggle with (such as Magnezone). Heres the set:

Empoleon @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 8 Hp / 12 Def / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Modest nature (+Special Attack, -Attack)
~ Agility
~ Substitute
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam / Grass Knot

This Empoleon is arguably the best late game sweeper in all of OU. Empoleon can find thousands of places to switch in (a x4 resistance to Bullet Punch is fantastic), and then it can Agility on the switch. From there, use Substitute to get your HP down to the range where Petaya Berry is activated. From there, slaughter will be happening.

The choice between Ice Beam and Grass Knot is difficult. If you had Toxic Spikes support, than you would go with Ice Beam, but since you dont...it really depends on which you want to use more. Would you rather hit Suicune, or Salamence. Its up to you.

Good luck, and I hope I helped! :)​
 
@Snorlaxxz
I don't think Empoleon's purpose on this team is to sweep. It's there to do damage to Pokemon who will hinder a Gengar/Salamence sweep. I think it's fine just the way it is.

Gengar however, should have a Life Orb. The way it is now, you're going to have to pray that it survives with >25% HP to get that Liechi boost. A Life Orb will give you a similar boost on Explosion, but will also pump up your Special Attacks, which will help you in the long run.

Infernape should have the EV spread: 64 Atk / 252 SAtk / 192 Spd. If you're worried about other Apes outspeeding you, then give it 4 or 8 more EVs in Spd from one of your other stats, doesn't matter which.

Now on to Swampert. What on Earth is that thing doing with an Apicot Berry?! It's useless! Why would you want to boost your defenses when you are low in HP?! It's not like the boost in SDef is going to help you tank, since you can't heal yourself. If you fear Grass Knot, you should give it a Rindo Berry, but even then I don't know if you'll survive, even at full health. When faced with a Grass Knot user, your best bet would be to switch out. I suggest going with the simple option and giving it Leftovers.

Other than those two item issues and the minor EV tweak, I don't see too much else. An Infernape with Flamethrower / Close Combat / HP Ice / Grass Knot could do some damage to your team by hitting 3 Pokes for 4x damage, 1 for 2x, and the other two it would hit neutral, but honestly I could say that for just about every team in the RMT section. >_> The only way you can beat it is by sacrificing a Pokemon (other than Gengar) and then bringing in Gengar for the possible OHKO after SR damage and one LO recoil. It will always be dead after dealing with Gengar assuming it's taken SR and LO damage once, just sometimes it will bring Gengar down with it.
 
Hello!

First thing, are you playing under the Item Clause for any specific reason? Item Clause is not standard anymore, and you could be getting a lot more use on some of your pokemon if you just switched your items around a bit.

First thing. You don't need to have Stealth Rock on two Pokemon, especially when both pokemon would really appreciate that 4th move slot. Take Stealth Rock off of Swampert and give him Roar so Baton Pass teams can be stopped. It will also help with scouting.

Your Swampert is begging for Leftovers. Swampy is a fairly tanky pokemon with great resistances, and Leftovers will increase his survivability greatly. If you want a berry, you could run Rindo Berry, but it probably won't help you against many things barring Infernape as you won't be able to KO most Grass Knot users back with any of your attacks. The SpDef boost is not going to help you against anything specific, and neither will the SpDef investment. You have Empoleon to take your special attacks, so leave Swampert to do better against the physical ones so he can better counter the pokemon he is meant to, like Gliscor and Tyranitar. I suggest you just run standard 252 Hp / 252 Def / 6 Atk with a Relaxed nature. You should change Avalance to Ice Beam, as most things that you want to hit with Ice attacks have lower SpDef anyway, like Gliscor. You also don't have to rely on getting hit to use Avalanche, as they can just boost up as you hit them for a lesser amount of damage. You should also use Surf over Waterfall, as despite having a higher attack you will hit most things super effectively harder with Surf than with Waterfall (a great example being Hippowdon). If you are okay with the accuracy drop, you may also want to consider Hydro Pump to hit even harder with great neutral coverage, and also hit harder on the likes of Skarmory and Rotom-A.

I love your Scizor sprite! But I don't love Aerial Ace on him. It is a nice STAB move, but theres not many things you'll be hitting with it; most things you will want to hit with it are faster than Scizor. I think you should run Quick Attack, as after a SD boost you won't have to worry about Infernape and Zapdos ruining your fun (well, as much in case of Zapdos).

Despite having a Choice Band, Salamence wants Fire Blast so you can actually do something to the likes of Bronzong and Skarmory. Run a naive nature so you don't take the SpA drop. You also should run Aqua Tail - You don't need Crunch, as I'm posative most ghosts will be at least 2HKO'd by Outrage, or maybe even Dragon Claw. If you want to keep Stone Edge, get rid of Dragon Claw.

Once again, unless you're running Item Clause, Gengar wants a Life Orb. You will do considerably more damage, and you aren't relying on the opponent activating the Berry for you, something you should leave to a set with Substitute or Endure.

I hope this helps!
 
Thanks every one i appreciate it, in response
- Swampert with apricot berry was just because i couldnt think of anything else
-I was trying to use item clause cause i wanted to eneventually use it at worlds, but im gona ditch item clause
-yah i think im gona use life orb on gengar and leftovers on swampert :)
-im gona play around with swamperts and salamences move sets to see what works best
-im gona think about that sub petaya empoleon its pretty appealing to me

I also have two question? i know i should probably ditch Aerial Ace but i need some fighting killing move, other wise machamp inhilates my team

If i change empoleon to a subpetaya it wont wall anymore any suggestion for a pokemon that will do that same job as empoleon?

also thanks musiquev24 for liking my scizor sprite :D
 
i have a question about my scizzor, it seems like every scizor has a CB set is it really that much better than Swords Dance, i dont like limiting my Scizor but if its really that much better than ill do it but. I need to know if CB is that much better first.
 
Problems:

Sub Rotom (charge beam)


How to fix:


Quite troublesome because it is capable of switching in on Scizor and completely walling you. My suggestion to this is slapping a Choice Band on Scizor because you generally don't have a solid trapper to utilize a Swords Dance set. Secondly, I want to suggest CM Jirachi in-place of Empoleon. For a better Stall breaking overall.

Jirachi
@ Leftovers
Timid (Spe+ / Atk-)
252 Hp / 80 SpA / 176 SpD

- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

This guy can make great strategy to defeat Sub Rotom, which can run circles on your team without Swampert. CB U-turn on Rotom and go to this guy, and proceed to Calm Mind until your ready to use Psychic to take it down. Sub / Calm Mind is a good strategy to kill stall. Psychic / Thunderbolt boast decent coverage, resisted mainly by Latias and Celebi, who is handled by CB Scizor.

Other noteoworthy things you can consider is Close Combat on Infernape for U-turn to beat Tyranitar and HEatran in particular. I'll suggest Hidden Power Fire on Thunderbolt for Gengar to smash Scizor switch-ins and tweaking Salamence's movset to this: Outrage / Earthquake / Fire Blast / Dragon Claw. Claw scouts for Steel-types, outrage for late-game. While Earth / Fire defeats Steel-types in general. gl with the team

I need to know if CB is that much better first.

The general idea is to abuse a +1 boost from CB and a STAB U-turn to scout for switch-outs. You dont want to get locked in early in the match, but instead one should abuse U-turn to scout and utilize BP or Super Power late game
 
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