The Wolf Pack

[musicalbento]

the wolf pack

introduction

A "Dark Horse" team centered around Nidoking - there isn't much else to say about it except that I don't think I'm very good at these team building things. I chose Nidoking because well, he looks cool (also he hits like a truck when properly used). Also, despite the title, this team doesn't actually feature any wolves...yet.

selection process

the star of the team, Nidoking!

Ninjask was chosen next because of Nidoking's abysmal speed stat, actually letting him land a hit before someone tries to kill him.

The team scout, Rotom Wash was added because I needed something that (in the absence of a way for me to set up with Nidoking) would be able to hold its own but still be able to get out of dodge if he saw something he didn't like.

Tentacruel joins the team in the role of entry hazard-er (not a word, but bear with me please) and a secondary bulky water. He also provides rapid spin support, which is always nice.

Originally, this spot was taken by Dusclops, but he didn't really get the job done, so I ended up switching him out with Sableye. Sableye's basically a staller, setting up substitutes to see what's up with the enemy team.

Rounding out the team is Ferrothorn; he's basically here to stall out all those pesky dragons that I can't deal with in a more reliable way. He's also a secondary entry hazard placer, but really, he's my dragon counter (in a sense).

changelog

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october fifth, two-thousand twelve

» Mew replaces Ninjask
» Rotom-H replaces Rotom-W
» Stealth Rock replaces Spikes on Ferrothorn Set
» Updated EV Spread on Nidoking and Earth Power replaces Sludge Wave

the breakdown

Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 168 SAtk / 88 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Earth Power
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Sucker Punch

The "main" pokemon of the team, Nidoking's set has actually proved to be relatively strong, despite the lack of Earth Power. All those sneaky Levitate types that try to switch in on him thinking they'll get off scot-free are soon met with a rather surprising Sucker Punch to the face; effectively rendering them useless. And when all else fails, Sludge Wave tends to hit pretty hard as well. BoltBeam is standard, so I haven't much to say there.

Mew @ Lum Berry
Trait: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature
- Baton Pass
- Rock Polish
- Calm Mind
- Taunt

With Nidoking focusing more on special stats than physical, Mew seemed to be a better choice for baton-passer over Ninjask, plus it's more bulky.

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

Rotom-H replaced Rotom-W, and while there was nothing really wrong with Rotom-W, Rotom-H has proved to be much better coverage-wise, as he hits quite a bit of things neutrally, and Tricking Choice Specs onto Blissey is always fun. :D

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spd
Bold Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Standard Bulky Tentacruel setup, I've gotten pretty lucky with the couple battles I've run and managed to set quite a few layers of spikes up. Most of the time Tentacruel comes in after Rotom's Volt Switch, at which point the enemy will switch to try and scare him off. He takes hits surprisingly well, giving me ample time to set up spikes and such.

Sableye @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Substitute
- Recover
- Brick Break

A bit of an unconventional set, but I've actually seen this Sableye sweep on multiple occasions on the rare chance that Nidoking can't do it himself. I chose to go Hone Claws over Calm Mind because of the blatant lack of any actual Blissey/general tank counters; usually when I switch him on one, they don't see it coming, something that obviously works to my advantage.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip

Standard tank set, when I'm confused or just all around scared, I'll switch Ferrothorn in just to give the enemy a scare. He tanks things like a Panzer, and the entry hazards he provides are a nice bonus.

honorable mentions

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Dusclops @ Eviolite
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Impish Nature
- Gravity
- Destiny Bond
- Dynamic Punch
- Shadow Sneak

Previously held Sableye's spot, he was an attempt at trying to cover the fact that I didn't have a single fighting-coverage move on my team. Most of the time he died without doing much though...

Ninjask @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- X-Scissor
- Substitute

Original stat-booster for Nidoking, I found that residual entry hazards really limited his chances on actually switching in, and even then, it was hard to actually baton pass things over. Replaced by Mew.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Will-O-Wisp

Replaced by Rotom-H, there wasn't anything inherently wrong with it, Rotom-H just has a bit more utility for the team as a whole.​

conclusion

Not much I can really say outside of what's already been said. Any and all rating/critiques/what-have-you's are welcome and appreciated, I definitely need it.

 

[Jstan]

why does your ferrothorn have 0 speed IVs?I also think you should try stealth rock over spikes on ferrothorn.Your team is weak to all common weather based teams.

 

[CedOmega]

Hi Musicalbento, you have an interesting team that I can see may benefit from a few tweeks. First off is Nidoking. While it appreciates running BoltBeam, it lacks coverage that it needs from EarthPower. My only suggestion is EarthPower>SludgeWave. EarthPower is a more reliable attack, as is provides coverage from Steel and Ground types; namely Steelix, whom can set up and OHKO w/ a STAB EQ.

Second, I suggest a more bulky set for Sableye:
Sableye@Leftovers; Prankster
Careful: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
NightShade, Taunt, Recover & W-o-W

It's great as far as being bulky and stops opposing threats from setting up w/ Taunt, as well as crippling the physical side of threats w/ W-o-W. NightShade is a great move to have over BrickBreak because it can hit oppossing threats like Ferrothorn w/out being hurt by IronBarb or RockHelmet.

So far, it's all I see that I'd suggest changing. Good Luck and I hope I helped! :)

 

[ganj4lF]

Just a quick suggestion, you don't need HP Fire on Rotom-W at all. Possible targets are Scizor, Ferrothorn, Genesect, that are all crippled by WoW (Scizor, Ferro) or will U-Turn out anyway (Gene), without letting you hit them with HP. Pain Split is MUCH more valuable since it allows to stay around longer, and helps taking down pokes like Gastrodon, Blissey and similar, that have huge HP stat and are likely to swich into you to absorb your special attacks.

 

[CedOmega]

Just a quick suggestion, you don't need HP Fire on Rotom-W at all. Possible targets are Scizor, Ferrothorn, Genesect, that are all crippled by WoW (Scizor, Ferro) or will U-Turn out anyway (Gene), without letting you hit them with HP. Pain Split is MUCH more valuable since it allows to stay around longer, and helps taking down pokes like Gastrodon, Blissey and similar, that have huge HP stat and are likely to swich into you to absorb your special attacks.

It may be best that they switch to Rotom-H altogether. OverHeat would be more valuable for this team than HydroPump. And, HP(Ice)/Thunderbolt over HP(Fire) & PainSplit over W-o-W.

 

[musicalbento]

I'll try out Rotom-H and I'll see about that Earth Power on Nidoking and post my results.

I've noticed my team has quite a bit of an issue dealing with stat boosters - once they get going there's really no way for me to force them out...any suggestions?

Just a heads up, I've switched Ninjask for Mew and updated the team to include Rotom-H, I also gave Ferrothorn Stealth Rock and Nidoking Earth Power.