Hello all, I have returned to this metagame after a brief hiatus and this my newest team, containing what I personally have seen handle this metagame well. The team gets it's name from the lyrics from a song off of Dream Theater's latest album. It was playing while I was building this team, so it became the team's name due to lack of a better one.
The team, in essence, is a Sandstorm team, but I tried not to rely on sand as much as the usual sandstorm based team. It came about when I had simply grown tired of Reuniclus, so I decided to base a team off of one of it's best checks, and a less-seen version of a popular Pokemon, Choice Band Tyranitar. So eventually the team's goal became clear: Stall until the enemy team is weak, by defensively checking as much of the metagame's threats as possible, and then let Latias and Tyranitar loose.
The Defensive Core
Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability:Unaware
EV's: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Att
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
-Scald
-Earthquake
-Encore
-Recover
Cofagrigus came to mind when I was building this team because it provided a fighting resistance, which Ferrothorn is weak to, and Quagsire is only neutral to. With it, I am resistant/immune to every possible type (except Ground who I have multiple levitate Pokemon for) within my defensive core, which is not only wonderful synergy, but it allows me to cause some stress for the opponent when predicting, because their moves are always resisted by one of my 'walls.'
Now why the odd set? It's something I came up with by myself, and while it's not standard or proven wide-spread by any means, it's been working for me. Max Hp is a must, but I noticed that without any investment its defense stat was already enormous. So I tried a few different EV spreads and this one gave me the best results. The Def investment is enough for Cofagrigus to hold off many physical threats, but also SOME special threats too, and weaken them with one of two status moves.
Second question, why double status? Besides me being a big fan of double status Pokemon, I felt it worked well here. I'd rather keep Encore on Quagsire, so Cofagrigus is my token Toxic user as well as having Wil-O-Wisp to shut down physical sweepers. Special sweepers want to switch in expecting WoW? They get poisoned. If Toxic is revealed first, people will assume WoW isn't on the set. This allows me to surprise physical steel types and physical pokemon in general looking to get a jump after assuming WoW is absent.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability : Iron Barbs
EV's: 252 HP/196 Def/60 SpDef
Nature: Sassy (+Sp Def, -Spd)
-Stealth Rock
-Leech Seed
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
Ferrothorn is the best special wall in this metagame, and that's why I chose him for this spot. He is can take any special attack except fire, and can shut down any special sweeper without a fire move. Because of the EVs, he can also take resisted physical hits. This is why it is easy to set up stealth rocks, which are crucial for my team, and to cause more switches with Leech Seed. I don't need to go into detail about what Ferro can handle, as its obvious. But all in all, he is the glue of this defensive core, resisting an amazing number of attack types.
But one problem I've noticed, while it isn't a huge problem considering I have Tyranitar one my team, is special fire moves. Quagsire can't take them as well as I'd like him to considering his low Special Defense, and Cofagrigus doesn't either. But like I said, I think this is ok because I have Tyranitar. However, this is one opinion I'd like. Should I change something in this defensive core to compensate for this, or am I generally ok?
The Offensive Core
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpAtt/252 Spd
Nature: Modest (+SpAtt, -Att)
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
-Volt Switch
The team, in essence, is a Sandstorm team, but I tried not to rely on sand as much as the usual sandstorm based team. It came about when I had simply grown tired of Reuniclus, so I decided to base a team off of one of it's best checks, and a less-seen version of a popular Pokemon, Choice Band Tyranitar. So eventually the team's goal became clear: Stall until the enemy team is weak, by defensively checking as much of the metagame's threats as possible, and then let Latias and Tyranitar loose.
Tears of the Shameless
In Depth
In Depth
The Defensive Core
Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability:Unaware
EV's: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Att
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
-Scald
-Earthquake
-Encore
-Recover
With the team's main goal of weakening the enemy enough for Tyranitar and Latias to finish it off, I knew I needed a strong defensive core, one that would handle the biggest threats in the metagame. I started with Quagsire, one of my favorite Pokemon that has become even more useful due to its newest acquisition, the ability Unaware. With it, it checks most of the powerful physical sweepers in OU like Gyarados, Haxorus, Terrakion, Cobalion, some Infernape, Dragonite, Toxicroak, and Salamence to name a few. With Unaware, it can switch in relatively easy and lock the opponent into a move, causing a switch (more SR damage for them) and allowing me to be able to get the switch advantage into something else. The only huge problem Pokemon for Quagsire regarding physical sweepers is Virizion. This is obviously because of the STAB Leaf Blades that Virizion packs in relation to Quag's 4x Grass Weakness. Other than that, however, it handles most physical sweepers relatively well.
I chose Relaxed because Bold and Impish cause a drop in Attack and Special Attack respectively, which I wanted to avoid because I'm running Scald and Earthquake. This is so I have two STAB moves, Scald with its useful burn secondary effect and Earthquake for sheer power.
I chose Relaxed because Bold and Impish cause a drop in Attack and Special Attack respectively, which I wanted to avoid because I'm running Scald and Earthquake. This is so I have two STAB moves, Scald with its useful burn secondary effect and Earthquake for sheer power.
Cofagrigus @ Lum Berry
Ability:Mummy
EV's: 252 HP/104 Defense/152 SpDef
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Att)
-Toxic
-Wil-O-Wisp
-Shadow Ball
-Rest
Ability:Mummy
EV's: 252 HP/104 Defense/152 SpDef
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Att)
-Toxic
-Wil-O-Wisp
-Shadow Ball
-Rest
Cofagrigus came to mind when I was building this team because it provided a fighting resistance, which Ferrothorn is weak to, and Quagsire is only neutral to. With it, I am resistant/immune to every possible type (except Ground who I have multiple levitate Pokemon for) within my defensive core, which is not only wonderful synergy, but it allows me to cause some stress for the opponent when predicting, because their moves are always resisted by one of my 'walls.'
Now why the odd set? It's something I came up with by myself, and while it's not standard or proven wide-spread by any means, it's been working for me. Max Hp is a must, but I noticed that without any investment its defense stat was already enormous. So I tried a few different EV spreads and this one gave me the best results. The Def investment is enough for Cofagrigus to hold off many physical threats, but also SOME special threats too, and weaken them with one of two status moves.
Second question, why double status? Besides me being a big fan of double status Pokemon, I felt it worked well here. I'd rather keep Encore on Quagsire, so Cofagrigus is my token Toxic user as well as having Wil-O-Wisp to shut down physical sweepers. Special sweepers want to switch in expecting WoW? They get poisoned. If Toxic is revealed first, people will assume WoW isn't on the set. This allows me to surprise physical steel types and physical pokemon in general looking to get a jump after assuming WoW is absent.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability : Iron Barbs
EV's: 252 HP/196 Def/60 SpDef
Nature: Sassy (+Sp Def, -Spd)
-Stealth Rock
-Leech Seed
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
Ferrothorn is the best special wall in this metagame, and that's why I chose him for this spot. He is can take any special attack except fire, and can shut down any special sweeper without a fire move. Because of the EVs, he can also take resisted physical hits. This is why it is easy to set up stealth rocks, which are crucial for my team, and to cause more switches with Leech Seed. I don't need to go into detail about what Ferro can handle, as its obvious. But all in all, he is the glue of this defensive core, resisting an amazing number of attack types.
But one problem I've noticed, while it isn't a huge problem considering I have Tyranitar one my team, is special fire moves. Quagsire can't take them as well as I'd like him to considering his low Special Defense, and Cofagrigus doesn't either. But like I said, I think this is ok because I have Tyranitar. However, this is one opinion I'd like. Should I change something in this defensive core to compensate for this, or am I generally ok?
The Offensive Core
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpAtt/252 Spd
Nature: Modest (+SpAtt, -Att)
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Trick
-Volt Switch
I already had Latias and Tyranitar chosen by the time I had decided to put Rotom on this team. I did this because he did many things all at once, he provides a Ground immunity that my defensive core does not have, serves as a scouter and cause of more switches, he gives me a powerful STAB fire move, and he serves as my Choice Scarfer, which is always a good thing to have, and a personal must for most teams I make.
Rotom-H is sometimes a last ditch effort to take out something that has happened to set up, if I don't want to sacrifice/weaken one of my walls just to take it out. Rotom's description is short because his role is simple, cause as much damage as possible, scout, Trick his scarf onto something to cripple it and take an obvious EQ or two when I need him to.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpAtt/252 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spe, - Att)
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Hidden Power Fire
-Recover
Rotom-H is sometimes a last ditch effort to take out something that has happened to set up, if I don't want to sacrifice/weaken one of my walls just to take it out. Rotom's description is short because his role is simple, cause as much damage as possible, scout, Trick his scarf onto something to cripple it and take an obvious EQ or two when I need him to.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EV's: 4 HP/252 SpAtt/252 Spd
Nature: Timid (+Spe, - Att)
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Hidden Power Fire
-Recover
To finish off my offensive core, I needed my last two Pokemon to hit extremely hard. I chose Latias because while it is slightly less powerful than Latias, I wanted to do something different. Nevertheless, it is still extremely powerfu, and with a great movepool and a recovery move, it is invaluable to this team because once it is unleashed, the opponent is usually weak and a prime target for Latias' wrath. Draco is for powerful Stab, Surf is for steels and fire types, the usual. Hidden power fire is for Scizor and Ferrothorn, and Recover is extremely important because Latias is operating in a Sandstorm, and the extra damage would rack up fast if not for it.
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sandstream
EV's: 252 HP/ 36 Att/ 220 SpDef
Nature: Adamant (+Att, -SpAtt)
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Aqua Tail
-Stone Edge
This is the star of this team, and who it was built around in order for him to help finish off the team in the end. It's EV's are defensive so that he can take those special fire attacks that pain my defensive core, but with Choice Band and an Adamant nature, he's still hitting hard. Crunch and Stone Edge are the main STAB attacks, Aqua Tail is for Heatran, Gliscor, Steels, etc. and pursuit is for trapping those Gengar, Latias, Latios, and most of all Reuniclus, whose mere existence prompted me to use this Pokemon.
Weather wise, I don't rely on sand, but it surely helps wear down the opponent, and two of my stallish pokemon are immune to it. Tyranitar's defensive EV spread here helps in combating the Rain and Sun teams that are all over this metagame, allowing TTar to switch in on Ninetales, Venusaur, Politoed, and the like and stop their weather effects.
But I've been thinking lately...is the Choice Band useless? It helps in some situations, but should I go for a more offensive set? This is something I need feedback on.
Conclusion
Notable Threats: Volcarona - This Pokemon can do a number on my team if I don't get SR up right away. It hits all my defensive pokemon really hard, and if its health isn't halved by SR, Rotom can't revenge kill it.
Hydreigon - Can hit all three of my walls super effectively, but I can take it on with Ttar if worse comes to worse.
What I'd like is just general feedback on this team. Are there any big threats I missed? Are one of my sets inferior to another for this team? Is there any Pokemon I can replace one of the current ones with to make my team operate better? Should I keep TTar banded and defensive?
These are all things I'd like feedback on. But in closing, thank you for taking the time to read my RMT, I really appreciate it.
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sandstream
EV's: 252 HP/ 36 Att/ 220 SpDef
Nature: Adamant (+Att, -SpAtt)
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Aqua Tail
-Stone Edge
This is the star of this team, and who it was built around in order for him to help finish off the team in the end. It's EV's are defensive so that he can take those special fire attacks that pain my defensive core, but with Choice Band and an Adamant nature, he's still hitting hard. Crunch and Stone Edge are the main STAB attacks, Aqua Tail is for Heatran, Gliscor, Steels, etc. and pursuit is for trapping those Gengar, Latias, Latios, and most of all Reuniclus, whose mere existence prompted me to use this Pokemon.
Weather wise, I don't rely on sand, but it surely helps wear down the opponent, and two of my stallish pokemon are immune to it. Tyranitar's defensive EV spread here helps in combating the Rain and Sun teams that are all over this metagame, allowing TTar to switch in on Ninetales, Venusaur, Politoed, and the like and stop their weather effects.
But I've been thinking lately...is the Choice Band useless? It helps in some situations, but should I go for a more offensive set? This is something I need feedback on.
Conclusion
Notable Threats: Volcarona - This Pokemon can do a number on my team if I don't get SR up right away. It hits all my defensive pokemon really hard, and if its health isn't halved by SR, Rotom can't revenge kill it.
Hydreigon - Can hit all three of my walls super effectively, but I can take it on with Ttar if worse comes to worse.
What I'd like is just general feedback on this team. Are there any big threats I missed? Are one of my sets inferior to another for this team? Is there any Pokemon I can replace one of the current ones with to make my team operate better? Should I keep TTar banded and defensive?
These are all things I'd like feedback on. But in closing, thank you for taking the time to read my RMT, I really appreciate it.
