Weatherless Offense. Give me your thoughts?

[raedon70]

Introduction:

Hi there! This is my first RMT so I apologize if it's not as aesthetically appealing. I've only recently began playing on Pokemon Showdown (three months-ish) and have been absent from Pokemon since Pokemon Emerald came out.
I'm not entirely sure what the goal or strategy of this team is but it's offensively oriented with Stealth Rock and Wish support.

Team Building:

When I sat down to make a team, I wanted Terrakion to be in it. After reading Smogon's article about him I chose a Substitute-Swords Dance set and also decided to add in Specially Defensive Jirachi to support him. They cover each other's weaknesses decently, leaving only Water, Fighting, and Ground.

Next, I wanted a hard hitting Special Attacker. I chose Choice Specs Latios for this spot because he resists the previous three weaknesses and only brings a net Ghost weakness to the team.

I then wanted a bulky offensive Pokemon who could give momentum. Scizor was my first option but then i realized Rotom-Wash would be better because of it's access to Will-o-wisp, Volt Switch for Rain teams, and an additional Ground immunity.

I wanted a Pokemon who could outrun nearly everything to revenge kill so I put in Choice Scarf Gengar with four attacks.

For my last slot, I was really unsure as to what Pokemon I needed so I decided to put in Mamoswine to set up Stealth Rocks because he seems like a good lead if Rotom-W finds it dangerous to do so.

Here's a link to the teambuilder i used. It doesn't take abilities into consideration so it says the team has four pokemon weak to ground when in reality only two are weak and three are immune.
http://www.marriland.com/tools/team-builder#1291|1037|1033|1505|746|1125|

After reading Halcyon's comment, I realized that +1 Volcarona was a big threat so I changed Terrakion to a Scarf set (to outspeed and kill Volcarona) and replaced Gengar with Sash Alakazam like he recommended. I'll put the changes in red and include the link to the new team's weaknesses/resistances.
http://www.marriland.com/tools/team-builder#1291|1037|1033|1505|717|1125|

The Team:

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Terrakion is my one and only set-up sweeper.I wasn't sure what to put for the item at first but I found myself preserving him too much to make use of Salac Berry and I just didn't like Life Orb's recoil added on with the 25% health lost from using Substitute.

Terrakion is my answer to Volcarona as he can outspeed and OHKO with either rock move. Rock Slide is there if I only need him to kill something and switch back out since Stone Edge's accuracy is shaky. X-Scissor gives me another answer to Lati@s besides Mamoswine's Ice Shard since my own Latios will lose the speed tie due to running Hidden Power Fire.

I can also make use of Justified by switching him in on incoming Dark moves that are aimed at Latios and Alakazam.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 224 SDef / 252 HP / 32 Spd
Careful Nature
- Healing Wish
- Wish
- Body Slam
- Iron Head

Jirachi is here to hand out health points to the team and is also immune to the ever present Toxic so it's an okay switch in on status moves.

I originally had Stealth Rocks instead of Healing Wish on this set but moved it to Mamoswine as he could lead with rocks more safely.

I also considered U-Turn for a VoltTurn core but felt it wasn't as good since this Jirachi isn't too fast nor powerful and because this team has four fast and hard hitting candidates for Healing Wish.

Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Talk

Nothing special about this Latios.

I chose Hidden Power Fire over Surf because I don't have Rain on this team and HP Fire allows me to hit Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Forretress who shrug off Latios's other two moves.

Sleep talk is here so I can have a safe switch into Sleep inducing moves (most notably Breloom's Spore).

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 136 HP / 232 Spd / 140 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch

Rotom-Wash is another status eater. The washing machine doesn't mind the Attack drop from burns and has Pain Split to play around when Toxic-ed.

This guy also functions as a lead if it is unsafe for Mamoswine because of it's ability to hit four of the five weather inducers super effectively and ability to get out with Volt Switch.

Alakazam (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Alakazam operates as a revenge killer as well as just an offensive powerhouse.

Hidden Power Fire is used for the same reason as Latios: to blast past Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Forretress.
Signal Beam is chosen over Shadow Ball as it allows me to hit Lati@s as well as Celebi. Alakazam doesn't need to use Shadow Ball to dispose of Gengar as it has access to Psyshock, however it does prevents me from killing Jellicent.

Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This is the standard set for Lead Mamoswine. If he doesn't have to suicide, he can be used to deal decent damage later on in the game with his two STAB moves.

Rather than include another attacking move, I chose Endeavor to take advantage of the 1% HP after Focus Sash activates.

Ice Shard over Icicle Spear/Icicle Crash to get the jump on Dragons, Thundurus-T, and Venusaur who would otherwise outspeed Mamoswine.

Thanks for reading, all suggestions are welcome!

 

[Halcyon.]

Hey raedon70

This is a very well made standard offensive team. Right off the bat, you don't have too many inherent weaknesses, and your team has great synergy, so I'm sure it functions well when playing on the ladder.

The thing with this team (and most offensive teams for that matter, is that you have to play perfectly. If you make a single mistake, then the opponent will be able to wriggle their way past your synergy and defeat you. For example, as soon as you use Draco Meteor on Latios, or Focus Blast on Gengar, a Volcarona is sure to come in and set up a Quiver Dance. At +1, Volcarona murders your entire team with Fire Blast, Bug Buzz, and Giga Drain. In fact, sun teams in general give this team a headache. You can't really take sun boosted Fire attacks, or take on Chlorophyll sweepers (Mamoswine only does about half to Venusaur without Life Orb). With that said, I suggest you change Terrakion to a Scarf set. I think that, as far as Scarfed Pokémon go, Gengar is a poor choice for your team. You don't have any hazards besides Stealth Rock that you absolutely have to keep on the field, and there are few things that Gengar can revenge kill that Terrakion can't, but Gengar has no way of revenge killing Volcarona. With Terrakion, though, you still revenge kill Gyarados, Dragonite, Salamence, etc., but you also can take down Volcarona before it has a chance to Giga Drain your health away.

And now that Gengar isn't Scarfed, I wonder if it is really any use to your team at all. It helps take care of Ghosts like Jellicant, which can be a pain to face, but you really don't need a spin blocker, and the ground immunity isn't all that helpful anyway. Instead, I would try Sash Alakazam over Gengar. Alakazam is one of the best Pokémon for offensive teams, since it can almost always get two attacks in, and it is guaranteed to get two. With Alakazam, even if a Venusaur or Swords Dance Scizor becomes an issue, then Alakazam can come in and stop them, no problem. It generally helps your team more than Gengar does now that it isn't your Scarf user. And added insurance against the setup sweepers I mentioned in addition to Scarf Latios (if Jirachi is taken out), Keldeo (if Rotom-W / Latios are taken out), and other powerful offensive Pokémon. I suggest you use Hidden Power Fire, since Swords Dance Scizor is a bit of an issue for your team if you miss Will-O-Wisp. Besides, you have Mamo and Terrakion to revenge kill all the things that Alakazam would be killing with HP Ice.

Other than that, though, this is incredibly solid! Hope I was able to help, good luck with the team!

Sets/Changes

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide

 

[Jimbon]

Hi there, almost finished my rate before I accidentally deleted it so I'll do this again...

Solid team, but like Halcyon stated, your biggest problem is setup sweepers on opposing offense teams, while Rain Teams spamming Hydro Pump also look a little scary. The two sweepers that look the scariest for this team are Quiver Dance Volcarona and Dragon Dance Dragonite, both of which are very common on offensive teams. Volcarona can switch in on -2 Latios, while Volcarona looks to be even more threatening on Sun Teams, as it can even uses Rotom-W as setup fodder and can break through Jirachi without a Quiver Dance boost. Dragonite on the other hand gets a free Dragon Dance from Alakazam, while also being able to get a couple against your choiced users locked into the wrong move. To help with this, I'd strongly recommend changing your current Choice Scarf Terrakion to a Focus Sash Lead set. This set does patch up some of your problems, namely being able to guarantee Stealth Rock against the most common lead matchups [Politoed, Ninetales, Tyranitar, Skarmory] while also being able to prevent your opponent from getting Stealth Rock up which is something that Mamoswine fails to do when used as a lead. Additionally, Terrakion also allows you to beat the aforementioned setup sweepers in a 1 on 1 situation, while also being able to reliably get Stealth Rock down fast enough limiting how threatening Dragonite and Volcarona are to this team. While Terrakion is not wholely reliable against either of these, it at least gives you some extra insurance against them and my next change should see that they're no longer that problematic.

I've already established that the biggest threat to this team are setup sweepers that setup very quickly, but there is a way you can buffer the effectiveness of these sweepers. A simple change that would help your problem would be to drop Will-O-Wisp in favor of Thunder Wave for Rotom-W, which allows you to completely shut down the majority of setup sweepers. DD Dragonite and QD Volcarona automatically stop becoming a threat after you hit them with Thunder Wave, while you also gain the ability to cripple some of the more threatening members of Rain Teams that look troublesome for this team, most notably Analytic Starmie and Choice Scarf Keldeo / Politoed. The loss of Will-O-Wisp is not that big a deal here, as I'd argue this team would benefit more from paralysis support, especially given the lack of a setup sweeper to take advantage of the burn and considering that paralysis support makes opposing offense 10x easier to deal with.

Whilst looking over your team I also noticed your Jirachi's moveset and questioned the effectiveness of Healing Wish. Jirachi acts as the main buffer for Dragon moves on this team, primarily Draco Meteors, while also being able to take on the majority of special attackers in the tier. Losing your only bulky defensive Pokemon in one turn can easily leave you open to choiced users, especially Choice Scarf Pokemon that outspeed your whole team. I'd strongly consider trying out U-Turn in place of it, even if you have previously disliked it. If you're going to use U-Turn in place of Healing Wish, then I'd also recommend you change your Jirachi's EV spread to 252 HP / 160 SDef / 96 Spe with a Jolly Nature, which allows you to get the jump on Mamoswine who also looks threatening if you fail to prevent hazards. The speed investment is crucial here as you can bluff Jirachi as an offensive set while U-Turning out on stuff like Latias and Alakazam into one of your own sweepers, not only keeping your set surprised but also gaining momentum and a safe switch for your more frail team mates. This is even more effective combined with the Lead Terrakion as stuff like Volcarona and SD Scizor will switch into Jirachi trying to use it as setup fodder, while you switch out for free into the appropriate check.

If you choose to go with the Focus Sash Lead Terrakion set then you'll realize that you'll no longer need your Mamoswine to provide you with Stealth Rock. As a result you can change your set to something a little more beneficial for your team. I would recommend a Life Orb 4 Attacks set, as it causes trouble for Rain and Sun Teams with Ice / Ground coverage threatening Dragons and Steels respectively. Alternatively, if you feel Mamoswine isn't the best team member after it no longer provides you with Stealth Rock [if you choose to go with the Terrakion change], then you may want to try something else in that teamslot. Another option could be Rain Dance Kingdra, which helps you check Rain and puts a lot of pressure on Dragonite / Volcarona while also acting as a psuedo-scarfer and an excellent late game sweeper.

Good luck!

sets

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 32 HP / 248 SAtk / 228 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spe, -SDef)
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Waterfall / Outrage

 

[raedon70]

Hi there, almost finished my rate before I accidentally deleted it so I'll do this again...

Solid team, but like Halcyon stated, your biggest problem is setup sweepers on opposing offense teams, while Rain Teams spamming Hydro Pump also look a little scary. The two sweepers that look the scariest for this team are Quiver Dance Volcarona and Dragon Dance Dragonite, both of which are very common on offensive teams. Volcarona can switch in on -2 Latios, while Volcarona looks to be even more threatening on Sun Teams, as it can even uses Rotom-W as setup fodder and can break through Jirachi without a Quiver Dance boost. Dragonite on the other hand gets a free Dragon Dance from Alakazam, while also being able to get a couple against your choiced users locked into the wrong move. To help with this, I'd strongly recommend changing your current Choice Scarf Terrakion to a Focus Sash Lead set. This set does patch up some of your problems, namely being able to guarantee Stealth Rock against the most common lead matchups [Politoed, Ninetales, Tyranitar, Skarmory] while also being able to prevent your opponent from getting Stealth Rock up which is something that Mamoswine fails to do when used as a lead. Additionally, Terrakion also allows you to beat the aforementioned setup sweepers in a 1 on 1 situation, while also being able to reliably get Stealth Rock down fast enough limiting how threatening Dragonite and Volcarona are to this team. While Terrakion is not wholely reliable against either of these, it at least gives you some extra insurance against them and my next change should see that they're no longer that problematic.

I've already established that the biggest threat to this team are setup sweepers that setup very quickly, but there is a way you can buffer the effectiveness of these sweepers. A simple change that would help your problem would be to drop Will-O-Wisp in favor of Thunder Wave for Rotom-W, which allows you to completely shut down the majority of setup sweepers. DD Dragonite and QD Volcarona automatically stop becoming a threat after you hit them with Thunder Wave, while you also gain the ability to cripple some of the more threatening members of Rain Teams that look troublesome for this team, most notably Analytic Starmie and Choice Scarf Keldeo / Politoed. The loss of Will-O-Wisp is not that big a deal here, as I'd argue this team would benefit more from paralysis support, especially given the lack of a setup sweeper to take advantage of the burn and considering that paralysis support makes opposing offense 10x easier to deal with.

Whilst looking over your team I also noticed your Jirachi's moveset and questioned the effectiveness of Healing Wish. Jirachi acts as the main buffer for Dragon moves on this team, primarily Draco Meteors, while also being able to take on the majority of special attackers in the tier. Losing your only bulky defensive Pokemon in one turn can easily leave you open to choiced users, especially Choice Scarf Pokemon that outspeed your whole team. I'd strongly consider trying out U-Turn in place of it, even if you have previously disliked it. If you're going to use U-Turn in place of Healing Wish, then I'd also recommend you change your Jirachi's EV spread to 252 HP / 160 SDef / 96 Spe with a Jolly Nature, which allows you to get the jump on Mamoswine who also looks threatening if you fail to prevent hazards. The speed investment is crucial here as you can bluff Jirachi as an offensive set while U-Turning out on stuff like Latias and Alakazam into one of your own sweepers, not only keeping your set surprised but also gaining momentum and a safe switch for your more frail team mates. This is even more effective combined with the Lead Terrakion as stuff like Volcarona and SD Scizor will switch into Jirachi trying to use it as setup fodder, while you switch out for free into the appropriate check.

If you choose to go with the Focus Sash Lead Terrakion set then you'll realize that you'll no longer need your Mamoswine to provide you with Stealth Rock. As a result you can change your set to something a little more beneficial for your team. I would recommend a Life Orb 4 Attacks set, as it causes trouble for Rain and Sun Teams with Ice / Ground coverage threatening Dragons and Steels respectively. Alternatively, if you feel Mamoswine isn't the best team member after it no longer provides you with Stealth Rock [if you choose to go with the Terrakion change], then you may want to try something else in that teamslot. Another option could be Rain Dance Kingdra, which helps you check Rain and puts a lot of pressure on Dragonite / Volcarona while also acting as a psuedo-scarfer and an excellent late game sweeper.

Good luck!

sets

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 32 HP / 248 SAtk / 228 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spe, -SDef)
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Waterfall / Outrage

Wow, thank you so much for the large amount of information. Somehow you managed to address every problem I can remember with the team after playing some games and you also cleared up some of my suspicions.

I totally agree about the setup sweepers and specifically Dragonite. I also found that my Rotom-W and Mamoswine optional leads didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I'll try out the Terrakion set since I cant ever seem to find a good time to get rocks up with Mamoswine until late into the game which defeats the purpose.

Dropping Will-o-Wisp for Thunder Wave. That is something I haven't thought of and it makes a lot of sense; I'll definitely make that change.

I also think I may have to take up your suggested Jirachi set. You were right in that I'd often use Jirachi to absorb hits and then I'd have to make a choice between switching or giving it up outright with Healing Wish (which sometimes doesn't even work since other poke's outspeed after the big hit Jirachi blocked thus fainting it).

Mamoswine was actually my most controversial pokemon. Like I stated in the RMT, I originally had Stealth Rocks on Jirachi but moved it to Mamoswine because I was at a loss at who to pick for my sixth pokemon. I'll try out both the Life Orb Mamoswine and the Kingdra set.

Again, thank you for the advice you gave, it helped a lot.