Alright, this is my first XY team up here. Having looked at the meta, I've kind of come to the conclusion that frail sweepers are just too hard to use effectively with the ever-present threat of priority Brave Bird, so my intention here was to create an effective defensive core that also functions as a looming offensive threat. With that, they can effectively support sweepers and give them a chance to punch holes in the opposing team, making it easier and easier for the next sweeper to come along and roll the remnants of a team. I'm sitting at about 1600 on the ladder, but I've been sitting there for weeks now, so I'm thinking it's time to make some changes. Anyway, here it is:
TYRANITAR@Assault Vest
Sassy Nature
252HP/252ATT/4SP.ATT
ABILITY: Sand Stream
-Fire Blast
-Ice Beam
-Pursuit
-Stone Edge
This is kind of my all purpose Special Wall. He can trap a lot of special attackers and wear them down. Ice Beam and Fire Blast are there for those nice 4x weaknesses, to take out Scizors, Ferrothorns and Gliscors with proper prediction. I am finding he isn't quite as bulky as I was hoping though, and can get worn down without any leftovers. I'd appreciate advice on EV spreads in particular here.
AEGISLASH@Leftovers
Modest Nature
252HP/252SP.ATT/4DEF
ABILITY: Stance Change
-Shadow Ball
-Kings Shield
-Flash Cannon
-Metal Sound
My Spellsword, who is pretty much all about mind games. Aegis does well at forcing switches, first of people fearing attacking physically, then by chaining Metal Sound, which is much more effective than you'd expect, and fantastic support for another pokemon that I'll explain later. With the constant fear of Knock Off, however, Aegislash isn't taking names like she used to.
MANDIBUZZ@Leftovers
Impish Nature
252HP/252DEF/4SP.DEF
ABILITY: Overcoat
-Foul Play
-Knock Off
-Roost
-Defog
Mandibuzz is fantastic this gen. Bulky enough to be 3hkoed by stone edges and fast enough to roost it off, it's hard to come at her with physical attacks at all. The utility of her attacks is great, usually beating setup sweepers one on one. My one complaint about her is her use of Defog. Stealth Rocks still hurts, and can hurt enough that those 3hkos become 2hkos. I'm thinking of giving her Tailwind instead, but I'm going to need a rapid spinner. I have some ideas for it, and with that I can run hazards of my own, but advice here would be great.
And now with that core, I have 3 sweepers. Their aim is usually just to punch holes in the opposing team to get cleaned up by the first three.
PORYGON-Z@Choice Scarf
Modest Nature
252SPEED/252SP.ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Download
-Tri Attack
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
This guy is my nuke. The aim is to, of course, get the Download boost, which is my second reason to run Metal Sound on Aegislash, almost guaranteeing it. This works particularly well on opposing Aegislash, as Porygon is immune to Ghost and can OHKO back with shadow ball, which I run over Dark Pulse for the better neutral coverage, at the cost of giving Chansey a free switchin. Choice surprises a lot of people, allowing KOS on Garchomp, Pinsir and a lot of common attackers. With the boost, Porygon can 2hko Rotoms happily, or at least weaken them enough to be handled. I'm pretty happy with Porygons performance, but I would like to hear more options.
HAWLUCHA@Power Herb
Jolly Nature
252SPEED/252ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Unburden
-Sky Attack
-Acrobatics
-High Jump Kick
-Swords Dance
This guy can either die instantly or win me the game. With Swords Dance, he can clean up shop, but the prevalence of Aegislash and Talonflame, I need to keep Sky Attack in the wings and rely on HJK to deal damage. I love his concept and would like to keep him, but he's very high risk, high reward, and something more reliable would be appreciated. Jolly beats out Gengar and can OHKO, along with going before the Latis and Garchomp. Unburden is also my Knock Off counter, and Hawlucha handles Bisharp like a champ.
PINSIR@Pinsirite
Jolly Nature
252SPEED/252ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Moxie/Aerialate
-Swords Dance
-Quick Attack
-Earthquake
-Thrash
Pinsir rocks, but he can also be very high risk, high reward. He's invariably kept in the wing and used sparingly until late game, where he aims to just clean up with the raw power of Thrash. He can't do that until Talonflame is out of the picture, though. Once again, I like him, but am considering other options that are more reliable.
~~~
WEAKNESSES
I have a lot of trouble with bulky waters, particularly Calm Mind Suicune and Keldeo. I also don't handle hazards very well, as Mandibuzz is my defogger, but also hates hazards the most out of my entire team. I don't have any status absorbers either, and Burn/Para really hurt. I also don't have any status dealers of my own, which I'm not happy with, the closest thing I have to a status dealer is Tri Attacking and crossing my fingers.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?
I'm thinking Pinsir and Hawlucha have to go. I'm reluctant to lose their high powered Flying attacks though, which have excellent utility, but they are just too hard to keep alive UNLESS I get a more reliable counter to Aegislash and Talonflame. They're great when they work but having Talonflame out of the picture is a prerequisite for that. (thundurus-I also gives me a lot of grief.) As Talon has been running u-turn more in this rank, T-tar no longer counters it, leaving Mandibuzz as my only hope, and with Rocks, that doesn't work. I could ditch one of them for a better Talonflame counter, or both of them and make the team more bulky. I could also keep both and lose one member of the defensive core, which I'm now thinking might help.
Thanks in advance!
TYRANITAR@Assault Vest
Sassy Nature
252HP/252ATT/4SP.ATT
ABILITY: Sand Stream
-Fire Blast
-Ice Beam
-Pursuit
-Stone Edge
This is kind of my all purpose Special Wall. He can trap a lot of special attackers and wear them down. Ice Beam and Fire Blast are there for those nice 4x weaknesses, to take out Scizors, Ferrothorns and Gliscors with proper prediction. I am finding he isn't quite as bulky as I was hoping though, and can get worn down without any leftovers. I'd appreciate advice on EV spreads in particular here.
AEGISLASH@Leftovers
Modest Nature
252HP/252SP.ATT/4DEF
ABILITY: Stance Change
-Shadow Ball
-Kings Shield
-Flash Cannon
-Metal Sound
My Spellsword, who is pretty much all about mind games. Aegis does well at forcing switches, first of people fearing attacking physically, then by chaining Metal Sound, which is much more effective than you'd expect, and fantastic support for another pokemon that I'll explain later. With the constant fear of Knock Off, however, Aegislash isn't taking names like she used to.
MANDIBUZZ@Leftovers
Impish Nature
252HP/252DEF/4SP.DEF
ABILITY: Overcoat
-Foul Play
-Knock Off
-Roost
-Defog
Mandibuzz is fantastic this gen. Bulky enough to be 3hkoed by stone edges and fast enough to roost it off, it's hard to come at her with physical attacks at all. The utility of her attacks is great, usually beating setup sweepers one on one. My one complaint about her is her use of Defog. Stealth Rocks still hurts, and can hurt enough that those 3hkos become 2hkos. I'm thinking of giving her Tailwind instead, but I'm going to need a rapid spinner. I have some ideas for it, and with that I can run hazards of my own, but advice here would be great.
And now with that core, I have 3 sweepers. Their aim is usually just to punch holes in the opposing team to get cleaned up by the first three.
PORYGON-Z@Choice Scarf
Modest Nature
252SPEED/252SP.ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Download
-Tri Attack
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
This guy is my nuke. The aim is to, of course, get the Download boost, which is my second reason to run Metal Sound on Aegislash, almost guaranteeing it. This works particularly well on opposing Aegislash, as Porygon is immune to Ghost and can OHKO back with shadow ball, which I run over Dark Pulse for the better neutral coverage, at the cost of giving Chansey a free switchin. Choice surprises a lot of people, allowing KOS on Garchomp, Pinsir and a lot of common attackers. With the boost, Porygon can 2hko Rotoms happily, or at least weaken them enough to be handled. I'm pretty happy with Porygons performance, but I would like to hear more options.
HAWLUCHA@Power Herb
Jolly Nature
252SPEED/252ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Unburden
-Sky Attack
-Acrobatics
-High Jump Kick
-Swords Dance
This guy can either die instantly or win me the game. With Swords Dance, he can clean up shop, but the prevalence of Aegislash and Talonflame, I need to keep Sky Attack in the wings and rely on HJK to deal damage. I love his concept and would like to keep him, but he's very high risk, high reward, and something more reliable would be appreciated. Jolly beats out Gengar and can OHKO, along with going before the Latis and Garchomp. Unburden is also my Knock Off counter, and Hawlucha handles Bisharp like a champ.
PINSIR@Pinsirite
Jolly Nature
252SPEED/252ATT/4HP
ABILITY: Moxie/Aerialate
-Swords Dance
-Quick Attack
-Earthquake
-Thrash
Pinsir rocks, but he can also be very high risk, high reward. He's invariably kept in the wing and used sparingly until late game, where he aims to just clean up with the raw power of Thrash. He can't do that until Talonflame is out of the picture, though. Once again, I like him, but am considering other options that are more reliable.
~~~
WEAKNESSES
I have a lot of trouble with bulky waters, particularly Calm Mind Suicune and Keldeo. I also don't handle hazards very well, as Mandibuzz is my defogger, but also hates hazards the most out of my entire team. I don't have any status absorbers either, and Burn/Para really hurt. I also don't have any status dealers of my own, which I'm not happy with, the closest thing I have to a status dealer is Tri Attacking and crossing my fingers.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?
I'm thinking Pinsir and Hawlucha have to go. I'm reluctant to lose their high powered Flying attacks though, which have excellent utility, but they are just too hard to keep alive UNLESS I get a more reliable counter to Aegislash and Talonflame. They're great when they work but having Talonflame out of the picture is a prerequisite for that. (thundurus-I also gives me a lot of grief.) As Talon has been running u-turn more in this rank, T-tar no longer counters it, leaving Mandibuzz as my only hope, and with Rocks, that doesn't work. I could ditch one of them for a better Talonflame counter, or both of them and make the team more bulky. I could also keep both and lose one member of the defensive core, which I'm now thinking might help.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited:
