XY Pre-Pokebank Team: Tanks & Revenge

[Genomancer]

Introduction

I'm new to competitive pokemon battles, having started with the release of X and Y. This is my XY OU (pre-pokebank) team. I've tested this on the smogon simulator ladders and after some tweaks have been having quite a lot of success, but I thought I'd bring it here for some more feedback.

The general strategy is to set up Stealth Rock with Tyrantrum or open with Delphox/Gengar to counter their likely opener (eg. Delphox to kill Gavantula). Blastoise fills an anti-ghost bulky spinner role, aegislash can sweep on its own and Sylveon is a support tank. Delphox and Gengar are set up as revenge killers / sweepers.

The biggest problems I've faced with this team so far are teams which run a large number of bulky water pokemon, which are hard to deal with. Azumaril in particular is a hard nut to crack. Any feedback would be great! :)


Team At A Glance

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---------- Tyrantrum --------------------------------------------------
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Tyrantrum (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Earthquake
- Crunch

Stealthrock is the opener, and Dragon tail is a nice general follow up to abuse stealth rock. Dragon tail also acts as the teams only phaze move. Earthquake is great for anything weak to it and crunch helps deal with ghost and psychic types - as well as being generally strong thanks to Strong Jaw. Leftovers and EVs in HP are to give Tyrantrum more bulk. A careful nature and SpD EV kicker are there to give it a small defensive boost.

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---------- Mega Blastoise ---------------------------------------------
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Blastoise (M) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Scald

Mega Blastoise is a fantastic spinner and general tank. Dark Pulse is great versus all ghost types, which are unable to OHKO Blastoise and which are often brought out to try and block spinning. Blastoise is also great as an Aegislash counter. Ice Beam is a good move against Grass and Dragons and Scald is a solid STAB move.

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---------- Aegislash ---------------------------------------------------
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Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- King's Shield
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Aegislash is a great pokemon, filling in as a tank or sweeper where necessary. Aegislash is great against any walls the opponent sets up as it is able to swords dance into an unstoppable sweeper. My build is pretty much standard, the priority of Shadow Sneak and coverage of Sacred Sword is just too good to pass up. Iron head might be a decent replacement to Sacred Sword but I'm not sure.

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---------- Delphox -----------------------------------------------------
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Delphox (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Grass Knot
- Flamethrower
- Psyshock

With choice scarf Delphox can outspeed pretty much anything that isn't also scarfed or that doesn't have priority. This makes it a great revenge killer, hitting with Fire/Psychic/Grass/Ghost moves. Delphox is also a great starter against the right team. If the opponent is only running one clear starter, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Smeargle, Forretress - Delphox can get a cheap kill before they get a chance to set up.

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---------- Gengar ------------------------------------------------------
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Gengar (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast

Similar to Delphox, Gengar is another revenge killer on the team, using Choice Scarf to fix its otherwise lacklustre speed and to ensure it gets the first hit in. Thunderbolt gives important coverage against water, and Sludge Bomb is fantastic against Fairies. Focus Blast has an unfortunately low accuracy but the coverage is often essential so it can't be missed.

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---------- Sylveon -----------------------------------------------------
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Sylveon (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Cute Charm
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast

Finally, Sylveon is the teams support tank. With EVs in Defense it has all around strong defensive coverage, which starts to get very powerful if given the chance to use Calm Mind. Wish and Protect combo well with each other, and wish is useful as a support move given the bulky nature of most of the team. Moonblast is a great dragon/dark/fighting killer move which is also boosted by Calm Mind.

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Any and all feedback very welcome!

 

[Genomancer]

232 views and no replies, any help would be great!

My main issue with the build right now is Sylveon which I just can't seem to get right. I've tried Reflect/Light Screen support builds, as well as builds with protect and substitute and/or toxic. Calm Mind and Baton Pass might also work, but I haven't yet found one I'm entirely happy with.

 

[Jake626]

I sense a few minor weaknesses with this team:

Delphox (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Grass Knot
- Flamethrower
- Psyshock

[With choice scarf Delphox can outspeed pretty much anything that isn't also scarfed or that doesn't have priority. This makes it a great revenge killer, hitting with Fire/Psychic/Grass/Ghost moves. Delphox is also a great starter against the right team. If the opponent is only running one clear starter, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Smeargle, Forretress - Delphox can get a cheap kill before they get a chance to set up.]

Delphox may be a decent sweeper, but from my experience, even with Magician, it cannot live up to expectations. I would recommend switching to Gardevoir, who can lead the team with either a defensive, supportive, or sweeping role (bulky and typical build). Delphox will be OHKOed by nearly any super effective attack (especially physical), and is out sped by other leads/revenge-killers that "do it better" - i.e. Weavile Focus Band/Sash - Maxed Speed and Attack EVs, Jolly Nature, and a move set of: Ice Punch/Night Slash, Low Kick, Ice Shard, and Pursuit (the coverage is roughly the same but with an edge due to Ice Shard priority and a guarantee of two attacks).

Second off, I would strongly advise removing Calm Mind from Sylveon and use Toxic. I run the same build, and the toxic stall, along with wish-protect, and stab moon blast, have walled multiple teams, and even Mega Lucario with Max IVs, Max EVs in Attack and Speed, Adamant Nature, and STAB Bullet Bunch. The Toxic enables you to wear the enemy down, while you heal yourself, deal some addition damage, and keep threats on check; rinse repeat.

Finally, this is short and sweet, keep Sacred Sword. My research has concluded it to be more reliable and versatile (Marriland, Serebi, PokemonDB, Bublapedia, and here on Smogon).

Otherwise, I would say your team is pretty solid. I'm not sure why 232 people ignored this, but I hope my input helps; its my first post in the non-trading section of Smogon, so forgive the format. Good luck! :)