Team Specs and Spikes

BHC Member

BHC Member

Introduction

I entered Generation 5 a little bewildered after taking a break from PO. After trying out a bunch of new sets (failing miserably, mind), I decided to try and make a serious team. I loved using Specs Heatran in generation 4 because of it's power - with Latios not being banned yet, I thought I'd try to build a team around it. This is the result;

485.png
381.png
ferrothorn_display.png
134.png
094.png
645.png



In Depth

latios.jpg

Latias @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Trick

Remembering how powerful Specs Latias was, I was intrigued to see how Specs Latios would fare. OHKOing a full Breloom at -2 was enough to see. The goal of the team is to bring this in as many times as possible, since Draco Meteor more often than not will severly dent whatever is left in. When I first made the team, it was also one of my only ways of stopping Reuniclus, but it is slightly more manageable now. Since my team is mostly special, Blissey can give it a few problems, but Trick and Psyshock help this somewhat.

598.png



Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Ferrothorn has great complementary typing with Latios, and since Latios will force plenty of switches, Spikes are definitely a bonus. This team was originally made when Swift Swimmers were still allowed, so Ferrothorn was acting as my main buffer. Leech Seed nabs a bit of extra healing, Gyro Ball helps it hurt the likes of Haxorus and Power Whip is for bulky Waters which it can switch in on. I don't get as many opportunities to set up Spikes as I'd like, but his wide range of resistances remain invaluable to the team. Magnezone is a problem, so I have to either use him sparingly when facing him or use Shed Shell, which would be a pain given his lack of reliable recovery. Wish support helps a bit, though.



485.png

Heatran (M) @ Leftovers / Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 244 HP / 200 Spe / 64 SpD
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Lava Plume
- Protect / Earth Power
- Roar
- Stealth Rock

Heatran acts as my lead, while completing the resistances that Latios and Ferrothorn lack. He fits fairly snugly into the team - Stealth Rock is a given, Lava Plume is for the potential burn against switch-in Tyranitar (which helps Latios a great deal). Roar is great for shuffling (Volcarona especially) and accumulating spike damage. Leftovers over Air Balloon seems more useful now - Balloon was for a last ditch attempt at countering Excadrill. Without Balloon, Protect seems like a decent alternative over Earth Power to scout for a decent switch in. The speed EV's are there to beat Breloom, who I'm always a little paranoid about facing. Heatran remains one of my best bets against Sun teams (especially Venusaur), so keeping him healthy (and out of the way of Dugtrio) is quite important. This is helped by the next member:

Vaporeon.gif

Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Def / 180 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Att)
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Roar

Deja Vu somewhat, but it works very well. Having 2 phazers can really rack up spike damage, while having both Scald and Lava Plume mean it is quite easy to rack up a few burns during the match. All of Vaporeons weaknesses are covered well by the other members of the team, meaning Wish support is quite effective (Gengar has Pain Split anyway). It also remains one of my best switches in to an early Tyranitar (one too many Ferrothorn switches confirmed this) - this place used to belong to Conkeldurr, who I thought wasn't pulling his weight in the team (he was mostly there to stop Excadrill, which isn't necessary anymore).

585px-094Gengar.png


Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
- Pain Split
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

I love this set. I can't think of much more to say, but it is simply fantastic. Excellent synergy with Ferrothorn and Heatran, the ability to lure out Scizor and Tyranitar (who both fall to FB - or an easy switch to Heatran / Ferrothorn if Scizor BPs) plus a form of recovery make Gengar extremely useful. Substitute also can force a lot of switches, again helping the spike damage. I try to bring him in once Latios has dented their team, hopefully to finish it off. Occasionally can block spin, but switching into Forretress or Starmie isn't a good idea.
645.png

Landorus (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naive Nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- HP Ice

After Garchomp was banned, I didn't use a Choice Scarfer for a while. However, being swept by things like Dragonite and Tornadus reminded me this was a silly idea. I tried out Landorus and Terrakion; both worked decently, but found that U-Turn offered me a few more opportunities to bring in Latios. Landorus acts as a check to the aforementioned Pokemon, while causing more switches with U-Turn and providing a nice Electric resist for Vaporeon. I only added him fairly recently, but he seems to be working nicely. HP Ice can attempt to nab a kill on Gliscor, who is always annoying to face.

Conclusion

Anyway, that's my team. Any rates, criticisms or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. At the moment, things like Venusaur are always a problem, depending on the moveset. I'm also wondering if Landorus would fare better as a lead than Heatran, since he rarely gets up Rocks at the moment.

Thanks for reading!
 
It may not seem too obvious from looking at the team from a glance, but I feel you're susceptible to hazards. As it is, Ferrothorn can come in Latios, your Ferro, Vaporeon and Landorus as you're lacking sand to give EQ a boost. You could switch to Heatran, but Ferro is usually paired with Tentacruel or another Water like Rotom, and it becomes a switching mindgame that usually won't end in your favour. Pair this up with a popular Scizor-Rotom-W Volt Switch and U-Turn combo on an offensive team, and soon enough your team will be worn down to an extent where something will sweep. In all honesty, you're weak to a simple rain stall team with a core of Ferro/Tenta/Politoed etc in general, but there's a way to fix that.

For that reason, I suggest the following set over Latios:

Haxorus (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

SD Haxorus can crush most Rain stall teams by itself, but it also comes in handy in that it now gives a physical backbone to the team, meaning you aren't totally walled by Blissey and Chansey, which give your current team some problems.

I think you should have a Spinner to take care of your hazard problem. Vaporeon is holding the team back I feel, so I think you should replace it with this superior bulky water:

Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Protect

Tentacruel spins SR and Spikes away, meaning you aren't immediately checkmated by Ferro. By providing similar resistances to Vaporeon, it rounds off your FWG better than before, and also gives you Toxic Spikes to help with things such as Volcarona (if it has HP:Ground then Heatran is in trouble, and Stone Edge has shaky accuracy).

I also suggest keeping Earth Power on Heatran. It helps against opposing Heatran in sun as well as keeps enemy Tentacruels at bay.
 
Hey,

Nachos is spot on with the problem excavated by the lack of a spinner - repeated switch-ins on a team that requires its members to be relatively healthy is going to cause problems, especially in the endgame. Keeping with the offensive theme of your team, I think Starmie would be a great replacement over Vaporeon. Not only is it a fearsome spinner, but it bumps your team into a higher speed class, allowing you to outspeed unboosted Terrakion, Virizion and Lati@s, all of which pose some threat to your team. With the standard 3 attacks set, you will have great coverage – making it more troublesome to switch into Starmie trying to spin, since they risk being hit by a strong attack.

Starmie @ Leftovers
Timid | 252 SpAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Surf | Ice Beam | Thunderbolt | Rapid Spin

Although you lose a physical wall and Wish-Passer, I think that the gain of a solid Rapid Spinner and looming offensive threat will recoup whatever was lost.

Additionally, Heatran can run 252 HP / 96 SpDef / 160 Spe to outspeed Scizor, who I feel is a more pressing threat to deal with than Breloom, who is stopped dead by Latios. I back up Nachos’ suggestion of Haxorus - while providing a counter to Rain Stall, it also gives your team centrality – arguably making it easier for you to gain an upper hand in complicated situations otherwise.
 
Hey,

like Nachos and San_Pellegrino have already pointed out you do have a bit of a weakness to entry hazards since Ferrothorn gets a bye on half of your team. However I do also think that you are weak to powerful attackers when Drought is active, especially Venusaur, who can take apart most of your team with the correct move (further compounded by the fact that it can run quite a few different sets). To correct this problem, I think you could run a more offensive spread on Heatran and make Air Balloon your main item - this gives you a great counter to most sun teams, while Balloon is a bit of a safeguard against Dugtrio. What I was thinking was:

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Flash Fire | 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Fire Blast / Hidden Power Ice / Earth Power / Stealth Rock

Your main use for Roar atm is for Volcarona, who is easily taken care of by Scarf Landorus. Now, to address your weakness to hazards: Heatran now threatens Ferrothorn more but you will often meet a Water-type switchin if you're going to attack it. Making a leap, you could patch your weakness to Rain Stall by using San_Pellegrino's decision of Starmie, except with the possibility of Hydro Pump over Surf. If Tentacruel can't be handled by Starmie you have Psyshock to at least force it out. Hope this rate helped and good luck!
 
You're spot on with the hazards. I'll give Starmie a try. I'm going to change the Heatran set back as well - literally the game after I changed it, I was beat by a Toxic Heatran.

I'm a little hesistant to change Latios, since I usually have quite a problem with CM Reuniclus. Trick was one of the ways I dealt with it, the other (shaky) way was to Roar it with Vaporeon and deal with it later.

Was considering changing Ferrothorn to either CB or (more likely) Bulky SD Scizor. I don't often get many hazards up, plus it's too easy for someone like Starmie to spin, since I can't switch in Gengar for fear of Hydro Pump, which makes Ferrothorn seem like dead weight most of the match. Plus it gives another physical attacker, a better check to some of the threats mentioned (Lati@s, Reuniclus, Terrakion) some priority and many of the similar resistances. I'm guessing it would function in a similar way to the Haxorus set mentioned by Nachos. What do you think?

Most of all, thank you very much for the rates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top