Time to Fly!

[Majestic Electric]

Time to Fly

Hiya! It's me again and I'm back after a long hiatus. NU has changed dramatically since my absence and I wanted to get myself familiar with all the new threats. What I have right here is the fruit of my labor and honestly the most successful team I ever built. The team is based around an underrated threat in today's metagame: SubBU Braviary. Now, Braviary was a Pokémon that I always enjoyed using, and BW2 only made him better. Nowadays, I hardly ever see Braviary anymore, which kinda saddens me. So, I asked myself, "how in the world is he seeing a rapid decline in usage?" and thus, I set out onto then unknown territory with one goal in mind: to win. This team has peaked pretty high on the ladder, around the 1800's. However, it has since dropped because my Internet is garbage (screw random disconnects). Anyway, I hope I can at least spread some light on the eagle and maybe even convince some of you to try him out. With that said, it's Time to Fly, so prepare for takeoff!

The Team in Detail

*Changes will be made in Red.

Seismitoad @Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Def / 56 SpD
Relaxed Nature
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic
-Scald
-Earthquake

Piloswine was here originally, but Rain was proving to be a problem for my team to face, so I decided to try out the frog. He hasn't disappointed me yet! Seismitoad is an excellent mon in the metagame thanks to his great defensive typing, access to Stealth Rock, and high bulk. Water Absorb is also great and is helpful against Rain teams once Ludicolo is out of the picture. Seismitoad also acts as a great lure to Grass-types, allowing me to bring in Braviary without any problems and then just set up from there. Relaxed nature was chosen so that Earthquake can do more damage and potentially kill Jynx. Basically, this is just your average standard toad. And he is damn good at what he does.

Misdreavus @Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Thunder Wave
-Pain Split
-Heal Bell

Boo! Misdreavus is this gal's name and being annoying is her game. Jokes aside, Misdreavus is the all important check to many Fighting-types in the tier, especially Sawk. Eviolite, along with investment in her physical bulk, gives Misdreavus enough bulk to tank powerful hits before going down. Her teammates also appreciate her ability to learn both Will-O-Wisp and Heal Bell. Will-O-Wisp gives physical sweepers the boot, making them less overwhelming and weakening them for the rest of the match. Heal Bell is great overall for protection against status. Misdreavus also serves as my team's spinblocker, ensuring that Seismitoad's Stealth Rock stays put.

Currently trying out TWave over Will-O-Wisp.

Samurott @Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Aqua Jet
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)

When looking at teammates, I wanted a mon that could dish out a lot of damage and help Braviary pull off a sweep. To me, Samurott fit that definition perfectly. Unlike the common SD set, special Samurott does not need to set up to be threatening: just click Hydro Pump and watch this ninja do some work! Max speed and a Timid nature allows Samurott to outspeed neutral based 80's and I went with Aqua Jet because priority is extremely important. Aqua Jet also helps Samurott pick off weakened foes that are on the brink of death, so there will be one less mon that I have to worry about. There is nothing else I can truly say about Samurott except how good he really is! Easily one of this team's most important members.

Sawk @Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Close Combat
-Ice Punch
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake

...Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting! Well, maybe not. He may be no Jackie Chan, but his Close Combat will ensure that at least something dies! Close Combat is extremely powerful and 2HKOs almost everything that doesn't resist it, which is just insane! Mold Breaker is also a fantastic ability on Sawk. Sturdy user bothering you? Hate Eelektross? Well, Sawk has you covered! Mold Breaker allows Sawk to kill mons like Golem and prevent them from setting up Stealth Rocks. Levitate users, such as Weezing, are not safe either, as they must now fear an Earthquake coming from this behemoth. Although Psychic-types give Sawk problems, prediction somewhat helps to play around them and Sawk's ability to break my opponent's walls is very much appreciated.

Tauros @Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
-Double-Edge
-Stone Edge
-Pursuit
-Earthquake

Credit goes to Punchshroom for this set. Tauros is honestly one of the best Choice Scarfers I ever used and he really should see more usage! Even with an Adamant nature, Tauros can still outspeed base 95s, which is just fantastic. Jolly has its own perks, but the power increase with Adamant is quite noticeable and more useful, imo. Speaking of power, boy does this guy have it! STAB Double-Edge hurts and does massive damage to foes who don't resist it. Stone Edge is also nice for being able to kill Scolipede and Flying-types. Tauros also has an excellent ability in Intimidate, allowing him to take hits much easier.

Currently trying out Jolly Tauros instead of Adamant.

Braviary @Leftovers
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 240 HP / 196 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
-Substitute
-Bulk Up
-Brave Bird
-Roost

Holy crap! This thing is hands down one of the best sweepers I have ever used! If you hate stall like me, then you are going to LOVE this: slower teams and stall have trouble preventing this monster from setting up! Substitute aids in this, providing a barrier from the status moves that stall teams love to abuse. Seriously, why this thing isn't used more is beyond me. He is just so good! 240 EVs in HP gives Braviary a Leftovers number and 196 EVs in special defense and a Careful nature prevents Electric-types from revenge killing him. In addition, it prevents Vileplume, Alomomola, and Tangela from breaking his Substitutes. Bulk Up allows him to take Rock-attacks better and increases his already great attack stat to skyhigh levels! Brave Bird is the STAB move of choice and will cause a lot of damage, even without investment. Finally, Roost is important for replenishing Braviary's health after making subs and BB recoil.

Import

Seismitoad (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Def / 56 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Scald
- Earthquake

Samurott (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Aqua Jet
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Misdreavus (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Heal Bell

Braviary (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 240 HP / 196 SDef / 72 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird
- Roost

Sawk (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Tauros (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Earthquake

And that's the team. I hope you enjoyed reading my latest RMT. :)

 

[NfskMjmMal]

Hello! Nice team you have here :).

One thing I'm noticing is that your three "breakers" all have one thing in common: they have pretty average Speed stats. That's why I think paralysis would be really useful to you. A good way to incorporate this onto your team is to replace Misdreavus with this:

Musharna @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature
-Psychic
-Moonlight
-Heal Bell
-Thunder Wave

However, note that Misdreavus actually can learn Thunder Wave, so you may find it beneficial to either switch to that Musharna, which accomplishes nearly the exact same thing as Misdreavus, or replace Will-O-Wisp with Thunder Wave. I understand how useful Will-O-Wisp is, but you have Scald and paralysis might be more useful to you. Good luck!

 

[Shuckleking87]

I remember facing this team with my Yanma team, solid team. I agree that the team is very slow, so I would agree that the Musharna would be a great upgrade over your Misdreavus, as I think slower pokes are more beneficial than less attacking pokes, especially with Tauros having intimidate. But I saw Rain Dance Ludicolo as an immediate threat to this team, as it can set up rain on the first three pokes you mentioned and then go to work. One change I would make would make your tauros jolly, which iirc outspeeds modest ludicolo in the rain. You did not mention why adament was more useful to you, which does not help a future person that wants to use this team.
THis team is also pretty weak to jynx (which I remember did work), as only one poke outspeeds. Particularly a kiss sub varient, as tauros and maybe misdreavus are really your only poke that reliably takes out the sub without dying. I would suggest metang as your S.R because of your jynx weakness, though seismetoad is useful for rain teams. SO what ever you feel more threatened by.

 

[Majestic Electric]

@NfskMjmMal Hi and thanks for the rate! :) Funny thing is that I did try out your suggested Musharna set and while it did work well, Haunter was more problematic. Musharna is still a good mon, though I fear that Scolipede will become more threatening without Misdreavus, too. I'll try both TWave Misdreavus and Musharna again and see how that goes.

@ShuckleKing87 I understand where your coming from, but Seismitoad is important to have on my team, otherwise Electric-types are going to be more of a problem. Samurott and Braviary share this weakness, and as I said earlier, Seismitoad is an excellent lure to Grass-types and eases in Braviary's sweeping. Also, I haven't had to many problems with Jynx, though I agree that sub variants are more annoying to face. When I face Jynx, I usually bring in something to take Lovely Kiss and then bring out Tauros, who can outspeed. As a whole, Rain is more of a threat to my team and I will try Jolly Scarf Tauros in order to outspeed Modest Ludicolo, who I agree is a massive threat. Thanks for the rate, too. :)

 

[Majestic Electric]

Keep the rates coming, guys. Im all ears! :)

 

[WhiteDMist]

Hey Majestic! Long time no speak :( This team is a pretty good team for showcasing SubBU Braviary in the current metagame. I'm in a bit of a rush, but I do have a couple of minor suggestions.

I don't understand the reasoning for Braviary's EV spread, since I'm not sure what it is trying to outspeed. The standard 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe spread already outspeeds Adamant Torterra and makes 101 Substitutes (though neither are very relevant).

I think FLCL's Samurott EV spread of 136 HP / 212 SAtk / 160 Spe with a Modest nature is probably better for your team. You don't really want to Speed tie with Ludicolo regardless, and the bulk is very helpful for taking more hits (you even live Sawsbuck's Horn Leech at full HP I believe). I also think that Taunt is better than Aqua Jet since it is so weak that you can only revenge kill something at the utmost lowest of HP.

For Tauros, I think Adamant is better since it needs the power more than the Speed (very few Pokemon that run Scarf are faster than it).

For Misdreavus, an EV spread of 248 HP / 220 Def / 40 Spe at least lets you outspeed Adamant Rampardos and standard Specially Defensive Skuntank. Keep Will-O-Wisp, and consider Foul Play over Shadow Ball and Taunt over Heal Bell. This way you can still handle Musharna while stopping most physical attackers in their tracks.

Come on IRC more! It's been too long