Terror Patrol - A Frisky Foray into CAP Battling

[Eszett]

Making my foray into the CAP server, I have experienced decent success with this team. After a miserable first attempt at constructing a team which was incredibly disorganized and left me with a huge Psychic weakness, then a mediocre revision which made 5/6 of my team useless against Blissey, I eventually got the rhythm of things with my third team. Throughout this whole construction process, though, I maintained the vision of centering my team around Revenankh - taking out or emasculating its most common counters and opening up a window for me to make a clean sweep. However, it turned out to play far more decentralized that I envisioned it would - the other team members are sufficient on their own and do plenty more than to simply set up for Revenankh. So far, I've been doing quite well with this team, but constructive criticisms to improve its efficacy further would be more than appreciated.

Team Terror Patrol

And here are our players....

Oompa Loompa (Swampert) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk/2 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Stealth Rock

The mudfish makes for a sturdy lead that can get up Rocks and attack from both sides of the spectrum. It gets a nifty 2HKO on Azelf with Surf, somewhat obviating its Sash, and also serves as an answer to Heatran and Scarfgon later in the game, both are who are cleanly OHKOed by Swampert. Zapdos also hates seeing its Thunderbolts absorbed by Swampert, who can then strike whatever switches in for good damage off of the (as far as I can tell) unresisted combination of Ice/Ground/Water.

Cherub (Celebi) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 222 HP/36 Def/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Leaf Storm
- Recover
- Hidden Power [Fire]

LO Celebi surprises plenty of people. Leaf Storm in particular is shocking for Vaporeon, who usually expects a defensively built Celebi with Grass Knot but ends up being rudely OHKOed, but is also of great use against Arghonaut. Psychic deals with Fidgit, Revenankh, and other Fighting types, while HP Fire lets me go head-to-head with Skarmory and Scizor, the latter which is especially important to OHKO so it doesn't Pursuit me to death. Recover lets me shrug off LO recoil and continue to kick ass in the late game.

Tengri (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Roar

The team's physical walling capabilities are handled by this guy. Thunderbolt severely hurts most Water types even without any Special Attack investment, while Heat Wave makes Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross think twice about staying in. Roost is for recovery and Roar lets me rack up SR damage and reveal more team members, especially against the myriad things that Zapdos walls. This is my team's answer to lead ScarfRachi, which with Iron Head's 60% flinch rate usually puts Aero in a quagmire.

Hulk (Revenankh) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP/120 Def/136 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Hammer Arm
- Rest
- Shadow Sneak

My team's ostensible focus. Once I eliminate or nullify its counters (as I will explain later), I start Bulking Up and wreaking havoc with boosted Hammer Arms and Shadow Sneaks. Fares very well even when Toxic Spikes are on the field due to Shed Skin. Burns and paralysis which don't go away quickly enough are whisked away with RestShedding, which also allows me to recover off any latent damage. I can usually get at least 2-3 Bulk Ups with this guy and sweep even relatively healthy teams, especially with the priority attack. This guy absorbs status, builds up his Defense, and sweeps the team - his role on my team is indispensible.

Coyote (Kitsunoh) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Limber
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Trick
- Ice Punch
- ShadowStrike
- U-turn

This is my answer to tanks who simply refuse to be taken down by any other means. U-turn is exceedingly useful in the early game to scout for switches, Ice Punch handles Scarfgon and Scarfmence beautifully, and ShadowStrike is a good STAB move to have in tow and forces switches with its defense drops, adding more SR damage along the way. Walls are crippled for the rest of the match when I Trick the Scarf onto them. Limber is meant to counter paralysis, but so far it hasn't seen any use - I'm keeping it on for when Cyclohm's playtesting is over, though.

Voluptuous (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 2 Atk/252 Def/40 SAtk/216 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Softboiled
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic
- Flamethrower

The be-all, end-all special wall to compensate for the rather deficient Special blocking capabilities of my other team members. Toxic and Flamethrower work well in tandem - either I get to wear down the opposition, or whatever Steel comes in is melted. Softboiled serves to recover its gargantuan health, and Aromatherapy keeps my team free of status so I don't need to rely on Revenankh to sop up all statuses.

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And, in addition, I'll give a run-by-run analysis of how I handle the game's top threats (needs to be updated for Swampert):

Metagross: Zapdos walls practically every attack that Metagross can throw at it - even Ice Punch manages a rather paltry 30%. Once it gets in, it can proceed to Heat Wave or Thunderbolt it to smithereens. Celebi makes for a reliable backup with HP Fire if Zapdos is low on health, but Metagross also gives Zappy a nice opportunity to Roost.

Latias: Gives my team some troubles since my ways of directly dealing with it are somewhat limited, but I still manage well. All of Kitsunoh's attacks are super-effective against Latias, and Toxic from Blissey severely reduces its viability.

Scizor: Piece of cake. It can't do anything to Zapdos, who in the meantime OHKOs with Heat Wave. Blissey can Flamethrower it to nearly KO it (it's an OHKO factoring in Stealth Rock damage). Scizor without Swords Dance is kind of helpless against Revenankh, so this gives me a chance to Bulk Up and hit with neutral Hammer Arms, but this is a secondary consideration.

Salamence: Physical variants are outsped and OHKOed by Kitsunoh, while Blissey walls all special varieties and hampers them with Toxic. MixMences usually try to Draco Meteor first - Blissey sops up this hit and Kitsunoh can take the subsequent weakened Draco Meteor or Outrage and deliver the KO. I have to watch out for Fire Blast hitting Kit, though.

Jirachi: One of the more problematic Pokemon, especially when it leads and is holding a Choice Scarf. Celebi takes only about 22% from Zen Headbutt and Zapdos can handle anything Jirachi throws at it, and both have strong Fire attacks to deliver a 2HKO. If it's been relieved of its Choice Scarf, Aero can switch in on Trick and Earthquake it (this usually happens after I use my Sash).

Starmie: Blissey can take it all and keep healing up, while Toxic forces it to switch and cure itself. Kitsunoh has STAB ShadowStrike and non-STAB U-turn to hit it for SE damage, and Revenankh can Bulk Up and outlast a weakened Starmie.

Tyranitar: Revenankh can handle most variants of Tar with Bulk Up and Hammer Arm, but switching into CB Crunch is a bit risky. Aero outspeeds and 2HKOs with Earthquake, while Kitsunoh outspeeds and hits with a SE U-turn.

Heatran: Again, Blissey comes to the rescue, handling Fire Blasts like a champ, but it can't really do anything to Heatran. Aerodactyl and Revenankh both have strong SE attacks to give Tran at least a 2HKO. I had more trouble with Heatran after opting to replace Celebi's Earth Power with HP Fire, but IMO the benefits of HP Fire outweigh the costs.

Infernape: A healthy Zapdos can handle most Infernape, while my Ghosts obviate Close Combat as a viable option. Revenankh is probably the finest check against Infernape, being able to use a combination of Bulk Up, Rest, and its attacking moves to make Infernape's wallbreaking efforts futile.

Zapdos: Blissey, Blissey, Blissey. Zapdos hates Toxic and won't enjoy staying in on Blissey when its attacks do jack squat to it. Celebi defends against Thunderbolts and can usually 2HKO with Psychic, while Aerodactyl can Stone Edge a weakened Zapdos for the KO. Rocks and the presence of two Ghosts considerably hurt Zapdos's efficacy against my team.

Fidgit: A tenacious bugger indeed. Most of the ones I've ran into have been Spiker leads, which Taunt Aero completely shuts down. Kitsunoh outspeeds and hits hard with Ice Punch, while LO Celebi surprises most of them with Psychic. Toxic Spikes are somewhat useless against my team: Aero, Zapdos, and Kitsunoh are immune to them by virtue of their typings, and the other three members have abilites to mitigate their effect.

Machamp: Celebi can Psychic it and resists Fighting, but has to watch out for Payback. Both of my Ghosts are neutral to Dark attacks - Revenankh in particular is well-suited to take on Machamp with Bulk Up, immunity to Fighting, and its STAB attacks.

Breloom: Revenankh can come in on a Fighting attack and Bulk Up, being practically immune to Spore thanks to Shed Skin. Kitsunoh, Zapdos, and Celebi can take on both STABs and KO it with any of their Psychic, Fire, or Ice attacks. Not a threat to my team in the least - Zapdos can even Roar away Subs.

Arghonaut: Celebi and Zapdos can both come in on Arghonaut and threaten it with their SE STAB attacks. The only difference is that Leaf Storm is an OHKO and Thunderbolt is a 2HKO. (As an aside, can someone tell me whether or not Unaware ignores the Life Orb boost?)

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I'll continue on with this when I have more time, but I need to head out. Comments and constructive criticisms appreciated.

 

[Umbreon Dan]

Mamoswine looks like it could cause your team some problems. Celebi with so few Defensive EVs takes a large hit from Ice Shard. I would consider using many more HP EVs, since it looks like the Speed is largely unnecessary. The opponents you listed that Celebi beats are all outsped with no Speed or outspeed you anyway (Fidgit). I would consider going Bold or Modest and moving the Speed EVs into HP.

Gyarados is looking like a huge problem as well. I don't expect Revenankh and Kitsunoh can do that much damage to it before it pummels them, so you're forced to depend on Celebi's Leaf Storm.

Aside from that, it looks good to me.

Also: Unaware does not ignore Life Orb.

 

[Eszett]

Kit does a pretty good job of luring in any Gyarados that might come my way - usually I end up U-Turning as they switch in and I bring out Zapdos. Gyarados doesn't enjoy switching in too much anyway because of the Rocks (which 99% of the time I manage to get up). Mamoswine cannot KO Rev soon enough once it starts Bulking Up, and Zapdos takes it Earthquakes and can Heat Wave it back. I'm going to play some more matches with the team as-is, and if I don't make any more headway I'll take on some of your suggestions.

Oh, and just to let you know, I've been hovering around #12-14 on the server with this team.

 

[Raj]

Hey, I played this team several times last night. I'm Vleeter by the way. Jirachi does a fair job at destroying this team. Your Zapdos Heat Wave doesn't 2HKO, it does 42% to any Wish Rachi set, who can Body Slam Zapdos into Paralysis, then Flinch hax it with Zen Headbutt. I just think you underestimate how essential Jirachi was to beating you last night. In fact, the time you managed to get rid of Jirachi, you bested me. This is a very good team, but I think Aero sucks. Replace him with Stratagem.

 

[Plus]

Why are you running 252 SpA evs on this Kits? I think you mean Attack.

Anyways, judging by the looks of your team, it is fairly balanced. I also remember playing it once, and your team wasn't bad. One thing to note about your team is the lack of a bulky water, one that would fit nicely into your team. Since it looks quite balanced and not entirely "all out offense," perhaps replacing your Aero lead with Swampert would be nice. You still get rocks out, but you also get something nice to deal with Dragons to an extent. You have kits already for this job, but Kits can't possibly switch in on things like Fire Blast and EQ and hope to live. Your answers for Dragons do seem a little iffy in this case, so I think this would really help your team out.

Next, for your Blissey, I don't see much of a point in Aromatherapy. Revenankh has Shed Skin and Celebi has Natural Cure, and your current lead is meant to die fast. Kitsunoh has Limber and immunity to poison, while Zapdos is the only one probably benefitting from this. I'm not sure how much it has helped, but it looks like your team deals with status fine. You might want to pack Seismic Toss to ensure you don't get manhandled by SubStratagem, or so you can at least put a dent on Heatran, which you can't at this point. SubTran looks like it could give your team some problems under a sub, as Revenankh is probably your best shot for resolving this, which isn't reliable at all. Notably, the special hit taker of the team, Blissey, can't even touch it, while Celebi dies to Heatran under a sub. Adding Swampert and ST Bliss on this team would help a bit.

 

[zarator]

I second Plus suggestion of putting Swampert over Aerodactyl. The mudfish simply suits better a balanced team than the fossil.

Also, I will never understand why people keep using Shadow Sneak on Revenankh. Unless you have huge problems switching something into Azelf or Gengar (which may try to come in while you Bulk Up), there's no reason to forego the nifty boost Shadow Punch provides over its sneaky counterpart. It lets you beat a lot of threats you would otherwise struggle against (at least, 1 on 1 with Rev), like Defensive non-Roar Zapdos, other Revenankhs (which, if they have S.Punch and you don't, will beat you in the end unless you get a lucky crit), Cresselia and so on. Shadow Punch is simply better than Shadow Sneak 99% of the time.

Also keep in mind that the first time you switch Rev in, chances are that the opponent will switch in something resistant to Hammer Arm, but neutral or possibly even weak to Ghost (Togekiss is the exception here), so you are better off firing Shadow Punch tyhe first time you switch in rather than Hammer Arm, Bulk Up or Shadow Sneak. Even things like Gyarados will take a respectable amount of damage.

I'd like also to quote Eric by saying that Ice Punch is a viable alternative to a shadow STAB. It lets you take on better Zapdos and the Dragons, while still keeping good coverage along with Hammer Arm and good power, even compared to the STABs (75 versus 60 of shadow sneak and 90 of s.punch).

Just my 2 cents

 

[Eszett]

I've fixed up the team according to what I've been playing now and updated the first post.

 

[Aerodactyl Legend]

Scarf Rotom and Scarf Flygon can give you trouble at some points of the game, especially when Kitsunoh is down.