After looking through the good pairs thread I went and tried to basically form a team around those pairs, plus a Tapu because terrain needs to be fought over.
The pokes:
Dragon Dance Gyarados, pretty simple stuff, although lack of protect can be considered a downside. Hits hard and fast, especially with the next 'mon leading.
L50 Togedemaru @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs - All 31
- Fake Out
- Zing Zap
- Nuzzle
- Spiky Shield
While this may not protect against a discharge on Gyarados, this does great work, protects from his biggest weakness, adds fake out support... Only thing it doesn't do well is Steel damage, because Gyro Ball does basically no damage with that much speed and there are no other options, I chose Nuzzle instead, because a little bit of paralysis can always be a nuisance. Sitrus Berry is a bit of a random item, but i couldn't put sash on this guy, that's due to the next pair which is...
Good old Garchomp, speedy, stabby goodness that is usually an utter terror. One big counter it has (that the next poke can't check that well) is Salamence, but Gyarados manages him pretty well most of the time. As for the other weaknesses...
Celesteela in its special attack mode, with flash cannon and air slash STABs and protect, one more move was necessary, so I picked Fire Blast, or rather Firium Z. This is enough to have an 87.5% chance OHKO other Celesteela in normal conditions, with 252 Hp / 4 SpD and a non SpD modifying nature, which I thought would be a nice trump card to have against them, while also outspeeding neutral natured ones too. If that failed, well the next poke ought to help cover a few more things.
Another Lightning Rod for Gyarados / Celesteela, fire damage, ghost damage and ground damage that won't get wide guarded. Seemed too good to pass up, shores up more resistances against Fire/Electric that the team is quite weak to. The 4 Speed IV is to outspeed other Marowaks as they will kill each other.
Ok I admit, this is a case of "slap 252/252 on a special attacker and just pray it works", but it means I can challenge other terrains, denies priority moves and adds more varying damage types to the team. I'm really unsure about its final move, as I currently have it as Taunt, but Energy Ball OHKOs Gastrodon and expands move coverage... I really don't know here, but I do know that she fits very well Type-wise and seems to make sense as a final slot. This is where I need help the most. Tapu Bulu adds another Fire weakness to the team, Tapu Koko adds another Earth weakness and Tapu Fini another electric weakness (even though double lightning rods).
At the end of the day, this team seems solid when playing on showdown, but I'm not playing against serious teams yet... So I'm all ears as to improvement on this.
The pokes:
L50 Gyarados @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs - All 31
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs - All 31
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Dragon Dance
Dragon Dance Gyarados, pretty simple stuff, although lack of protect can be considered a downside. Hits hard and fast, especially with the next 'mon leading.
L50 Togedemaru @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs - All 31
- Fake Out
- Zing Zap
- Nuzzle
- Spiky Shield
While this may not protect against a discharge on Gyarados, this does great work, protects from his biggest weakness, adds fake out support... Only thing it doesn't do well is Steel damage, because Gyro Ball does basically no damage with that much speed and there are no other options, I chose Nuzzle instead, because a little bit of paralysis can always be a nuisance. Sitrus Berry is a bit of a random item, but i couldn't put sash on this guy, that's due to the next pair which is...
L50 Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs All 31
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab
- Protect
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs All 31
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab
- Protect
Good old Garchomp, speedy, stabby goodness that is usually an utter terror. One big counter it has (that the next poke can't check that well) is Salamence, but Gyarados manages him pretty well most of the time. As for the other weaknesses...
L50 Celesteela @ Firium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs 244 Hp / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs 0 Atk, others 31
- Flash Cannon
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs 244 Hp / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs 0 Atk, others 31
- Flash Cannon
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Celesteela in its special attack mode, with flash cannon and air slash STABs and protect, one more move was necessary, so I picked Fire Blast, or rather Firium Z. This is enough to have an 87.5% chance OHKO other Celesteela in normal conditions, with 252 Hp / 4 SpD and a non SpD modifying nature, which I thought would be a nice trump card to have against them, while also outspeeding neutral natured ones too. If that failed, well the next poke ought to help cover a few more things.
L50 A-Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs 4 Spe, others 31
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang
- Protect
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs 4 Spe, others 31
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang
- Protect
Another Lightning Rod for Gyarados / Celesteela, fire damage, ghost damage and ground damage that won't get wide guarded. Seemed too good to pass up, shores up more resistances against Fire/Electric that the team is quite weak to. The 4 Speed IV is to outspeed other Marowaks as they will kill each other.
L50 Tapu Lele @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball? Taunt?
- Protect
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball? Taunt?
- Protect
Ok I admit, this is a case of "slap 252/252 on a special attacker and just pray it works", but it means I can challenge other terrains, denies priority moves and adds more varying damage types to the team. I'm really unsure about its final move, as I currently have it as Taunt, but Energy Ball OHKOs Gastrodon and expands move coverage... I really don't know here, but I do know that she fits very well Type-wise and seems to make sense as a final slot. This is where I need help the most. Tapu Bulu adds another Fire weakness to the team, Tapu Koko adds another Earth weakness and Tapu Fini another electric weakness (even though double lightning rods).
At the end of the day, this team seems solid when playing on showdown, but I'm not playing against serious teams yet... So I'm all ears as to improvement on this.
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