Yesterday I decided to build a team around mega Altaria. Since I had little experience with it, I thought that, by making a team around it, I would find out what its weaknesses and strengths are. A little bit of background info before you keep on reading:
* I started playing Pokemon Showdown around August 2015
* I joined Battling 101 and got paired up with Alkov, one of the tutors in the program. He taught me everything from how to develop win conditions, to why you don't always need to predict your opponent to win the game. (Prior to B101, I had no experience with Pokemon. I was always struggling to get to 1300 before the tutor. Now I'm at 1400, and although it is only a 100+ improvement, this has given me enough experience to which I can say I am actually learning from my games. Low ladder has some wild things.)* This is my first RMT. I decided to make one because by doing this, I hope to have a discussion on why I chose the mons that I did, as well as give my team the extra help in order to get me from the 1400's to 1500's.
Now, let's get to the team!
The mon that started it all. This thing is very versatile in the OU Meta right now. The 110 Attack/ 110 Special Attack, along with the coverage moves this thing learns, enables Cotton Candy to be either a special attacker or an offensive attacker. Its defenses are also good, enabling Altaria to check a lot of Pokemon in OU.
Altaria does not like steel-types, so I decided that one way to get rid of steel-type was to trap them. Magnezone popped into my mind right away, as either set (scarf or specs) would benefit this core.
Now I needed rocks. Hippowdon is such a good rock setter on the OU tier because its bulk enables it to get rocks on pretty much anything. I thought about using Tank Chomp as my rocker, but I HATE when my only talon check is a Garchomp. To me, Garchomp's potential is wasted because it has the added benefit of being a dragon, and when I use it as my only talon check, I lose if my Garchomp dies.
Tornadus was the next one on the team, as this allowed me to switch into Gengar relatively safe, and proceed to click Knock Off. This thing also serves as my soft check to Latios, as well as my switch in to Latias and Ferro.
I picked Scizor as my defogger. This thing was also my switch into the Lati twins, provided they didn't have HP Fire. Scizor was also my was of taking care of Diancie and Altaria, was also my ferro switch in, and allowed me to get a slow U-Turn on the opponent. This took some pressure off on those prediction heavy games. All around good mon to have on my team.
Keldeo came in and won the game from turn 1.
I decided to switch Scizor from the team, as the defog set really left me unsatisfied. I was always used to the power of that thing, and now that I see it without Attack investment, the thing doesn't really impress me. I decided to give Mew a go, not only because I still needed a defogger, but also because my team was weak to Bisharp. (inb4 "u us3 a psychic typ 2 check a dark type? LMAO ur bad top kek Goddamn 47.") I gave this thing Will-O-Wisp along with the set that outspeeds jolly bisharp for that reason. After a burn, it generally becomes less of a problem. This thing also gave me another answer to Mega Venusaur.
In greater Detail:
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs:
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
-
I opted for the Defensive Dragon Dance set. This thing looked very bulky to me, and I decided to use it because the point of having Magnezone was to trap all Pokemon that Altaria was weak to. Dragon Dance allowed me to get some speed and to boost Return's attack. After a +2, this thing is devastating. It enables me to kill Gardevoir (something this team has no reliable answer for). Roost was there to keep Altaria in the game for a long time, as getting the +2 in Altaria requires some health. Return was the move over facade, as facade was too situational, and It didn't work with my final move.
Magnezone @
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge
Hippowdon is a very good (and needed) wall for this team. I can switch into Lopunny with ease, and proceed to Slack Off until he either misses or gives me an opportunity to click Earthquake. The Sand stream helps me beat opposing weather. This thing can also take hits from Excadrill relatively well. Stealth Rocks are there to gradually wear the other team down. Earthquake is there for STAB and allows me to kill Bisharp, as well as Heatran. Slack Off is there to make sure Hippowdon stays in the game when I need it most, and Stone Edge is there to prevent Talonflame from setting up.
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Tornadus is an annoying Pokemon that takes hits and never dies. His ability makes torn a little less weak to rocks, as most of that damage gets regenerated. The Assault Vest was needed as this allowed me to take sponge hits from a mojority of mons that give altaria a hard time. Although the life orb set really is powerful, I just prefer the assault vest, as this gives me the assurance that I won't die from special hits after one hit. Hurricane is there for STAB. It deals with Mega Venusaur rather well thanks to its assault vest and also takes a chunk out of anything that doesn't resist flying. Focus blast was there to hit Heatran and Tyranitar. Heat Wave was used before this, but the hippo switch on the lava plume burn didn't really leave me with peace of mind. I barely use it though, since it missed 9/10 times. U turn allows me to get some health back on switches, as well as keeps some offensive momentum for my team.
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psychic
Mew was used in this slot for my defogger and was one of the ways to cripple physical attackers. Soft-Boiled works really well with Will-O-Wisp, as this wears the opponent down, while keeping you at a healthy amount of HP, in order to do it again. Will-O-Wisp was there to burn physical attackers and things that gave me a hard time on the physical side. Psychic was there for annoying poison types.
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpA / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
I wasn't kidding when I said Keldeo came in and won the game with a combination of hydro pump and secret sword. This provided me a switch into Keldeo and Clefable. Draco Meteor was Dragalge's most powerful move, and most of the time, it gets a kill with this move. Sludge Wave is used to demolish Fairy types that switch into Draco Meteor. Scald is just used for burns on bulky steel-types such as Bronzong, Meta-Metagross, and Jirachi. Toxic Spikes is used to wear the team down along with Stealth Rocks.
Now, for the threat-list: (I'll add more as more people help me with this)
I usually just burn this with mew. Not really an answer, but it does really help me a lot. after a burn, this thing becomes something I beat with Altaria.
Mega Sableye became an annoyance when I got rid of heal bell on altaria. Not that I dont have mons to take care of this guy, but it's annoying. Scarf Magnezone gets a little over a 2 hit ko, making sableye's ability to stall with recover useless.
This team is solid enough to play with. Only really 1
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
- Heal Bell
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psychic
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpA / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
- Heal Bell
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psychic
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpA / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
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