Team Tranquil Waves

[Serv]

Introduction:

I was chatting one afternoon with a couple of good buddies (Vashta and Ace Matador) discussing about teams etc., when I suddenly had the idea of building a team around Suicune. After talking it over with them, I decided to go with CroCune as my team’s centerpiece, and I decided to take their advice of partnering Suicune with Toxic Spikes to make it even more effective and efficient.

I’m an offensive player at heart, but I decided to go out of my comfort zone when I made this team. This is one of those teams me and Nagai like to call Semi-Stall or Stall-Based Balance, relying on both bulk and entry hazards to decimate its opponents (without going full Stall, it’s an ambiguous description I know bear with me!).

I made this team back in April, and since then it has faced numerous revisions and edits to become what it is now. Without further ado here is the team.

Team At A Glance:

In Focus:

Roserade (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder
- Toxic Spikes

Vashta and Ace Matador wisely suggested I add Toxic Spikes support to the team. Prior to this team I’ve never really used Roserade but now I believe she’s one of the best leads I’ve ever used. I will admit early on I was using her similar to a suicide lead, and only changed a few weeks down the road when I realized how important of a team player she really is (besides for setting up Toxic Spikes that is).

Her moveset is extremely simple, second only to her EV spread. I’ve opt for HP Ground over Fire to hit things like Heatran and Infernape hard. I don’t like Grass Knot’s shaky power (dependent upon the opponents weight) so I’ve decided to go with Leaf Storm instead to hit anything and everything weak to it for good damage. Most notably stuff like Suicune who could otherwise prove troublesome to this team.

Forretress (M) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Payback
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock

Now that we have Toxic Spikes covered it’s time to add the two other entry hazards into the mix. I know they aren’t the only Spikes users, but basically for this slot I was really just looking into adding either Skarmory or Forretress. I ended up with Forretress as I thought having a Rapid Spinner is invaluable on a defensive team like this.

The spread is nothing new, I chose it as it allows Forretress to deal with Refresh Latias pretty well (provided I figure out her set before it’s too late). Payback is also good to nail those Ghost types who love coming in to Forretress to block his Rapid Spin.

Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Roar
- Sleep Talk
- Waterfall

I absolutely love this set. With Forretress keeping the field clear of rocks Gyarados can really come in and stop physical offensive powerhouses like Scizor and Lucario from dealing too much damage to my team.

I’ve decided to run Roar over Dragon Dance allowing Gyarados to phaze away all those nasty set uppers, and has the bonus of abusing my entry hazards as well. With Rest and Sleep Talk going for him Gyarados makes an excellent status absorber effectively handling threats like Breloom etc.

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 40 HP/252 Def/216 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Protect
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Wish

A staple on literally most if not all competitive stall/defensive teams. She is an absolute beast when it comes to taking special hits. While there are times when I find her inability to hit things like Gengar very annoying but seriously I don’t think I would ever give up Seismic Toss for something like Flamethrower or Ice Beam just because I think it’s more useful overall.

While admittedly not the best way of going about things Blissey provides my team with a relatively reliable recovery move in Wish. Toxic allows her to poison stuff like Zapdos who would otherwise be quite a problem (if it runs HP Grass). Not much else to add Standard Wish Blissey here, she gets the job done that’s what’s important.

Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/96 Def/160 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt

Defensive non RestTalk Rotom-h heh, I think it’s safe to say it’s been quite a while since you’ve last seen something like this. I originally had RestTalk here but after testing this 4 attack set I think this little guy fits my team better.

Overheat allows it to walk all over the likes of Magnezone, Scizor, etc. While Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt are good old STAB attacks that gives it quite the coverage. It was brought to my attention (I forgot by who exactly, sorry!) that I was a bit Mix Mence weak so this is my answer to it, not the brightest of ideas I admit (I was desperate). Despite this, however, I’ve found HP Ice to be quite useful and so I’ve decided to hold on to it for now.

Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/160 Def/96 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Avalanche
- Curse
- Earthquake / Waterfall
- Rest

I’m ashamed to admit but the original Pokemon this team was supposedly made around didn’t quite function as well as I hoped for. So just recently I decided to replace Suicune for Swampert to cure my lack of a rock resist (heh Nagai) which made Tyranitar a bit of a pain to switch into before.

Standard CursePert here, I’m actually undecided on either carrying Earthquake (which allows him the famous Ice Ground combo) or just keeping Waterfall. You will notice unlike other CursePerts I actually have Avalanche over the more popular Sleep Talk (at least from those I’ve faced and seen here on the RMT forums) the reason for this is my fear of Salamence. So far Swampert has been extremely valuable and I don’t regret the switch one bit.

Well there's the team, it's plays very well in my opinion but maybe there a few more things that can be fine tuned to make it an even better team. That's where you guys come in. Thanks a lot ^^.

 

[Serv]

Threat List

Defensive Threats:

Blissey - Toxic Spikes really puts a damper on her. I usually scout out her moveset to see if Forretress can use her for setting up entry hazards. Swampert can take on any and all versions and come out on top.

Bronzong - Rotom-h can deal good damage to it with Overheat, besides that I really just chip away at it slowly it doesn’t really do anything to my team anyways. Forretress can use it to set up entry hazards.

Celebi - Toxic Spikes really limits its effectiveness. Blissey can take anything Celebi throws at her with ease. Rotom-h can take pretty much anything and hit it back hard.

Cresselia - Blissey walls it to no end. Rotom-h can deal good damage to it as well. Forretress can use it to set up entry hazards.

Donphan - Rotom-h blocks any effort at spinning and can hurt him quite a bit. Swampert can use him to set up.

Dusknoir – Toxic Spikes hampers him greatly. Swampert can use him to set up.

Forretress - Rotom-h makes short work of it. Swampert can use him to set up.

Gliscor – Gyarados, Rotom-h and Swampert can all hit him for decent damage. Roserade’s Leaf Storm does quite a number to it as well.

Gyarados - Gyarados + Rotom-h handles it pretty well.

Hippowdon - Roserade punishes leads. Gyarados and Swampert can also do good damage to it with little to no threat to themselves.

Jirachi – Forretress can use it to set up entry hazards. Swampert can use it to set up.

Latias – Blissey takes on defensive/support versions very well. Rotom-h can do good damage to it as well. Forretress can use her to set up entry hazards.

Rotom-A – Blissey laughs at pretty much all variants barring TrickScarf ones. Swampert can use it to set up.

Skarmory - Annoying but Rotom-h + Forretress can usually prevent him from doing too much damage.

Snorlax - Gyarados prevents him from setting up as long as he isn’t the last Pokemon left. Besides that I really don’t have any other way of dealing with him Swampert could set up alongside him. I’m not sure who’ll come out on top though.

Suicune - Rotom-h can do good damage to it. Roserade keeps it in check as well with her powerful Leaf Storm.

Swampert - Roserade makes short work of him. Those without Roar can be used by my own Swampert to set up.

Tentacruel - Blissey absolutely wrecks it. Roserade absorbs any and all Toxic Spikes. Rotom-h can also handle it pretty well.

Tyranitar – Roserade can hit it for good damage. Between Gyarados and Swampert Tyranitar isn’t too much of a threat.

Vaporeon - Toxic Spikes hampers her potential. Blissey walls absolutely all variants. Rotom-h and Roserade can hit him hard with their respective SE STAB attacks.

Zapdos - Blissey deals with all kinds of Zapdos. If it lacks HP Grass, Swampert can use it to set up (obviously provided it doesn’t carry Roar as well).

Offensive Threats:

Aerodactyl – Between Gyarados and Swampert and even Forretress to spin away the rocks. Yeah Aerodactyl is really a no issue.

Alakazam – Blissey absolutely walls all non Trick variants.

Azelf - It seems to me a good number of the leads don’t carry Taunt (or at least those I’ve played against), allowing me to lull them to sleep. I usually Leaf Storm them from there looking to do as much damage as possible. Blissey + Rotom-h can handle it if it somehow gets past Roserade.

Breloom - Gyarados + Rotom-h means I never really have too much trouble handling Breloom.

Dragonite - The combination of Gyarados, Rotom-h and Swampert should be able to take on the Dragon Dancing versions. Mix ones can be devastating though. No choice but to play around him.

Dugtrio - Swampert can use him to set up.

Electivire - Rotom-h is my first switch in and can usually take him on one on one without too much trouble. Swampert can use him to set up.

Empoleon - Blissey absolutely shuts him down.

Flygon - Gyarados + Rotom-h handles pretty much all variants. Swampert can use it to set up.

Gallade – Gyarados + Rotom-h handles pretty much all variants.

Gengar - I haven’t faced too many of these but from the looks of it, he can really cause some damage to my team. Gyarados can handle those without Thunderbolt pretty well, while Swampert and Forretress should be able to win over those without Energy Ball and HP Fire respectively.

Gyarados - Gyarados + Rotom-h pretty much handles all sorts of offensive variations.

Heatran - Blissey walls those without Explosion. Gyarados and Swampert both do a solid job at taking Heatran on as well.

Heracross - Gyarados + Rotom-h should be able to take him on pretty well.

Infernape - Gyarados does alright against it to be honest. Besides that I’m forced to play around him and wait for passive damage to take its toll on him. Not the best of plans, but I don’t really have much of a choice.

Jirachi - Gyarados + Rotom-h handles physical variants pretty well. CM Jirachi could be a bit of a problem though.

Jolteon - Blissey walls all kinds of Jolteon. Swampert can use those without HP Grass to set up.

Kingdra - Gyarados prevents him from setting up. Besides that I just keep chipping away at his health. Entry hazards are extremely useful at limiting him.

Latias – Blissey can take on non Trick variants. Forretress does pretty well against those carrying Refresh.

Lucario - Between Gyarados and Rotom-h, Lucario isn’t too much of a threat.

Machamp - I’m relying on Gyarados and Rotom-h to keep him down. SubChamp looks a bit troubling though to be honest.

Magnezone - Blissey +Rotom-h takes care of all kinds of Magnezones. Swampert can use it to set up.

Mamoswine - With the combination of Gyarados, Rotom-h and Swampert, Mamoswine isn’t really much of a threat to the team.

Metagross - Rotom-h walls almost all variants. Swampert can use those without Explosion to set up.

Porygon-Z - Blissey has fun with Porygon-Z. Rotom-h can also hurt those locked into Thunderbolt or Tri Attack.

Rotom-A - Between Blissey and Rotom-h this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Rhyperior - Roserade can hit it for good damage. Between Gyarados and Swampert he isn’t too much of a threat.

Salamence - The combination of Gyarados, Rotom-h and Swampert should be able to take on the Dragon Dancing versions. Mix ones can be devastating though. No choice but to play around him.

Scizor - Gyarados and Rotom-h makes sure Scizor is pretty much a no threat to this team.

Starmie – Together Blissey + Rotom-h should be able to handle Starmie pretty well.

Suicune - Blissey + Toxic Spikes spells the death of any and all Offensive Suicunes.

Togekiss - Blissey + Rotom-h should be able to handle her without too much trouble.

Tyranitar - Roserade can hit it for good damage. Between Gyarados and Swampert Tyranitar isn’t too much of a threat.

Weavile - Between Gyarados and Swampert Weavile isn’t too much of a threat to this team.

Yanmega - Blissey shuts down Yanmega regardless of what set it is running (besides maybe the Reversal set but seriously how often do you see those?).

Zapdos - Blissey deals with all kinds of Zapdos. If it lacks HP Grass, Swampert can use it to set up (obviously provided it doesn’t carry Roar as well).

If you feel there's any mistakes with this threat list feel free to bring it to my attention. Thanks ^^.

 

[SlottedPig]

First rate, awesome!

Fantastic team, I love it. Mind if I test it on Shoddy?

Like most Stall teams, this team has problems with Trick. For this reason, I recommend swapping Swampert with Gastrodon. Yes, Gastrodon. Gastrodon provides the same typing, but offers an invaluable immunity that prevents Trick, and you might see that Recover is a nice addition. Unfortunately, the slight loss of power is quite unfortunate.

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
~Curse
~Waterfall / Earthquake
~Stone Edge
~Recover
Careful Nature
Ablity: Sticky Hold

Reliable source of recovery here, as Recover always > Rest. Curse is actually more of a benefit to Gastrodon than Swampert, as it patches up Gastrodon's pathetic Defense (for a wall-ish Pokemon anyway). Without any physical Ice moves, your forced to use Stone Edge - but Stone Edge has more coverage with Waterfall than Avalanche would, and Stone Edge still hurts any Salamence coming in.

If you feel Curse is not the greatest set for Gastrodon, simply swap the SpD EVs to Defense, use a Relaxed Nature, and slap Ice Beam over Curse.

Rotom-C seems to be a threat for your team. If you predict Trick and switch in Gastrodon, this guy can use the turn to heal off damage or Curse. When it comes back in, +1 Waterfall will surely smack it hard.

I suggest this Rotom-H EV spread, to lessen the Lucario blues you have.

252 HP / 68 Defense / 188 Speed (Timid Nature)

The massive amount of Speed investment allows you to beat Adamant Lucario, as a +2 Adamant Life Orb Crunch always OHKOs you.

 

[YTP]

Rotom doesn't mind trick from a lot of stuff... in my eyes.

Your main weaknesses are Gengar and Infernape. I don't know about Gengar but Infernape can be fixed by throwing some SDef EVs on Gyarados. I don't know how many. Just calc Grass Knot which is probably the most powerful thing coming at you. He doesn't need Max Def to handle Lucario and Scizor. You also have Rotom-H so a combination of Rotom and Gyarados can handle Lucario if you feel the lack of defensive power to be major.

 

[xWOLFYx]

I've played stall teams almost identical to this, and Infernape will tear you apart. After facing the combo of Bliss / Gyara / Swampert plenty of times, I have started running MixApe with CC / Grass Knot / Flamethrower / HP Electric. Your Pert might live through a Grass Knot though, with the SpDef nature and EVs, but if it is KO range, you're done. I guess there's not much you can do about it besides add Latias or maybe Tentacruel?

 

[sora13]

In addition, SD Infernape especially tears this team apart, being able to set up on Foretress and BLissey. It OHKOes every member of your team with ease. Only your Gyara stands a chance and even then it's still shaky. I suggest adding a tentacruel over the Foretress you have. It will aid in stopping infernape even though it's still very shaky)and still do what foretress does. I cant suggest another poke without drastic changes.

 

[YTP]

Doesn't OHKO Swampert... SD that is. Gyara+Rotom+Pert can handle SDApe to an extent. You also have to account for Toxic Spikes. Using Flare Blitz will take its toll.

He already noted that Infernape is a weakness.

 

[6A9 Ace Matador]

This is an excellent team, Servy <3 ^_^
I think you should go for the specially defensive spread of 252 hp, 160 sp def, 96 def (Bringing this up by memory, but special defense should hit 319, so calm nature, of course). You definetley need to go for either Avalanche or Waterfall on Cursepert, as you already have Toxic Spikes to hit anything which is not flying or levitating!

@The Power Within: Haha, Swampert is the core of the team. Why would he replace it for a Gastrodon ?_? Swampert has better Defences, and has access to Curse, which goes well with his Toxic spikes.

@Sora13: SD ape weak with a Swampert and Gyarados? heh. okay...
Fire punch won't be OHKOing Rotom either.

Very solid team servy, well done ^^,

 

[Brawley]

I really suggest that you put heatran with sub/toxic/explosion/fire blast over forry or rotom, as it gets rid of bulky waters that can phaze you mostly gyarados and vaporeon

 

[xWOLFYx]

Most Gyarados that Phaze are RestTalkers, so I don't think Toxic will make much of a difference. I guess you could explode on it, but after Intimidate and HP/Def EVs and Natures are factored in, I'm not sure if it will KO. Vaporeon can Protect to scout your move and play accordingly. In addition, Rotom is pretty much required to keep entry hazards in play and Forrey is used to set up those hazards.

 

[Serv]

@ThePowerWithin: Between Rotom-h and Gyarados, Lucario has never really been a problem for this team. Gastrodon is interesting though I might give it a shot thanks. Also sure go ahead this team has been with me long enough it's time for me to move on and make a new one. Of course I'm still looking to improve this team, it's special to me (I don't think I've been spent more effort in revising any one team as much as I have done with this one x_x).

@YoshiThePirate/xWolfyx: I will do calcs and update as soon as possible thanks.

@sora13: I fail to see how SD Infernape is as much of a problem as you say it is. 4 attack MixApe is definitely a problem though. I'll be looking for a good spread for Gyarados to help alleviate this problem thanks.

@Ace Matador.: Sup Ace ^_^. I will try the Specially Defensive Rotom-h thanks. Definitely keeping Avalanche, Earthquake and Waterfall have their uses but I'm leaning towards Earthquake atm. Thanks.

@Brawley: I'll look into it, thanks dude.

I'm pretty busy at the moment but I'll update with the necessary changes as soon as I can. Keep the rates coming thanks guys.