Hi, everyone. This is crobatchop with his third RMT showcase of a rather typical but effective mixture of Pokemon.
Team at a glance
Team Info
The well known Luke-ranitar and the infamous Luc-gar make their appearances again amazingly that would definitely give a good punch the the end of the 4th generation game. The destructive capabilities of these three Pokemon will naturally make this a heavily offensive team, or offensive at least.
There are some usual problems with a sandstorm team. One of them, clearly understandable but subtle, is the imbalance in the physical/special split. The resistance to sandstorm damage from the three types is nice, but adds to the common weaknesses as well. The third problem, of course, is when the sandstorm backfires. This happens especially against stall-based teams, where weather damage could play a rather large part.
“Lead Synergy” is probably the most inspiring article in all The Smog. Here I could get Crobat and Swarmpert working together, as together they resist quite a large number of types, and have distinct utilities. Now the obvious water and electric weakness in my team allows me to select a grass Pokemon and put it into my team (yes, because normally I don’t use grass types). Since I have a fighting type already, Celebi is my choice.
I hope you will enjoy my lead/support/core team building strategy and provide any sensible suggestions. Thank you for reading up to this far.
Detailed Description
Markers:
Old
Changes
Crobat (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 104 HP/152 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
This lovely Pokemon serves as my lead. The advantage of having an anti-lead is that you can put your opponent into a difficult situation from the start. The ability to taunt support moves and to scout with u-turn should be the shining part of this crobat. I have always used crobat in-game, simply because of its speed. When I designed a team I usually look for a speedie, and crobat does it very well. As far as wallbreaking goes, crobat should be one of the most powerful stallbreakers with its fast taunt and roost, a deadly anti-stall weapon. Don’t ever underestimate this brave bat, as it 2hko moderately defensive pokemon like flygon and scizor. Unless you are facing aerodatyl or perhaps Zapdos, you have everything you need in the wings with Swarmpert on the bench.
Taunt is probably your first move most of the time even if it’s ninjask, although I would have to beware of Azelf’s psychic. A successful taunt usually gains me the momentum of the whole early game, and scouts so that I know which Pokemon should be the one to keep. I usually have two Pokemon unrevealed after my opponent have all of his/her showed. Oh and Brave Bird is better than super fang because it can actually kill something.
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Surf Roar
Personally, I don’t mind stealth rock but it would be really nice without them. More importantly though, is to get my own rocks up, and Swarmpert does a brilliant job here. Crobat’s u-turn can usually scout a lot already, so surf can be used for extra coverage. Actually, one of the main reasons I choose Swarmpert is because of its typing, sponging quite a large number of attacks including those from Scizor and Zapdos more than half of the time. I find him so valuable that I would usually keep it for the late game and stall time.
One problem I find is that Swarmpert is not easy to switch in, and fears Breloom and Roserade so much. I might want to consider Hydro Pump to clean Skarmory off as well, so I will need some suggestions from you guys. A rather common Pokemon, but it does its job quite well I must say.
Celebi @ Choice Scarf Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/40 Spd/216 SDef
Bold nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire Ice]
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Defensive Celebi gives me counters and eases prediction, and consequently lettting me getting control of the game. As I have said in the section of crobat before, recover is the main thing that makes this Celebi so useful. Grass Knot is also working better for Celebi. I do really like the surprise element in putting a scarf on Celebi, but now I understand why Celebi is not a top candidate for that: it lacks coverage. Rather, with Rotom-H being versaile and unpredictable, the effect is even scarier. The additional thunder wave supports Lucario in some ways, that faster Pokemon will be crippled and will not ruin Lucario's sweep.
Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat
- Trick
My new Scarfer, as explained in Celebi's corner. As I get better, consistency will be more important than annoyance. Overheat now allows me to deal with steel types properly, and STABs are used for general revenge killing. Even with trick, the scarfholder needs the scarf more than it tricks.
Bit (Lucario) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Stone Edge Crunch
This female dog creature needs no explanation. Actually... stone edge because it can then beat Gyarados since Rotom is usually scarfed. A more reliable sweeper than Salamence (please don’t make a pointless discussion about Salamence here) because the powerful 120 CC is backed by a strong priority. That is to say, you still need quite a lot of experience with Lucario, especially those won’t don’t run calcs in battles like me.
Tyranitar (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk/208 Spd/48 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Crunch Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Flamethrower
Tyranitar never fails to be the surprise. It is probably apparent that this tyranitar bluffs the choice set as it contains the bog standard move of the CB/CS set: pursuit. Recently though, I find that pursuit isn’t used as much, so I am considering Stone Edge. Very reliable to say at least, Tyranitar is one of the elite competitive Pokemon in standard.The speed here allows me to be faster than certain Pokemon like Scizor and Blissey and lets me beat them without taking status (or OHKO in the case of Scizor).
Problems
Scizor – Yeah some mistakes here. I did not have opposing Scizor in mind when I build this team, so I am afraid I will have to pay the price. SD Scizor could be gg, but Swarmpert can somehow wall it otherwise. Rotom can now check this jack as well.
Rotom – A Pokemon which puts me into a tough situation frankly. The oven versions are handled well by Tyranitar, but cut and wash forms are common as well. If it is scarfed Lucario might lose the chance to sweep. Scarf Rotom helped a bit, but still.
Mamoswine – This happens mostly in hail teams. I am quite sure that all my Pokemon are prone to Ice Shard + Earthquake Combo, especially if it’s Jolly. Not with Rotom.
Roserade,
Breloom – my mid-game is usually limited because I use Swarmpert and Tyranitar quite a lot, none of which can handle these threats. Crobat should threaten them well enough, but the spore or toxic spikes cannot be overlooked. Celebi can briefly counter them.
Jirachi – Scarfed versions could ruin Lucario’s sweep, while CM will give me a lot of trouble.
Gliscor - omg
Azelf,
Zapdos,
Aerodatyl – Lead Problems. Because I run the risk of getting OHKOed in the first turn, which is never cool.
Infernape – have seen much for a while, will definitely prove itself a problem with priorities super effective type coverage. Rotom can revenge now.
Please remind me if I have missed out and troublesome scenarios.
Suggestions
I think
Heatran will fit nicely in my team but I appear to have a Poke-slot syndrome. I still need to cover a lot of water Pokemon. It also counters and checks the majority of the Pokemon of the list above.
Thank you for reading this, and again, I hope many of you experts will give
some really fruitful advices.
Team at a glance
Team Info
The well known Luke-ranitar and the infamous Luc-gar make their appearances again amazingly that would definitely give a good punch the the end of the 4th generation game. The destructive capabilities of these three Pokemon will naturally make this a heavily offensive team, or offensive at least.
There are some usual problems with a sandstorm team. One of them, clearly understandable but subtle, is the imbalance in the physical/special split. The resistance to sandstorm damage from the three types is nice, but adds to the common weaknesses as well. The third problem, of course, is when the sandstorm backfires. This happens especially against stall-based teams, where weather damage could play a rather large part.
“Lead Synergy” is probably the most inspiring article in all The Smog. Here I could get Crobat and Swarmpert working together, as together they resist quite a large number of types, and have distinct utilities. Now the obvious water and electric weakness in my team allows me to select a grass Pokemon and put it into my team (yes, because normally I don’t use grass types). Since I have a fighting type already, Celebi is my choice.
I hope you will enjoy my lead/support/core team building strategy and provide any sensible suggestions. Thank you for reading up to this far.
Detailed Description
Markers:
Old
Changes
Crobat (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 104 HP/152 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
This lovely Pokemon serves as my lead. The advantage of having an anti-lead is that you can put your opponent into a difficult situation from the start. The ability to taunt support moves and to scout with u-turn should be the shining part of this crobat. I have always used crobat in-game, simply because of its speed. When I designed a team I usually look for a speedie, and crobat does it very well. As far as wallbreaking goes, crobat should be one of the most powerful stallbreakers with its fast taunt and roost, a deadly anti-stall weapon. Don’t ever underestimate this brave bat, as it 2hko moderately defensive pokemon like flygon and scizor. Unless you are facing aerodatyl or perhaps Zapdos, you have everything you need in the wings with Swarmpert on the bench.
Taunt is probably your first move most of the time even if it’s ninjask, although I would have to beware of Azelf’s psychic. A successful taunt usually gains me the momentum of the whole early game, and scouts so that I know which Pokemon should be the one to keep. I usually have two Pokemon unrevealed after my opponent have all of his/her showed. Oh and Brave Bird is better than super fang because it can actually kill something.
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Surf Roar
Personally, I don’t mind stealth rock but it would be really nice without them. More importantly though, is to get my own rocks up, and Swarmpert does a brilliant job here. Crobat’s u-turn can usually scout a lot already, so surf can be used for extra coverage. Actually, one of the main reasons I choose Swarmpert is because of its typing, sponging quite a large number of attacks including those from Scizor and Zapdos more than half of the time. I find him so valuable that I would usually keep it for the late game and stall time.
One problem I find is that Swarmpert is not easy to switch in, and fears Breloom and Roserade so much. I might want to consider Hydro Pump to clean Skarmory off as well, so I will need some suggestions from you guys. A rather common Pokemon, but it does its job quite well I must say.
Celebi @ Choice Scarf Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/40 Spd/216 SDef
Bold nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire Ice]
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
My Paleo Wave. Unlike using its fellow speedmate Flygon, who is expected to be scarfed most of the time, Celebi can actually net a revenge kill by the fact that the opponent is not aware of the choice scarf. Trick because sometimes, Celebi won’t need the scarf to deal with Suicune, and the scarf gags Snorlax and the likes as if making a path for them to faint. I might want to use hp fire or recover instead with the Dragons’ disappearance.
It is possible to trick first as long as it’s not Scizor or Heatran, because Blissey and Snorlax switchins are not uncommon at all. Actually, Celebi is more like my only answer to water types. Many might treat Celebi a wall and setup on it such as taunt, only to be KOed fast. It’s a pity though Celebi manages a 2HKO on Gyarados after SR, but not even a 3HKO without.
Defensive Celebi gives me counters and eases prediction, and consequently lettting me getting control of the game. As I have said in the section of crobat before, recover is the main thing that makes this Celebi so useful. Grass Knot is also working better for Celebi. I do really like the surprise element in putting a scarf on Celebi, but now I understand why Celebi is not a top candidate for that: it lacks coverage. Rather, with Rotom-H being versaile and unpredictable, the effect is even scarier. The additional thunder wave supports Lucario in some ways, that faster Pokemon will be crippled and will not ruin Lucario's sweep.
Gengar (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Subsitute and pain split makes perfect sense in a sandstorm environment, and makes an Explosion absorber as well. Beats Blissey when Crobat makes sure it uses toxic (oh and yes, crobat’s immunity is a big thing in anti-stall). I find it pretty acceptable not having thunderbolt, as the set can at least 2hko everything not named Blissey. Lure in Scizor and the likes wand I make sure they are choiced.
Substitute makes life so much easier for the most part. Perfect coverage with two moves, but it fails to be faster than Starmie and Azelf, so Gengar will usually have to wait for choice users and roserade and the likes.
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Subsitute and pain split makes perfect sense in a sandstorm environment, and makes an Explosion absorber as well. Beats Blissey when Crobat makes sure it uses toxic (oh and yes, crobat’s immunity is a big thing in anti-stall). I find it pretty acceptable not having thunderbolt, as the set can at least 2hko everything not named Blissey. Lure in Scizor and the likes wand I make sure they are choiced.
Substitute makes life so much easier for the most part. Perfect coverage with two moves, but it fails to be faster than Starmie and Azelf, so Gengar will usually have to wait for choice users and roserade and the likes.
Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat
- Trick
My new Scarfer, as explained in Celebi's corner. As I get better, consistency will be more important than annoyance. Overheat now allows me to deal with steel types properly, and STABs are used for general revenge killing. Even with trick, the scarfholder needs the scarf more than it tricks.
Bit (Lucario) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extremespeed
- Stone Edge Crunch
This female dog creature needs no explanation. Actually... stone edge because it can then beat Gyarados since Rotom is usually scarfed. A more reliable sweeper than Salamence (please don’t make a pointless discussion about Salamence here) because the powerful 120 CC is backed by a strong priority. That is to say, you still need quite a lot of experience with Lucario, especially those won’t don’t run calcs in battles like me.
Tyranitar (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk/208 Spd/48 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Crunch Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Flamethrower
Tyranitar never fails to be the surprise. It is probably apparent that this tyranitar bluffs the choice set as it contains the bog standard move of the CB/CS set: pursuit. Recently though, I find that pursuit isn’t used as much, so I am considering Stone Edge. Very reliable to say at least, Tyranitar is one of the elite competitive Pokemon in standard.The speed here allows me to be faster than certain Pokemon like Scizor and Blissey and lets me beat them without taking status (or OHKO in the case of Scizor).
Problems
Scizor – Yeah some mistakes here. I did not have opposing Scizor in mind when I build this team, so I am afraid I will have to pay the price. SD Scizor could be gg, but Swarmpert can somehow wall it otherwise. Rotom can now check this jack as well.
Mamoswine – This happens mostly in hail teams. I am quite sure that all my Pokemon are prone to Ice Shard + Earthquake Combo, especially if it’s Jolly. Not with Rotom.
Gliscor - omg
Please remind me if I have missed out and troublesome scenarios.
Suggestions
I think
Thank you for reading this, and again, I hope many of you experts will give
some really fruitful advices.
