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V1.0
Being a Canadian, I don't know much about the war in Vietnam (bad excuse, though...), but as far as I know, it was a failed attempt. Right? Well, I named my team this because it was a failed attempt as well. After taking a break from Pokemon for Brawl, and many other things, I was hoping to get back into the game. I think I can learn a lot by posting an RMT of a "failed" team idea. People can point out why the team did badly, or at least, worse than I had expected, and offer suggestions. The idea of the team was U-turn; I'll try to keep the upper hand as far as matchups go, by perpetually using U-turn/Baton Pass. This may lead to some interesting mindgames. For example, having Infernape in on an opposing Blissey (after
V2.0
I have made some revisions; I replaced Blissey with Spiritomb, and gave Infernape a Life Orb over a Choice Band.
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Flyboy (Flygon) @ Choice Scarf
Naughty | Levitate
EVs: 252 At, 120 Sa, 136 Sp
-Earthquake
-Draco Meteor
-Stone Edge
-U-turn
If you look through the list of Pokemon that can learn U-turn, you'll notice that most of the viable Pokemon are Flying-types, with some Bug-types thrown in there. This means that Ice, Rock, Electric, and Fire are great resistances to have on this team. There are only two Pokemon that learn U-turn who also resist Rock, so I just about had to have either Jirachi or Flygon on my team if I wanted to let most of my Pokemon use U-turn. Despite being generally inferior to Garchomp, Flygon learns U-turn, so he fit with my team much better than the land shark. One thing I wanted when I started to make this team was a quick U-turning lead, and I think I accomplish this with Flygon, who has performed well for me. If Flygon can't take out my opponent's lead, I just U-turn, and choose the correct Pokemon to counter what Flyboy can't. Having a quick lead that U-turns generally gives me an advantage early in the game, which can be crucial for an offensive team (I think). Yes, I this team isn't as offensive as I would have liked, but I'll talk about that later. Anyway, having a U-turner for a lead is great, but how does it perform later? Well, it's a nice set, but I wish Garchomp had U-turn. :P Well, maybe not, but I find that the speed isn't always enough, and it's not as if I can take any points from attack or special attack, Flygon needs those dearly. There's no point in hitting first if you can't even OHKO Deoxys-A. I remember when beating ScarfCross was good enough... now I have to deal with frickin' Timid ScarfGar? >.<; Flygon performs well in the initial matchup, well enough when he reappears, and provides some key resistances. I just wish he either had a bit more speed or power.
The nickname should be simple enough to figure out. Flyboy is a casual name for a pilot, and it fit, since Flygon and Flyboy's first three letters match, and since Flygon looks like he's wearing goggles.
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Hanuman (Infernape) @ Choice Band
Jolly | Blaze
EVs: 252 At, 252 Sp, 6 Hp
-Close Combat
-Flare Blitz
-Thunderpunch/Stone Edge
-U-turn
I also wanted one overpowered U-turner on the team, to really wear down the opponent before making a final sweep with one decently powerful Pokemon. I think Infernape fills both of those requests. His typing may not be the greatest, but he fits well with the team better than you may think. Fire and Ice resistances are great for my team, and I can afford some sloppiness when it comes to type combinations; Infernape is the only Pokemon here with more than two weaknesses. Anyway, physical LO Ape is pretty beastly. He knocks a good third off Cresselia with U-turn, who is an extremely common switch-in. Flare Blitz can sometimes be troublesome, especially with Life Orb, but it prevents the limitations that the Choice Band places on U-turners. For those who don't know what the limitations do, they basically force a Choice'd U-turn recipient with U-turn in a moveslot to continue using that move. If your opponent knows this, it can get you into trouble. I chose Stone Edge over Thunderpunch because I already have Zapdos for a better Gyara killer, and Stone Edge pairs better with Close Combat (I won't want to be using U-turn as a combat move too much, or Flare Blitz too early).
I believe Hanuman is a Hindu Monkey God.
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Horus (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Modest | Pressure
EVs: 220 Hp, 252 Sa, 36 Sp
-Thunderbolt
-HP Ice
-Roost
-U-turn
I wanted something that could take hits from all of the overpowered Fighting types and CC users out there, and I also needed a special sweeper (not that I build teams by roles, but it's still good to keep a balance, so you can't throw the whole thing out the window...), so Zapdos popped out at me. While he isn't a Bold version (as Bold ones generally aren't as offensively powerful...), he can take hits well enough, and then Roost them off. If they stay in, I'll be Pressure stalling their CC power, and gaining a little bit of Hp every turn. If they switch, I'm back up at full health, and ready to U-turn the Blissey they shoved in there. The EV spread might be a little weird, but I really think that it's the best for a Modest Zapdos, more specifically, one with Roost. 36 speed allows me to get the jump on anything trying to beat Jolly Tyranitar (which, although I haven't seen many Jolly T-tars, seems to be a common number to go for), a good speed number to hit, at a low EV cost. The only thing I miss outspeeding between this, and 252 speed, is SpecsLuke/SD Luke. The 220 EVs in Hp have served me much better than they would have in speed. Still, he's not as defensive as I originally thought he would be, and though he sits pretty, taking only 32% - 38% from CB Hera's Close Combat, any residual damage can really screw him up. I have considered taking some from special attack, and putting it into Defense, or Hp, or some from Hp to put it into Defense, but I really don't know how much, or if I even should. Opinions here would really be appreciated. Other than that, this is a pretty standard Zapdos. U-turn is fairly weak on him, but damage isn't the primary goal when using that move. I had wanted to use Zapdos ever since his typing really screwed me up a couple of times, and he has proven himself useful.
Horus was the name Anti gave the Zapdos in his Wifi shop, and since I used his as a substitute for a while (Timid Zapdos... pff), I decided to keep the name for my Modest one. As far as I know, it's the name of some Thunder God...
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Ness (Vaporeon) @ Leftovers
Bold | Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP, 252 De, 68 Sa
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Wish
-Baton Pass
For a tanky Pokemon, Vaporeon is offensive enough. I really wanted to use Baton Pass and Wish, however, as Vaporeon benefits from being able to heal herself, and this team could potentially take a lot of passive damage from entry hazards, due to switching. Baton Pass should be obvious, especially while paired with Wish. The Surf and Ice Beam combo is decent, but I don't know if I should switch Ice Beam for Hidden Power Electric, or not. I would like some opinions. I can usually handle Gyara with Zapdos, but I have a couple of ways to deal with Garchomp, too (though I guess you can never have enough). Opinions? The EV spread is standard, and it works, though I haven't tried out any variations. This is/was (sorry for all of the tense changes, I'm not so great with those) my first time using Vaporeon, and I have to say that I like him. Water Absorb can be very useful. Though the Suicune analysis says that Vappy stops the wet wolf cold, I find that neither can do much damage to either, and usually lead to Struggle Wars. I don't even think that HP Electric would help all that much. But that's not too big a deal, I can usually land a good hit with Infernape, or sacrifice Forry to take it out. I think that I would enjoy an extra moveslot on Vaporeon, though, since I often wish for Protect. The attack type combination is easily walled, too.
The nickname was kind of a Joke. A friend had named his Vaporeon "Lucas" (Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mother 3), so I decided to name mine "Ness" (SSBB, Mother 1&2), another character in the same series. I guess I should have named him "Claus" (Mother 3, Lucas' twin), but I like "Ness", because it alludes to that sea monster thing.
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Dizzy (Forretress) @ Leftovers
Impish | Sturdy
EVs: 252 Hp, 162 At, 96 De
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Explosion
-Earthquake
The first thing I looked for was a Rapid Spinner and a Spiker/SRer, and since few-none of them can U-turn, I thought it would be best to bunch the two roles together into one Pokemon, and make that the Pokemon that was out of place. Really, though, Forretress fits the team better than most. He can save the other five (especially Zapdos) a whole lot of trouble by wiping off any Spikes or Rocks, and adding his own Rocks, to further abuse this team's high switching style. Though I often curse it's Rock and Ground neutralities, it performs well as a physical tank if I need one. It's job is mainly to keep my opponent's rocks off the board, place it's own, and then Explode when I feel that the entry hazards will remain in my favour, taking down any of my opponent's more threatening Pokemon. Earthquake is a pretty standard move on Forretress, but I have considered replacing it with Gyro Ball, lowering the speed, and using Macho Brace. After some careful thought, I decided that Leftovers were too valuable, even on something that wasn't meant to live forever. This isn't a closed matter, however; that's why I'm posting an RMT. :)
Dizzy? Get it? 'Cause it's a spinner... ? Eh?
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Phantasm (Spiritomb) @ Leftovers
Careful | Pressure
EVs: 252 Hp, 116 Sd, 140 At
-Pursuit
-Sucker Punch
-Will-o-wisp
-Pain Split
My Blissey replacement. I had some troubles with a couple of key Pokemon, Lucario being one of them, and decided that Spiritomb could fit here. Pain Split has proved more reliable that it is made out to be. Right now, this is just the standard, but I will likely deviate in the future. Spiritomb does a great job of burning things that otherwise might break through my defenses (Garchomp, Mamoswine, Lucario), but as it isn't a lead, and doesn't need to worry about burning Enemy Weavile leads, etc., I might switch to Hypnosis. I was considering a sleep talker, but it would lose it's ability to status, and reliably Pursuit, if I opted for superior coverage and status absorption. I have to say that my dislike of Spiritomb has lessened of late, after checking him out more thoroughly, and trying him. Exchanging a Fighting weakness for an immunity may also open doors for other Pokemon switches.
A phantasm is an apparation, illusion, or spectre.
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So, that's my team. The explanation of how they work in tandem should be sprinkled in and around the individual explanations. While it may not "fail" as much as I originally said it does, it still missed the mark. I would appreciate any and all suggestions that help me fix this, or learn, because that's why I'm having you RMT something old. Thanks in advance for all your help! Edits will come as necessary.
