I’ve been playing Pokémon competitively since the ADV days and considered myself fairly good at it. While I’ve had less success at D/P, I feel that I’ve adapted well enough to the environment. I don’t particularly enjoy playing with the highly used Pokémon on most teams, but I am aware this is a competitive site and those Pokémon are used because they get the job done, so I will stay open to the suggestions for the and of course how to handle them. This team is not a team that opens up sweeps to win, but relies more on foiling opponents plans.
I’m also new to the forums, so feel free to give tips on RMT mechanics and if my explanations need more depth.
The Team :
The Lead -
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Flash Fire
Naïve
4HP/252 speed/252 special attack
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
I play a Heatran lead because I wanted a bulky lead that could net kills and set of SR. Kills is a higher priority mainly for the surprise and the fact that this team seems to enjoy a 5-6 lead start to a 5+SR – 6 start. Deals with bulky leads weak to fire like metagross and Jirachi well, and heatran can use a scarf effectively. The berry is for the EQs from Meragross, as I usually don’t keep it in on swampert or hippo due to azelf taking that fight better.
Suicide leads don’t bother me toom much as aero is usually more occupied with taunt and SR to bother hitting me, and azelf’s explosion in no real treat to Heatran. Of course he deals with more fragile leads fairly easily.
The Kicker -
Azelf @ life orb
Levitate
Timid
4HP/252 speed/252 special attack
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
- Nasty Plot
My only true sweeper in the conventional sense, and my favorite person on the team. I obviously love to come in on EQs and threaten the user with grass knot, and will usually take the chance to get in a nasty plot. The power of this thing is usually underestimated as usually Blissey, Snorlax, and Empleon can take its hits after 1 plot, and after 2, usually only blissey can if I get that far. I use Swampert and Hippo and other weaker users of EQ to come in and either threaten or if late enough, sweep. A CB scizor’s BP does about ~80% and with SR down that usually means that I get hit and them kill us both with a LO flamethrower, or if it doesn’t realize that I’m a special sweeper, It will faint from a flamethrower before the U-Turn.
SR + LO means that Azelf doesn’t stay in for too long, and the sweep it wants isn’t every game, but the team can still fight. Blissey is obviously a problem, and I am thinking of ditching grass knot for explosion and changing the nature to deal with that, but other than azlef, Blissey doesn’t hurt this team consistently as my physical attackers deal with it easily. Also, maybe charge beam as an option for gyrados is an option, but probably not.
The Quiet tank -
Umbreon @ leftovers
Synchronize
Sassy
252 HP/ 200 attack/56 special defense
- Protect
- Wish
- Curse
- Payback
A basic curse umbreon. At the beginning of the game I pose as a wish passer umbreon and scout for fighting types of which this team is weak to and KO them with another poke (that will be healthy after the switch because of wish) before my opponent see’s how useful they could be. In the late game, umbreon can be a surprising finisher and can set up on things like zapdos, Latias, Starmie, Magnezone, Celebi (without leech seed) and even specsjolt if I play my cards right. Protect and Wish is also a great way to stall out low PP moves like Fire blast. He also functions as a great answer to ghosts that haunt Machamp (pun!).
Umbreon's main problem is that he lures in fighting types. While I try to use that to my advantage, it can allow a SD lucario sweep if I’m not careful. Another problem is toxic and toxic spikes. Umbreon is my member that hates toxic spikes the most, but otherwise, I’m decently covered and don’t think it warrents a spinner. To counter the toxic problem is to try and come in of T-waves as soon as possible. This grants me immunity to poison and umbreon doesn’t mind the speed drop or missed turns due to curse already lowering my speed and giving my bulk. Also synchronize will paralyze my opponent and that can bother some enemies. I tried using baton pass over protect, but I couldn’t get another poke on the team to use them well enough to warrant its continuation.
The Jack of all Trades -
Empleon @ Leftovers
Torrent
Calm
252 HP/ 166 defense/ 4 speed/ 88 sp defense
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Aqua Jet
Empleon is my main defender on the team with a load of resistances and good stats. The moveset is used after much experimentation. Aqua Jet helps answer those fast fighting types that use close combat to weaken themselves. This has saved me from many Lucario and infernape sweeps. I ran Grass knot as my 4th move for a long time, but it only seemed to help against swampert which is handled by azelf easily. So I moved to toxic to deal with the bulky water and it has worked wonderfully. It helps me beat Vaporeon trying to soak up my surfs, Latias that set up on me, Togekiss trying to hax me, and rotom that threaten Emploleon and machamp. Now Empoleon has become my main status user which compliments my play with umbreon and Machamp.
My Empleon is not particularly powerful, and sometimes it is an opening for gyrados or Tyranitar sometimes. Also scarf flygon is a threat because Azelf is KOed by U-turn while Emploen is KOed by EQ, but can KO with ice beam. Swampert is more of a problem now and is hard to deal with if the frail Azelf falls. Starmie, Blissey, and celebi usually can wall me, and will only be forced out by toxic. Magnezone eats Emploen alive, but I don’t see enough to warrant a shed shell. LO Gengar can sometimes beat Empleon, but usually a Umbreon answer comes to it. Bronzongs with EQ can be trouble but usually invite Azelf to the table.
The Big Gun -
Machamp @ Life Orb
No Guard
Adamant
128 HP/ 252 attack/ 128 speed
- Dynamic Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
Machamp is my oldest member of the team. No Guard Dynamic Punches are amazing and I can feel free to spam it because only ghosts and slowbro can switch in and not fear the confusion. Bullet punch provides my team with much needed priority to counter fighting sweepers with close combat, machamp is my main check to scarf heracross. The elemental punches give me a pseudo bolt/beam and give me a great answer to DD gyrados and salamence. Even if I switch in on the DD, Gyrados can only beat me with a waterfall flinch and mence only with outrage which invites Empoleon. The punches also give me good coverage for Latias, Gliscor, bulky waters that resist fighting like slowbro and starmie.
Since Machamp is often my fall guy for status (since he doesn’t mind the speed loss of paralysis or the lasting of toxic), I’ve thought about running guts on the set which would also allow me to absorb the WoW of the rotoms that often come in on my Dynamic punch. I’ve also thought of using a choice item on him as his speed lets him down, and I find myself spamming Dynamic punch often anyway, but I’m not a huge fan of choice and haven’t tried it yet. I also think that Stone edge might be a better choice over my elemental punches since it covers both mence and Dos, but I’m not sure how the coverage would boost or if it has enough power to KO after intimidate.
The Tricky Sniper
Ambipom @ Life Orb
Technician
Jolly
4 HP / 252 attack/ 252 speed
- Fake out
- Double hit
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn
Ambipom is a great Pokémon that has the ability to deal with many common threats and to weaken many other threats to be taken out my priority on the team. LO Fake out deals good damage to many Pokémon and give me a glimpse into if double hit will KO or to U-Turn out. Technician Double hit is a great asset as it can break Subs and stop focus punches. Aerial Ace is my main check on many fighting types as it will KO Infernape, Breloom, unscarfted Heracross, and will deal ~75% to machamp and ~50% to scizor and lucario. In fact this set is the best answer ever to a sub seeding grass type. If I come in on a sub or seed, my double hit will break the sub and hit the foe (great against Breloom focus punching me) and then KO with Aerial Ace. Only Sceptile is faster than me, so the strategy is greatly effective. U-Turn is also a great way to break the cycle and scout for incoming hits. U-Turn works great to get in Azelf on an EQ, Umbreon on a T-Wave, and Machamp on a DDer. And if Salamence takes SR damage, Ambipom can take it out with Fake out and faster Double hit, which surprises many mence users.
Ambipom suffers from not being particularly powerful. Steel types love to come in a ruin my show, but since champ and heatran deal with them easily, I didn’t feel brick break was warranted. Other defensive threats force it to U-Turn, but Ambipom isn’t really meant to deal with them and I play him as such. Lucrario is a main problem for this guy as Fake out is not an option and AA only takes out about half. Usually I just use Ambipom to weaken the Lucario enough to KO with another members priority.
This team is based off the notion that sacrifices must be made to continue the fight. I try very hard to break down the walls of the opponents and KO sweepers before much damage is done and try to use my final Pokémon to outsmart my opponent. Surprise is a factor that I rely on a lot, and the more experienced players I get to play, the less often I succeed. Still, this team wins more battles than it loses and every Pokémon nets positive KOs on average. This team has very few glaring threats as it needs to be able to take down each of my members because in each battle I sacrifice and save different Pokémon. The only threat that can take my entire team is fighting types because 4 of my members are weak to it and my only resist is fragile. The team tries to use that and take out fighters before they become invaluable. Lucario is the only fighter that is often used as a late game sweeper and for that, it is a main problem. Suggestions on changes to my current team I would like more than replacements, but I probably need all the advice I can get.
I’m also new to the forums, so feel free to give tips on RMT mechanics and if my explanations need more depth.
The Team :
The Lead -
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Flash Fire
Naïve
4HP/252 speed/252 special attack
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
I play a Heatran lead because I wanted a bulky lead that could net kills and set of SR. Kills is a higher priority mainly for the surprise and the fact that this team seems to enjoy a 5-6 lead start to a 5+SR – 6 start. Deals with bulky leads weak to fire like metagross and Jirachi well, and heatran can use a scarf effectively. The berry is for the EQs from Meragross, as I usually don’t keep it in on swampert or hippo due to azelf taking that fight better.
Suicide leads don’t bother me toom much as aero is usually more occupied with taunt and SR to bother hitting me, and azelf’s explosion in no real treat to Heatran. Of course he deals with more fragile leads fairly easily.
The Kicker -
Azelf @ life orb
Levitate
Timid
4HP/252 speed/252 special attack
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
- Nasty Plot
My only true sweeper in the conventional sense, and my favorite person on the team. I obviously love to come in on EQs and threaten the user with grass knot, and will usually take the chance to get in a nasty plot. The power of this thing is usually underestimated as usually Blissey, Snorlax, and Empleon can take its hits after 1 plot, and after 2, usually only blissey can if I get that far. I use Swampert and Hippo and other weaker users of EQ to come in and either threaten or if late enough, sweep. A CB scizor’s BP does about ~80% and with SR down that usually means that I get hit and them kill us both with a LO flamethrower, or if it doesn’t realize that I’m a special sweeper, It will faint from a flamethrower before the U-Turn.
SR + LO means that Azelf doesn’t stay in for too long, and the sweep it wants isn’t every game, but the team can still fight. Blissey is obviously a problem, and I am thinking of ditching grass knot for explosion and changing the nature to deal with that, but other than azlef, Blissey doesn’t hurt this team consistently as my physical attackers deal with it easily. Also, maybe charge beam as an option for gyrados is an option, but probably not.
The Quiet tank -
Umbreon @ leftovers
Synchronize
Sassy
252 HP/ 200 attack/56 special defense
- Protect
- Wish
- Curse
- Payback
A basic curse umbreon. At the beginning of the game I pose as a wish passer umbreon and scout for fighting types of which this team is weak to and KO them with another poke (that will be healthy after the switch because of wish) before my opponent see’s how useful they could be. In the late game, umbreon can be a surprising finisher and can set up on things like zapdos, Latias, Starmie, Magnezone, Celebi (without leech seed) and even specsjolt if I play my cards right. Protect and Wish is also a great way to stall out low PP moves like Fire blast. He also functions as a great answer to ghosts that haunt Machamp (pun!).
Umbreon's main problem is that he lures in fighting types. While I try to use that to my advantage, it can allow a SD lucario sweep if I’m not careful. Another problem is toxic and toxic spikes. Umbreon is my member that hates toxic spikes the most, but otherwise, I’m decently covered and don’t think it warrents a spinner. To counter the toxic problem is to try and come in of T-waves as soon as possible. This grants me immunity to poison and umbreon doesn’t mind the speed drop or missed turns due to curse already lowering my speed and giving my bulk. Also synchronize will paralyze my opponent and that can bother some enemies. I tried using baton pass over protect, but I couldn’t get another poke on the team to use them well enough to warrant its continuation.
The Jack of all Trades -
Empleon @ Leftovers
Torrent
Calm
252 HP/ 166 defense/ 4 speed/ 88 sp defense
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Aqua Jet
Empleon is my main defender on the team with a load of resistances and good stats. The moveset is used after much experimentation. Aqua Jet helps answer those fast fighting types that use close combat to weaken themselves. This has saved me from many Lucario and infernape sweeps. I ran Grass knot as my 4th move for a long time, but it only seemed to help against swampert which is handled by azelf easily. So I moved to toxic to deal with the bulky water and it has worked wonderfully. It helps me beat Vaporeon trying to soak up my surfs, Latias that set up on me, Togekiss trying to hax me, and rotom that threaten Emploleon and machamp. Now Empoleon has become my main status user which compliments my play with umbreon and Machamp.
My Empleon is not particularly powerful, and sometimes it is an opening for gyrados or Tyranitar sometimes. Also scarf flygon is a threat because Azelf is KOed by U-turn while Emploen is KOed by EQ, but can KO with ice beam. Swampert is more of a problem now and is hard to deal with if the frail Azelf falls. Starmie, Blissey, and celebi usually can wall me, and will only be forced out by toxic. Magnezone eats Emploen alive, but I don’t see enough to warrant a shed shell. LO Gengar can sometimes beat Empleon, but usually a Umbreon answer comes to it. Bronzongs with EQ can be trouble but usually invite Azelf to the table.
The Big Gun -
Machamp @ Life Orb
No Guard
Adamant
128 HP/ 252 attack/ 128 speed
- Dynamic Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
Machamp is my oldest member of the team. No Guard Dynamic Punches are amazing and I can feel free to spam it because only ghosts and slowbro can switch in and not fear the confusion. Bullet punch provides my team with much needed priority to counter fighting sweepers with close combat, machamp is my main check to scarf heracross. The elemental punches give me a pseudo bolt/beam and give me a great answer to DD gyrados and salamence. Even if I switch in on the DD, Gyrados can only beat me with a waterfall flinch and mence only with outrage which invites Empoleon. The punches also give me good coverage for Latias, Gliscor, bulky waters that resist fighting like slowbro and starmie.
Since Machamp is often my fall guy for status (since he doesn’t mind the speed loss of paralysis or the lasting of toxic), I’ve thought about running guts on the set which would also allow me to absorb the WoW of the rotoms that often come in on my Dynamic punch. I’ve also thought of using a choice item on him as his speed lets him down, and I find myself spamming Dynamic punch often anyway, but I’m not a huge fan of choice and haven’t tried it yet. I also think that Stone edge might be a better choice over my elemental punches since it covers both mence and Dos, but I’m not sure how the coverage would boost or if it has enough power to KO after intimidate.
The Tricky Sniper
Ambipom @ Life Orb
Technician
Jolly
4 HP / 252 attack/ 252 speed
- Fake out
- Double hit
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn
Ambipom is a great Pokémon that has the ability to deal with many common threats and to weaken many other threats to be taken out my priority on the team. LO Fake out deals good damage to many Pokémon and give me a glimpse into if double hit will KO or to U-Turn out. Technician Double hit is a great asset as it can break Subs and stop focus punches. Aerial Ace is my main check on many fighting types as it will KO Infernape, Breloom, unscarfted Heracross, and will deal ~75% to machamp and ~50% to scizor and lucario. In fact this set is the best answer ever to a sub seeding grass type. If I come in on a sub or seed, my double hit will break the sub and hit the foe (great against Breloom focus punching me) and then KO with Aerial Ace. Only Sceptile is faster than me, so the strategy is greatly effective. U-Turn is also a great way to break the cycle and scout for incoming hits. U-Turn works great to get in Azelf on an EQ, Umbreon on a T-Wave, and Machamp on a DDer. And if Salamence takes SR damage, Ambipom can take it out with Fake out and faster Double hit, which surprises many mence users.
Ambipom suffers from not being particularly powerful. Steel types love to come in a ruin my show, but since champ and heatran deal with them easily, I didn’t feel brick break was warranted. Other defensive threats force it to U-Turn, but Ambipom isn’t really meant to deal with them and I play him as such. Lucrario is a main problem for this guy as Fake out is not an option and AA only takes out about half. Usually I just use Ambipom to weaken the Lucario enough to KO with another members priority.
This team is based off the notion that sacrifices must be made to continue the fight. I try very hard to break down the walls of the opponents and KO sweepers before much damage is done and try to use my final Pokémon to outsmart my opponent. Surprise is a factor that I rely on a lot, and the more experienced players I get to play, the less often I succeed. Still, this team wins more battles than it loses and every Pokémon nets positive KOs on average. This team has very few glaring threats as it needs to be able to take down each of my members because in each battle I sacrifice and save different Pokémon. The only threat that can take my entire team is fighting types because 4 of my members are weak to it and my only resist is fragile. The team tries to use that and take out fighters before they become invaluable. Lucario is the only fighter that is often used as a late game sweeper and for that, it is a main problem. Suggestions on changes to my current team I would like more than replacements, but I probably need all the advice I can get.
