So, well. This is my first time making a RTM thread ever, although I've been playing competitively since the DPP era. I've had many hiatuses during my Pokémon competitive experience, and I just recently returned because of the release of Gen VI, so I might be somewhat outdated, especially since I missed out on most of the BW2 era.
My team current team is the result of a large trial-and-error process, as it started with a mixture of Pokémon I used during past Gens (such as Tyranitar) and Pokémon I liked from this Gen (such as Talonflame). So far, my team doesn't resemble my first attempts at all, but I'm quite happy with how it turned to be, based on gaining momentum via U-Turn and Volt Switch, useful pivots and fast and powerful killers.
My Team:
1.- Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Tailwind
Talonflame is, easily, one of the biggest threats in the current metagame. A Brave Bird from Banded Talonflame is able to score OHKOs on a ton of popular Pokémon, even without entry hazard support! M-Lucarios, M-Gardevoirs, M-Charizard-Ys and pretty much any Pokémon that is not a physical wall or doesn't resist Flying gets absolutely destroyed by Brave Bird, that's why Talonflame has been an unconditional member of my teams since the very beginning. Also, I opted for a Choice Band because Brave Bird is pretty much the only attack I will be using (and U-Turn, when facing something it can't OHKO with BB), but also because it works extremely well with a Volt-Turn offensive core, and the extra power it gets from the beginning without having to set-up is just too good! Passive damage is not a concern, since Talonflame will act mainly as some sort of kamikaze revenge killer, being able to take down, at least, 2 opposing Pokémon with proper prediction before being taken down. As a last remark, the Speed EVs are just enough to outspeed Thundurus-T, as well as pretty much every other non-scarfed common Pokémon that resists Brave Bird, so I will be able to hit them with Flare Blitz, and the remaining EVs go to HP, as Talonflame will need as much as possible to inflict as much damage as possible to the opponent. I have never used Tailwind, but it's there just to fill the 4th slot.
2.- Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
Along with Talonflame, Genesect acts as my second revenge killer of sorts. With a Choice Scarf, it has access to one of the fastest and most powerful U-Turns in the game, which helps to heavily dent whatever the opponent switches into it (except double-resists, like Heatran).
Also, just like Scizor, Genesect forms a perfect core with Talonflame, Landorus-T and Rotom, with them being able to cover each other's weaknesses, maintain momentum and kill stuff, all at the same time! Iron Head deals with Rock-types that threaten Talonflame and, at +1, it is perfectly capable of cleaning up a weakened team during late game. Flamethrower destroys M-Lucario (it also resists both Extreme Speed and Bullet Punch, although Vacuum Wave might be a problem), Excadrill, Aegislash, Breloom and Steel-types in general. I opted for Thunderbolt over Ice Beam, since bulky Water-types have been quite troublesome for my team (Crobat can shut them down for a while, and Rotom-W can deal some damage with Volt Switch, but they can only score a 3HKO at best) and Landorus-T can already handle Garchomp, Dragonite (without Ice Punch), Salamence and Gliscor well enough with Hidden Power Ice.
3.- Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
The pivot par excellence, Rotom-W assists my team in various ways. First, it complements the main Volt-Turn core, being able to easily tank what threatens Genesect (Fire), Talonflame (Water, Electric and Rock) and Landorus-T (Water and Ice); second, it dents opposing physical sweepers with the omnipresent Will-O-Wisp and, finally, it provides special attacks required to deal with certain threats that my physical attackers might not be able to deal with. It can take on Heatran, Gyarados, Tyranitar, and opposing Genesect and Talonflame. Pain Split gives him a recovery method, which is extremely important, as I will be using Rotom-W as some sort of status absorber without any serious consequences.
The decision between Bold and Calm Nature was not easy: I played most of my games with a Bold Rotom-W, which can check Talonflame, Belly Drum Azumarill and Cloyster much better, as well as take a hit from a powerful physical attacker and then burn in response; however, my team was quite vulnerable to special attackers (Shadow Ball Aegislash and Nasty Plot M-Lucario, mainly) and I already had a physically defensive pivot in the form of Landorus-T, so I decided to try out Calm Rotom-W. So far, I feel it has had similar success to its physically defensive counterpart and, although I have to worry less about special attackers in general, I now tend to struggle against Belly Drum Azumarill and Cloyster, especially if Talonflame is already down. So I guess I'll just stick with the Calm variant unless I find Azumarill and Cloyster to be dangerous enough for my team to handle.
4.- Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Spd / 60 Def
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Taunt
- U-Turn
At first, I was intending to stick to the traditional Rapid Spin formula, using Forretress, Starmie and many others in order to clear away the Stealth Rocks that threaten Talonflame so badly, as he is one of the most important members of my team; however, I came to the conclusion that, with many powerful and annoying Ghost-types out there (such as Aegislash, Trevenant, Jellicent and Gourgheist), relying on Rapid Spin to eliminate hazards was quite inefficient. So I started using the only viable Pre-Bank Defogger, and I came to realize how good it is! During Pokébank games, I tried to use Latias as my Defogger and Special Tank of sorts, but Fairies, Tyranitar, Scizor and Knock-Off users made her practically useless.
At the same time, I noticed that my team struggled so badly against stallers and stall teams in general (Trevenant, Gourgheist, Clefable, Ferrothorn, bulky Ghosts, etc), so I decided to start using Crobat once again. Yes, he is weak to Stealth Rock, but his bulk and typing help him get an easy Roost to recover from SR damage. Infiltrator and a fast Taunt also work miracles against stallers in general, as he is immune to Toxic. Originally, I was using Brave Bird in the last slot with 60 Atk EVs just so that he could kill weakened foes and punish Substitute users, but I then experimented with U-Turn a little and am now very satisfied with the results, as it contributes to the team's overall theme (Taunting and then U-Turning to something like Talonflame or Genesect to keep the pressure up). Since Brobat will be acting as a stallbreaker pivot, I moved the 60 Atk EVs to Def in order to add extra bulkiness to his physical side. The Speed EVs are just enough to reach 380, which outspeeds Noivern and every base 123.
5.- Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 Spd
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Smack Down
The standard physically defensive pivot. As I already described, he forms a great Volt-Turn core with Talonflame, Genesect and Rotom-W. He comes in, forces switches and U-Turns away so that a powerful attacker, like Talonflame or M-Mawile can come in and start to rip holes through the opposing team. The ever spammable Earthquake deals with tanks like Heatran, who wall Talonflame and Genesect, and HP Ice helps Landorus-T to better handle the pseudo-legendary dragons and Gliscor. The last slot had been used for Stealth Rock, but I rarely used it, since using U-Turn as the opponent switches out is generally more important to keep momentum, and having a Defogger means that I need to remove first the opposing hazard setter, which is not always the case when Landorus-T is out, so I decided to run Smack Down in order to counter Talonflame and most switch-ins that typically expect to cover an Earthquake with their immunities.
Landorus-T also works fantastically with my final team member, Mawile.
6.- Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
Mawile is what I chose to occupy my Mega-slot, as it works as a powerful, bulky attacker who benefits from the momentum gained by his team members, especially Landorus-T. He comes during a U-Turn, Intimidates, forces something out while putting up a Substitute and then starts to wreak havoc, especially towards problematic Ghost-Types who rely on inflicting status to Mawile to keep him in check. The Substitute forces them to attack and immediately become vulnerable to a Huge Power-boosted Sucker Punch in the face. With a Substitute, Mawile manages to stay safe from Will-O-Wisps and Thunder Waves and keep applying pressure on the opponent. Play Rough is for STAB and Focus Punch complements the utility of running Substitute, as well as rounding up for excellent coverage.
Mawile also acts as an excellent check to Knock-Off users, lowering their attack, resisting the hit and protecting his teammates from losing their items, altogether with the ability to OHKO most of them with Play Rough or setting up a Substitute on the switch.
The Speed EVs are just enough to outspeed base 65's, so that he can use a Substitute before Jellicent and Trevenant try to burn him, as well as going first against Scizor.
My team current team is the result of a large trial-and-error process, as it started with a mixture of Pokémon I used during past Gens (such as Tyranitar) and Pokémon I liked from this Gen (such as Talonflame). So far, my team doesn't resemble my first attempts at all, but I'm quite happy with how it turned to be, based on gaining momentum via U-Turn and Volt Switch, useful pivots and fast and powerful killers.
My Team:
1.- Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Tailwind
Talonflame is, easily, one of the biggest threats in the current metagame. A Brave Bird from Banded Talonflame is able to score OHKOs on a ton of popular Pokémon, even without entry hazard support! M-Lucarios, M-Gardevoirs, M-Charizard-Ys and pretty much any Pokémon that is not a physical wall or doesn't resist Flying gets absolutely destroyed by Brave Bird, that's why Talonflame has been an unconditional member of my teams since the very beginning. Also, I opted for a Choice Band because Brave Bird is pretty much the only attack I will be using (and U-Turn, when facing something it can't OHKO with BB), but also because it works extremely well with a Volt-Turn offensive core, and the extra power it gets from the beginning without having to set-up is just too good! Passive damage is not a concern, since Talonflame will act mainly as some sort of kamikaze revenge killer, being able to take down, at least, 2 opposing Pokémon with proper prediction before being taken down. As a last remark, the Speed EVs are just enough to outspeed Thundurus-T, as well as pretty much every other non-scarfed common Pokémon that resists Brave Bird, so I will be able to hit them with Flare Blitz, and the remaining EVs go to HP, as Talonflame will need as much as possible to inflict as much damage as possible to the opponent. I have never used Tailwind, but it's there just to fill the 4th slot.
2.- Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
Along with Talonflame, Genesect acts as my second revenge killer of sorts. With a Choice Scarf, it has access to one of the fastest and most powerful U-Turns in the game, which helps to heavily dent whatever the opponent switches into it (except double-resists, like Heatran).
Also, just like Scizor, Genesect forms a perfect core with Talonflame, Landorus-T and Rotom, with them being able to cover each other's weaknesses, maintain momentum and kill stuff, all at the same time! Iron Head deals with Rock-types that threaten Talonflame and, at +1, it is perfectly capable of cleaning up a weakened team during late game. Flamethrower destroys M-Lucario (it also resists both Extreme Speed and Bullet Punch, although Vacuum Wave might be a problem), Excadrill, Aegislash, Breloom and Steel-types in general. I opted for Thunderbolt over Ice Beam, since bulky Water-types have been quite troublesome for my team (Crobat can shut them down for a while, and Rotom-W can deal some damage with Volt Switch, but they can only score a 3HKO at best) and Landorus-T can already handle Garchomp, Dragonite (without Ice Punch), Salamence and Gliscor well enough with Hidden Power Ice.
3.- Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 28 SAtk / 232 SDef
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
The pivot par excellence, Rotom-W assists my team in various ways. First, it complements the main Volt-Turn core, being able to easily tank what threatens Genesect (Fire), Talonflame (Water, Electric and Rock) and Landorus-T (Water and Ice); second, it dents opposing physical sweepers with the omnipresent Will-O-Wisp and, finally, it provides special attacks required to deal with certain threats that my physical attackers might not be able to deal with. It can take on Heatran, Gyarados, Tyranitar, and opposing Genesect and Talonflame. Pain Split gives him a recovery method, which is extremely important, as I will be using Rotom-W as some sort of status absorber without any serious consequences.
The decision between Bold and Calm Nature was not easy: I played most of my games with a Bold Rotom-W, which can check Talonflame, Belly Drum Azumarill and Cloyster much better, as well as take a hit from a powerful physical attacker and then burn in response; however, my team was quite vulnerable to special attackers (Shadow Ball Aegislash and Nasty Plot M-Lucario, mainly) and I already had a physically defensive pivot in the form of Landorus-T, so I decided to try out Calm Rotom-W. So far, I feel it has had similar success to its physically defensive counterpart and, although I have to worry less about special attackers in general, I now tend to struggle against Belly Drum Azumarill and Cloyster, especially if Talonflame is already down. So I guess I'll just stick with the Calm variant unless I find Azumarill and Cloyster to be dangerous enough for my team to handle.
4.- Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Spd / 60 Def
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Taunt
- U-Turn
At first, I was intending to stick to the traditional Rapid Spin formula, using Forretress, Starmie and many others in order to clear away the Stealth Rocks that threaten Talonflame so badly, as he is one of the most important members of my team; however, I came to the conclusion that, with many powerful and annoying Ghost-types out there (such as Aegislash, Trevenant, Jellicent and Gourgheist), relying on Rapid Spin to eliminate hazards was quite inefficient. So I started using the only viable Pre-Bank Defogger, and I came to realize how good it is! During Pokébank games, I tried to use Latias as my Defogger and Special Tank of sorts, but Fairies, Tyranitar, Scizor and Knock-Off users made her practically useless.
At the same time, I noticed that my team struggled so badly against stallers and stall teams in general (Trevenant, Gourgheist, Clefable, Ferrothorn, bulky Ghosts, etc), so I decided to start using Crobat once again. Yes, he is weak to Stealth Rock, but his bulk and typing help him get an easy Roost to recover from SR damage. Infiltrator and a fast Taunt also work miracles against stallers in general, as he is immune to Toxic. Originally, I was using Brave Bird in the last slot with 60 Atk EVs just so that he could kill weakened foes and punish Substitute users, but I then experimented with U-Turn a little and am now very satisfied with the results, as it contributes to the team's overall theme (Taunting and then U-Turning to something like Talonflame or Genesect to keep the pressure up). Since Brobat will be acting as a stallbreaker pivot, I moved the 60 Atk EVs to Def in order to add extra bulkiness to his physical side. The Speed EVs are just enough to reach 380, which outspeeds Noivern and every base 123.
5.- Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 Spd
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Smack Down
The standard physically defensive pivot. As I already described, he forms a great Volt-Turn core with Talonflame, Genesect and Rotom-W. He comes in, forces switches and U-Turns away so that a powerful attacker, like Talonflame or M-Mawile can come in and start to rip holes through the opposing team. The ever spammable Earthquake deals with tanks like Heatran, who wall Talonflame and Genesect, and HP Ice helps Landorus-T to better handle the pseudo-legendary dragons and Gliscor. The last slot had been used for Stealth Rock, but I rarely used it, since using U-Turn as the opponent switches out is generally more important to keep momentum, and having a Defogger means that I need to remove first the opposing hazard setter, which is not always the case when Landorus-T is out, so I decided to run Smack Down in order to counter Talonflame and most switch-ins that typically expect to cover an Earthquake with their immunities.
Landorus-T also works fantastically with my final team member, Mawile.
6.- Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
Mawile is what I chose to occupy my Mega-slot, as it works as a powerful, bulky attacker who benefits from the momentum gained by his team members, especially Landorus-T. He comes during a U-Turn, Intimidates, forces something out while putting up a Substitute and then starts to wreak havoc, especially towards problematic Ghost-Types who rely on inflicting status to Mawile to keep him in check. The Substitute forces them to attack and immediately become vulnerable to a Huge Power-boosted Sucker Punch in the face. With a Substitute, Mawile manages to stay safe from Will-O-Wisps and Thunder Waves and keep applying pressure on the opponent. Play Rough is for STAB and Focus Punch complements the utility of running Substitute, as well as rounding up for excellent coverage.
Mawile also acts as an excellent check to Knock-Off users, lowering their attack, resisting the hit and protecting his teammates from losing their items, altogether with the ability to OHKO most of them with Play Rough or setting up a Substitute on the switch.
The Speed EVs are just enough to outspeed base 65's, so that he can use a Substitute before Jellicent and Trevenant try to burn him, as well as going first against Scizor.
