Versatility+Synergy=Win
Hey guys! Welcome to my RMT! Most of you guys, if not all, probably don't know me but I still hope you enjoy critiquing my team. Thx!
My first team that I ever felt that was good enough to ever be put on Smogon was a VoltTurn team that had done me great success. That team has been shelved for quite a while now it i thought I should take it back out and polish it off to fit with today's meta.
Anyways, this team focuses around some of the most versatile Pokemon in the game that can play multiple roles on teams. Add good synergy among my team members along with the momentum gained with VoltTurn comes together for an amazing formula that keeps the opponent guessing what I might do next. It also uses Rotom-W to bait out certain "threats" such special walls(pink blobs etc), bulky waters (slowbro, jellicent. They aren't big problems though), grass types (amoongus, celebi) opening many chances for my team to switch in and out fairly safely.
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS:
Since the team was pseudo VoltTurn, I thought it would be pretty crucial to put Rotom-W on here, just because it does its job so well and is so damn good!
One thing Rotom-W struggled against was fricking Blissey and Dragons. I chose to go for a more creative route and went with Cobalion dues to its amazing physical bulk and fighting typing to completely destroy Blissey. Due to its steel typing, it handled dragons with relative ease and can hit back hard.
Another thing Rotom is completely walled by is Gastodon, Swampert and Ferrothorn so I needed something to stop them from blocking Rotom-W. Celebi fit perfectly in this role because it was could threaten the former and will completely wall the second.
Now that I got my anti-Rotom-W counters,I focused on some things that could help the team function better. I started off with Hydreigon with its great coverage and power, it made a good, reliable wall breaker. It also offered a welcome Ground immunity and didn't have a crippling 4x weakness to ice.
I really wanted to use Infernape after people were saying how bad it was in the chat. "It should be moved to UU", someone said. I was mad alright. Don't talk to my ape like that. On a different note, it fit very well on the team too with its great 108 speed and phenomenal revenge killing abilities that no one ever sees. Mainly because ape isn't used too much.
I wanted something that could set up hazards and spin any way. The best Pokemon for the job was Forry, the go to guy for spinner+hazards. It was doing very well but I felt it needed some improvements.
Despite how well my team was doing, I found Forry very akward on my team. Most games, I'm not able to get up Spikes+Rocks and when I did, half of the opponents team wasn't effected by it and 2/3 of the other half that do get affected was already dead. Forry was becoming my designated death fodder and was proving to be useless. Until suddenly I realized I should use NBZ's Aggron, and it did incredibly well. It could set up rocks, kill something or severely hurt it (sometimes all 3) and lifted up a lot of pressure and was able to give me the early game momentum. Suddenly, the opponent was forced to play much more catiously and had to make risky plays in order to win.
IN DEPTH:
Rotom-W@ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
248 HP/120 SpA/52 SpD/88 Spe
Modest Nature
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power Ice
-Pain Split
Trait: Levitate
248 HP/120 SpA/52 SpD/88 Spe
Modest Nature
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power Ice
-Pain Split
Why This Poke: The core and heart of this team, without it, this team has a hard time switching into attacks. It's only weakness to Grass type attacks, a type that is resisted by 7 types, opens many opportunities for team mates to switch in relatively safely. In this team, Rotom-W shows off is ability to run different spread with the same old moves making hard to predict what it might do next.
Item: I chose lefties for the very nice residual recovery and really helps because Rotom-W doesn't have a reliable recovery move. I don't appreciate Life Orb recoil and Choice items restrictions. All the other itmes I don't exactly have a use for.
EVs: Just a semi bulky special sweeper spread really. Almost max HP to get some form of bulk going on and some special attack EVs to be able to hit relatively hard. The speed is just to be able to outspeed adamant Scizor while still keeping some special bulk as well.
Moves: Hydro Pump dents many things that aren't resisted, Volt Switch is just incredibly spam-able against teams without ground types, but with water and ice coverage, they aren't much of a problem if Ground types are present. Hidden Power Ice is meant for handling Dragons and Ground/Flying types and Pain Split offers some form of recovery.
Cobalion@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
156 Atk/96 SpA/4 HP/252 Spe
Naive Nature
-Close Combat
-Iron Head
-Hidden Power Ice
-Volt Switch
Why this Poke: I think Cobalion fits pretty well with Rotom-W and proves many times to be useful. Its resistance to Dragons, Grass types, Ice types, rock types, just to name a few is always a plus. I prefer Cobalion over other musketeers due to its better physical bulk and isn't weak to SD Scizor, unless its running Superpower. Being a steel type, it had an immunity to Toxic so it gives safe switch ins. Its also unpredictable, being able to be a physical wall, mixed attacker, physical attacker etc.
Item: Choice Scarf Cobalion is really appealing to me for some reason. Its almost exactly the same as Terrakion as I mentioned but it is a bit bulkier and can effectively revenge kill dragons. Choice Scarf is obvious though, since I'm running a scarfer.
EVs: I have enough attack investment to still be able to hit hard with my STABs and enough special attack EVs to be able to OHKO Mence, who is honestly one of the scariest things in the world. I just dumped the rest into HP for whatever reason.
Moves: Close Combat and Iron Head are for STAB and very reliable power. HP ice is very important in order to revenge kill weakened dragons that are incredibly weak to ice like Chomp, D-Nite and Mence. Volt Switch is their to be able to provide some momentum and so I'm able to switch into appropriate checks/counters.
Celebi@ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
252 HP/252 SpD/4 SpA
Calm Nature
-Giga Drain
-Psychic
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Perish Song
Why this Poke: One word: versatile. Celebi is incredibly versatile with its wide support movepool. T also served as a very reliable Breloom and Keldeo counter, both huge threats in the meta. I really wanted a designated Perish Song Pokemon in order to counter Baton Pass teams as well. Celebi did a very nice job of getting rid of troublesome grass and water types that gave the rest of my team some problems.
Item: Special Wall, so I needed an item a wall usually uses which was lefties. I don't think I really need to explain lefties too much.
EVs: I decided to go for a specially defensive set because of all the rain teams rampant. I decided to use the specially defensive spread because I needed something that could be able to sponge hits relatively well from rain teams and other special attackers as well.
Moves: Giga Drain is used to be able to hit bulky water types that could potentially cause Rotom-W some problems. Psychic is nice for middle ground if I need to target Keldeo but don't want anything to have a safe switch in with Giga Drain and works against fighting types in general. Hidden Power Fire is to be able kill Ferrothorn much more easily and allowed me to able to kill other bulky grass types like opposing Celebi and Amoongus. Perish Song, like a said before helps me beat Baton Pass teams and limits set up sweepers. Also, in situations where the opponent has one last Poke that my counter to it isn't alive anymore, I can clinch the victory in 3 turns.
Hydreigon@ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 HP
Modest Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Earth Power
-Flamethrower
-Roost
Why This Poke: I wanted something that could break through walls and even break other pokes. With its wide coverage, everything fears being hit with strong attacks. It's ability Levitate gave me a ground immunity that hurt Infernape and Cobalion and prevented opponents from spamming EQ. At the end of the day, Hydriegon breaks walls and it breaks them well. Unlike some other dragons, Hydreigon doesn't have a crippling x4 weakness to ice and has better coverage than Lati@s.
Item: I chose Life Orb since it gave me the freedom of being able to switch moves and gave a very big boost. Having each attack boosted is very nice.
EVs: Standard special sweeping set. I chose Modest since most dragons these days choose to run speed over power and this helps Hydreigon's wall breaking prowess.
Moves: With this set, nothing is able to hide behind unless its pink and white. Draco Meteor is great neutral STAB, only resisted by steel types. Flamethrower and Earth Power rounds off Hydreigon's coverage against the steel types in hopes that they can sponge a dragon type attack. Roost is great if I'm able to grab myself a free switch in and helps me preserve Hydreigon with all the Life Orb recoil.
Infernape@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Jolly Nature
-Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
Why This Poke: Overall, Ape has always been underrated but when used correctly, Ape can gain lots of momentumthroughout the battle. Not only that, but it can completely wreck grass types that wall Rotom-W and its fighting typing is very nice coverage overall. It's speed and versatility can keep the opponent guessing what I'm running lexactly. It's all about the pressure and versatility.
Item: I know I'm running a scarfer in Cobalion, BUT, I have very good reason to do so. I'm not sure if its the team itself is so good or if its be because I'm running 2 scarfers. Revenge killing is vital in battle and having the option of 2 is just priceless. It allows me to be able to play aggressively with both of them. Knowing that I can VoltTurn into the other scarfer and pretty much guaranteeing that I will outspeed, I make predictions very securely.
EVs: Standard Offensive Ape. Nothing much to say. I chose to run a Jolly Nature so that I can effectively revenge kill certain threats.
Moves: The moveset is very self explanatory I feel. Close Combat and Flare Blitz are reliable STAB to hit hard with. Stone Edge is so I can kill +1 Volcarona. Finally, since this team is a pseudo VoltTurn team, it was necessary that I run U-Turn for scouting purposes.
Aggron@ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Brave Nature
-Stealth Rock
-Rock Slide
-Endeavor
-Metal Burst
Trait: Sturdy
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Brave Nature
-Stealth Rock
-Rock Slide
-Endeavor
-Metal Burst
Why This Poke: There honestly isn't anything about Aggron that makes it better than the standard Stealth Rockers you normally see. I was more interested in its very special moveset which I'll explain later.
Item: A very special item, if the holders health is below 25%, on the next turn, it's next moves priority will be +1. Very handy with Aggron's Sturdy ability.
EVs: Max HP just for some form of bulk and to increase how much I can deal with Metal Burst. Atk investment is if I need to go for raw power and need to go for Rock Slide. I does the rest of the EVs in def (doesn't really matter where I put it). Brave Nature is to increase Attack but lowers my speed to make sure I always go last.
Moves: This is the most important part of this Pokemon is its moveset. For all of you that watch YouTube, you'll probably know that this is NBZ's concoction. It works incredibly well and catches many off guard. I'm willing to bet that each day I use it on Showdown, I always see them say, "What the f just happened?" It really satisfying. Stealth rock and Rock Slide are just standard. If I see an open opportunity, I can go for either or, depending on which is more valuable to me. The next two are special. The plan is always:
1.Take a hit and retaliate with Metal Burst to knock out the opposing Pokemon while Aggron lives on 1 HP, thanks to Sturdy.
2. As long as the opponent doesn't sending out a priority user, my Custap Berry activates and allows me to get 1 turn of priority. Then I can go for Endeavor to bring the opponent down to 1 HP as the kill me off.
3. Revenge kill it with one of my Scarfers.
There, 2 Pokemon finished in under 5 turns. Aggron is a beautiful creature and is so consistent in every battle.
Anyways, please leave suggestions and give me any thoughts on my team!
IMPORTABLE:
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 120 SAtk / 52 SDef / 88 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Cobalion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 96 SAtk / 252 Spd / 156 Atk
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 220 HP / 36 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psychic
- Perish Song
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Roost
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Aggron @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Metal Burst
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 120 SAtk / 52 SDef / 88 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Cobalion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 96 SAtk / 252 Spd / 156 Atk
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 220 HP / 36 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psychic
- Perish Song
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Roost
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
Aggron @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Metal Burst
And if anyone wants to add me as a friend, please do so! I'd love to get to know some people here on Smogon (well, anywhere in general)! Thanks for reading!
