As many of you may know, a temporary testing of a 5th gen simulator was done yesterday (it's finished for now) and I decided to take advantage of it by testing how trapping would work in 5th gen.
Keep in mind how early in the metagame this is. (If we can even call it a metagame at this point) And please, please keep in mind that this was just ONE DAY. I'm not gonna pretend to know everything about the metagame from just one day and a lot of what I do know could be completely false as time goes on.
And onto the story:
With a many ideas already in my head of possible team changes, I decided to use my 4th Gen Trapper Team unedited in the 5th gen environment which consists of:
Uxie (Slow U-Turn)
Vaporeon (Slow Baton Pass)
Gliscor (Slow U-turn)
Magnezone (Steel Trap)
Dugtrio (Jerk Trap)
Weavile (CB Pursuit Trap)
Enemy Crab explains the concept much better than I can: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40480
^You should read that before reading the rest of this if you don't understand what a trap team is^
After about 10+ matches I decided a few things that didn't work anymore:
1. Magnezone gets demolished very quickly with all the Dragons running around and lack of Steel types to trap. It's pretty clear the lack of Steel is related to the huge increase of viable Ground, Fighting, and Fire types.
2. Without rain, Vaporeon does not survive for long. With stat raising Pokemon like Jaroda, Garchomp, Oh no it's Ononokusu, and *insert Nasty Plotter here*, Vaporeon tends to be setup fodder since even one boost can spell disaster sometimes.
3. Gliscor has the same problem as Vaporeon. It's just setup fodder in 5th gen most of the time
The first thing I did was replace Magnezone with Shanderaa. Simply put, Shanderaa outclasses Magnezone in every way when it comes to trapping.
Then I replaced Gliscor with Shibirudon to keep the basic concept of a slow, reliable U-turner as well as to make Gyrados less of a threat.
Vaporeon had various replacements. Still not entirely sure what I truly need in that slot, but I have plenty of time to figure that out.
Due to the number of Zoroark leads (Guys, get ready for this little Zoroark punk. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide your husbands too cause he can be errrrbody out here [Ex: Foe's Rohpushin was not effected by Psychic]) I had to replace Uxie. Espeon did it very well, but I later found an even better lead.
So after a few hours of team building and testing I ended the night with a nice little win streak and this team:
(and suddenly wild rmt format appeared!)
Neko (Leperasudu) (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Taunt
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Sucker Punch
I love this Pokemon! Espeon's Magic Mirror is cool and all, but Leperasudu is the end of gimmick leads and EASILY the best lead for a Trapper Team like this one.
Fake Out breaks Sashes/Sturdy. Mischievous Heart gives Taunt and Encore +1 priority meaning not only is she guaranteed to stop Stealth Rock, Status, and Stat-ups, (lol Baton Pass is dead, guys) she can use Priority Encore as she gets KO'd which, if you picked the wrong move, lets Shanderaa get a GUARANTEED AT LEAST a Calm Mind and Sub. (or 2 Calm Minds if you're willing to take the risk of getting revenged)
Shibby (Shibirudon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Atk / 44 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -HP) (0 Spd IV)
- U-turn
- Dragon Tail
- Wild Volt
- Volt Change
Shibirudon is definitely a niche Pokemon, but I think he fits his role perfectly for this team. He acts as a phaser, a scout, and a substitute. His job is to ensure my frail Trappers don't have to switch in and take a hit for each other.
Slow U-turn/Volt Change means that it will always take the hit before switching out, leaving my Trappers unharmed on the switch. Dragon Tail is there to phase out problem Pokemon like Zapdos that are thirsty for Electricty.
My only problem with Shibirudon is it's lack of recovery compared to Gliscor. So much so that I may exchange Lefties and Volt Change for ChestoRest.
Elly (Erufuun) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
I love and HATE Erufuun. She's the perfect SubSeeder due to Mischievous Heart priority. If she gets a sub up, you'll have to go through absolute hell to break her...which is exactly why I'm using her...
Think you can just heal off the Leech Seed damage Blissey? WRONG! Taunt will stop you every time.
You wanna use this as an opportunity to setup? TOO BAD! Taunt ruins your life while Erefuun hides safely behide her shield of priority.
Erufuun's job on the team is just to soften up foes with SubSeed and stop any sweeps that might happen. The only thing that can completely shut her down is ANY other Grass type (Even Hoppip will stop Erufuun), Ditto, and Weavile(383 Spd Ice Shard > 268 Misc.Heart?)
And now the trappers themselves:
Mushi (Shanderaa) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
After using and fighting Shanderaa in action, I can safely say she is FAR too overhyped. Yes, if she comes in on a Choiced Attack with Immunity, she can score a +6 Calm Mind, but even with MAX Defense like I'm running, she can BARELY survive a Non-STAB Earthquake. (We're talking from full health she'll have MAYBE 30/262 HP left)
The best I can describe her is the new Magnezone. She traps pokemon like Blissey, any Steel type that's not Heatran, or Choiced Pokemon and basically removes them.
The set and synergy is mostly explained in the Leperasudu section. I chose Flamethrower over Fire Blast just for the accuracy. But, yea. REALLY overrated Pokemon/ability, but perfect for this team.
Digdig (Dugtrio) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Sucker Punch
Not to be outclassed by anyone, Dugtrio is still the jerk he's always been. High speed revenge kills are still his business, and business is booming as always, even in 5th gen. If you know ANYTHING about Trapper Teams, then I shouldn't have to explain Dugtrio any further.
Snea (Weavile) (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Ice Shard
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
Weavile is the only other Pokemon to not change at all on my team. Pursuits Psychics and Ghosts and doesn't afraid of anything. Staple trap Pokemon. Read Enemy Crab's RMT if you don't grasp this concept still.
I scored quite a few 5-10 win streaks with this version of the team and I decided to call it a night. Still testing and editing this team to fit the 5th gen environment. But I gotta say, testing this stuff is fun. Hell, even keeping track of the enemy's Zoroark is fun! (You're a Desukan my ***! *Brick Breaks*)
I really encourage you to try and expand upon this concept when the 5th gen server fixes are done. I'd love to see what we could come up with.
So my question to you is, what kind of gimmicks/teams have you come up with/want to try out?
Keep in mind how early in the metagame this is. (If we can even call it a metagame at this point) And please, please keep in mind that this was just ONE DAY. I'm not gonna pretend to know everything about the metagame from just one day and a lot of what I do know could be completely false as time goes on.
And onto the story:
With a many ideas already in my head of possible team changes, I decided to use my 4th Gen Trapper Team unedited in the 5th gen environment which consists of:
Uxie (Slow U-Turn)
Vaporeon (Slow Baton Pass)
Gliscor (Slow U-turn)
Magnezone (Steel Trap)
Dugtrio (Jerk Trap)
Weavile (CB Pursuit Trap)
Enemy Crab explains the concept much better than I can: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40480
^You should read that before reading the rest of this if you don't understand what a trap team is^
After about 10+ matches I decided a few things that didn't work anymore:
1. Magnezone gets demolished very quickly with all the Dragons running around and lack of Steel types to trap. It's pretty clear the lack of Steel is related to the huge increase of viable Ground, Fighting, and Fire types.
2. Without rain, Vaporeon does not survive for long. With stat raising Pokemon like Jaroda, Garchomp, Oh no it's Ononokusu, and *insert Nasty Plotter here*, Vaporeon tends to be setup fodder since even one boost can spell disaster sometimes.
3. Gliscor has the same problem as Vaporeon. It's just setup fodder in 5th gen most of the time
The first thing I did was replace Magnezone with Shanderaa. Simply put, Shanderaa outclasses Magnezone in every way when it comes to trapping.
Then I replaced Gliscor with Shibirudon to keep the basic concept of a slow, reliable U-turner as well as to make Gyrados less of a threat.
Vaporeon had various replacements. Still not entirely sure what I truly need in that slot, but I have plenty of time to figure that out.
Due to the number of Zoroark leads (Guys, get ready for this little Zoroark punk. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide your husbands too cause he can be errrrbody out here [Ex: Foe's Rohpushin was not effected by Psychic]) I had to replace Uxie. Espeon did it very well, but I later found an even better lead.
So after a few hours of team building and testing I ended the night with a nice little win streak and this team:
(and suddenly wild rmt format appeared!)
Neko (Leperasudu) (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Taunt
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Sucker Punch
I love this Pokemon! Espeon's Magic Mirror is cool and all, but Leperasudu is the end of gimmick leads and EASILY the best lead for a Trapper Team like this one.
Fake Out breaks Sashes/Sturdy. Mischievous Heart gives Taunt and Encore +1 priority meaning not only is she guaranteed to stop Stealth Rock, Status, and Stat-ups, (lol Baton Pass is dead, guys) she can use Priority Encore as she gets KO'd which, if you picked the wrong move, lets Shanderaa get a GUARANTEED AT LEAST a Calm Mind and Sub. (or 2 Calm Minds if you're willing to take the risk of getting revenged)
Shibby (Shibirudon) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Atk / 44 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -HP) (0 Spd IV)
- U-turn
- Dragon Tail
- Wild Volt
- Volt Change
Shibirudon is definitely a niche Pokemon, but I think he fits his role perfectly for this team. He acts as a phaser, a scout, and a substitute. His job is to ensure my frail Trappers don't have to switch in and take a hit for each other.
Slow U-turn/Volt Change means that it will always take the hit before switching out, leaving my Trappers unharmed on the switch. Dragon Tail is there to phase out problem Pokemon like Zapdos that are thirsty for Electricty.
My only problem with Shibirudon is it's lack of recovery compared to Gliscor. So much so that I may exchange Lefties and Volt Change for ChestoRest.
Elly (Erufuun) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
I love and HATE Erufuun. She's the perfect SubSeeder due to Mischievous Heart priority. If she gets a sub up, you'll have to go through absolute hell to break her...which is exactly why I'm using her...
Think you can just heal off the Leech Seed damage Blissey? WRONG! Taunt will stop you every time.
You wanna use this as an opportunity to setup? TOO BAD! Taunt ruins your life while Erefuun hides safely behide her shield of priority.
Erufuun's job on the team is just to soften up foes with SubSeed and stop any sweeps that might happen. The only thing that can completely shut her down is ANY other Grass type (Even Hoppip will stop Erufuun), Ditto, and Weavile(383 Spd Ice Shard > 268 Misc.Heart?)
And now the trappers themselves:
Mushi (Shanderaa) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
After using and fighting Shanderaa in action, I can safely say she is FAR too overhyped. Yes, if she comes in on a Choiced Attack with Immunity, she can score a +6 Calm Mind, but even with MAX Defense like I'm running, she can BARELY survive a Non-STAB Earthquake. (We're talking from full health she'll have MAYBE 30/262 HP left)
The best I can describe her is the new Magnezone. She traps pokemon like Blissey, any Steel type that's not Heatran, or Choiced Pokemon and basically removes them.
The set and synergy is mostly explained in the Leperasudu section. I chose Flamethrower over Fire Blast just for the accuracy. But, yea. REALLY overrated Pokemon/ability, but perfect for this team.
Digdig (Dugtrio) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Sucker Punch
Not to be outclassed by anyone, Dugtrio is still the jerk he's always been. High speed revenge kills are still his business, and business is booming as always, even in 5th gen. If you know ANYTHING about Trapper Teams, then I shouldn't have to explain Dugtrio any further.
Snea (Weavile) (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -HP)
- Ice Shard
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
Weavile is the only other Pokemon to not change at all on my team. Pursuits Psychics and Ghosts and doesn't afraid of anything. Staple trap Pokemon. Read Enemy Crab's RMT if you don't grasp this concept still.
I scored quite a few 5-10 win streaks with this version of the team and I decided to call it a night. Still testing and editing this team to fit the 5th gen environment. But I gotta say, testing this stuff is fun. Hell, even keeping track of the enemy's Zoroark is fun! (You're a Desukan my ***! *Brick Breaks*)
I really encourage you to try and expand upon this concept when the 5th gen server fixes are done. I'd love to see what we could come up with.
So my question to you is, what kind of gimmicks/teams have you come up with/want to try out?
