Yes, I am bad at team names, thats beside the point. So anyways for the past few weeks after mence went uber, I have been experimenting with various teams so that I would have a good selection to use as compared to when mence wasn’t uber and I had a huge selection of teams. So for this team, someone gave me the idea of trying out a CB ape. So I decided to try it, and it worked very well, and the team has been very nice. I know improvements can be made, so here it is.
Team Building Process:
So I obviously started out with CB ape, since it was the focus of the team. His raw power from the band made it a force to be reckoned with.
So now I wanted to think of some support guys. First thing that came to mind to pair with ape was a scarfed flygon. I have been using flygon a lot lately and figured it would be a great help, plus maybe help ape out a bit.
So now I saw I might need a bit of bulk, maybe a steel resist. I looked around, and saw zapdos, who could help a lot with a few things ape and flygon couldn’t take. So I threw it right in.
Now I wanted something with a bit of special bulk to deal with ghosts and such. My instinct told me to go with a machamp, as he deals with ghosts very well, and can help with special side hits very nicely.
Now with how my team looked, I wanted one more special attacker before I picked my lead, as to have some coverage. I saw I had no water moves, so I thought about a suicune. With my team being able to deal with things suicune can sometimes fear, he seemed to be a good choice for a sweeper.
So now I just needed to finish off my team with a lead. For sure I needed something that could lay rocks, and I always like a lead that can beat other leads, or has support from the team to beat them easily. So my natural choice became azelf, as its one of my favorite leads now, and has been very reliable for me.
So now some holes came up, mainly with stall. That really bothered my team, and it was something I couldn’t avoid easily. Unlike most teams where I just disregard it, I decided to actually pursue this weakness. There were also a couple other things that could present problems. So first off, I changed flygons set, and changing it from scarf warranted a need to change something else so I still had a scouter. Jirachi stuck out as being a huge help, as I also needed a steel. The best place to put it was over machamp, and change zapdos’ spread a bit to compensate.
And this is how it turned out:
In Depth:
Azelf @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
So here is my lead, life orb azelf. I never found a merit to running focus sash azelf, and someone gave me the idea of using an LO set awhile back. With this thing, I can take out common leads in one hit like machamp and metagross, then get up my rocks next turn or later in the game, and even function as a form of sweeper later in the game. So Psychic for STAB, Fire Blast for steels, rocks because lead and most needed thing in the game, and U-turn provides me with scouting and a way to get out if I am trapped. Plus it helps deal with some leads azelf can’t beat on its own.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Ice Beam
So with how the rest of my team was built, I needed some form of water type, and suicune fit the bill well. With its natural bulk and sweeping abilities, it’s an amazing bulky sweeper, which also gives me a check to gyarados. And with the rest of my teams support, he can get in a sweep fairly well. So Calm Mind to setup, Surf for STAB and not wanting to risk Hydro Pump missing, HP electric for opposing water types, and Ice Beam for fliers and grass types.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/220 SDef/40 Spd
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
So with zapdos, I kinda knew what I wanted. One of the main reasons I wanted to use it was because I wanted to try the subroost set. With it, I can come in on something, sub up on the obvious switch, and scout them out, or if they stay in, take their hits and see what they do. After I changed flygon and switched machamp out for rachi, I opted for a more sp def spread, just to sponge a bit, and also change HP ice over to toxic to help with stall. So sub to be able to scout and stall with toxic, roost for heal, T-bolt for STAB, toxic for residual damage, and to help beat stall and wear down walls and other things. Also, threw a bit extra speed in to outspeed guys who hit 245, since that is a common speed to rest at.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
Before I put this in, I was testing around with flygon just changed. I noticed the lack of having a scouter hurt, and not having the lead killing pair hurt me a bit too. I then thought about me needing a steel type, and a scouter, and jirachi came to mind. It fulfilled the scarfed revenge killer, scouter, and lead synergy role that I lost when I changed flygon. It was best to put over machamp as long as I made one change to help combat rotoms, as jirachi can check gengar alright. So anyways, Iron Head for obligatory STAB and flinch, Fire Punch to hit steels, Ice Punch to hit dragons and grasses, U-turn to scout out. I opted against trick just because I got two guys to deal with stall already, so its not a huge issue for jirachi to have trick.
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SDef
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Mach Punch
So this is the main attraction for my team, CB ape. The power on CB ape is amazing, and gives me great sweeping power right away, and helps beat down shit well that needs to be. So Flare Blitz for STAB, CC for more STAB and beating down a lot of stuff, U-turn for scouting and hitting stuff on obvious switches, and Mach Punch for priority. I was against stone edge just because I tested it, and it didn’t do all that much for me when I ran it, and suicune and zapdos can cover stuff well enough.
Flygon (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 Atk/252 SAtk/176 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Fire Blast
So as I got rates for this team, I realized that stall would rip right through me. Normally I disregard it because of being primarily a wifi player, but then I investigated a suggestion made by The LegendKiller, who said try a stallbreaking flygon. I have seen people use it against me before and simply scoffing at it as it did some nice damage to me. I started testing some ideas around as to how-to incorporate it well, and sure enough, I got an amazing set-up with it, and started doing massive damage. With it, I can bluff the scarf, and nab the first surprise kill, then come in to do some other damage once I get rid of their main flygon killers, and those can even fall to this. So EQ for physical STAB to beat special walls, Draco Meteor for special STAB to beat physical walls, Fire Blast to hit skarm and forry and a couple other things, and roost to heal up to continue laying hurt.
So that is my team, I hope you guys like it, and give some good advice. Thanks for the read!
Team Building Process:
So I obviously started out with CB ape, since it was the focus of the team. His raw power from the band made it a force to be reckoned with.
So now I wanted to think of some support guys. First thing that came to mind to pair with ape was a scarfed flygon. I have been using flygon a lot lately and figured it would be a great help, plus maybe help ape out a bit.
So now I saw I might need a bit of bulk, maybe a steel resist. I looked around, and saw zapdos, who could help a lot with a few things ape and flygon couldn’t take. So I threw it right in.
Now I wanted something with a bit of special bulk to deal with ghosts and such. My instinct told me to go with a machamp, as he deals with ghosts very well, and can help with special side hits very nicely.
Now with how my team looked, I wanted one more special attacker before I picked my lead, as to have some coverage. I saw I had no water moves, so I thought about a suicune. With my team being able to deal with things suicune can sometimes fear, he seemed to be a good choice for a sweeper.
So now I just needed to finish off my team with a lead. For sure I needed something that could lay rocks, and I always like a lead that can beat other leads, or has support from the team to beat them easily. So my natural choice became azelf, as its one of my favorite leads now, and has been very reliable for me.
So now some holes came up, mainly with stall. That really bothered my team, and it was something I couldn’t avoid easily. Unlike most teams where I just disregard it, I decided to actually pursue this weakness. There were also a couple other things that could present problems. So first off, I changed flygons set, and changing it from scarf warranted a need to change something else so I still had a scouter. Jirachi stuck out as being a huge help, as I also needed a steel. The best place to put it was over machamp, and change zapdos’ spread a bit to compensate.
And this is how it turned out:
In Depth:
Azelf @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
So here is my lead, life orb azelf. I never found a merit to running focus sash azelf, and someone gave me the idea of using an LO set awhile back. With this thing, I can take out common leads in one hit like machamp and metagross, then get up my rocks next turn or later in the game, and even function as a form of sweeper later in the game. So Psychic for STAB, Fire Blast for steels, rocks because lead and most needed thing in the game, and U-turn provides me with scouting and a way to get out if I am trapped. Plus it helps deal with some leads azelf can’t beat on its own.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Ice Beam
So with how the rest of my team was built, I needed some form of water type, and suicune fit the bill well. With its natural bulk and sweeping abilities, it’s an amazing bulky sweeper, which also gives me a check to gyarados. And with the rest of my teams support, he can get in a sweep fairly well. So Calm Mind to setup, Surf for STAB and not wanting to risk Hydro Pump missing, HP electric for opposing water types, and Ice Beam for fliers and grass types.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP/220 SDef/40 Spd
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
So with zapdos, I kinda knew what I wanted. One of the main reasons I wanted to use it was because I wanted to try the subroost set. With it, I can come in on something, sub up on the obvious switch, and scout them out, or if they stay in, take their hits and see what they do. After I changed flygon and switched machamp out for rachi, I opted for a more sp def spread, just to sponge a bit, and also change HP ice over to toxic to help with stall. So sub to be able to scout and stall with toxic, roost for heal, T-bolt for STAB, toxic for residual damage, and to help beat stall and wear down walls and other things. Also, threw a bit extra speed in to outspeed guys who hit 245, since that is a common speed to rest at.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
Before I put this in, I was testing around with flygon just changed. I noticed the lack of having a scouter hurt, and not having the lead killing pair hurt me a bit too. I then thought about me needing a steel type, and a scouter, and jirachi came to mind. It fulfilled the scarfed revenge killer, scouter, and lead synergy role that I lost when I changed flygon. It was best to put over machamp as long as I made one change to help combat rotoms, as jirachi can check gengar alright. So anyways, Iron Head for obligatory STAB and flinch, Fire Punch to hit steels, Ice Punch to hit dragons and grasses, U-turn to scout out. I opted against trick just because I got two guys to deal with stall already, so its not a huge issue for jirachi to have trick.
Infernape (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SDef
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Mach Punch
So this is the main attraction for my team, CB ape. The power on CB ape is amazing, and gives me great sweeping power right away, and helps beat down shit well that needs to be. So Flare Blitz for STAB, CC for more STAB and beating down a lot of stuff, U-turn for scouting and hitting stuff on obvious switches, and Mach Punch for priority. I was against stone edge just because I tested it, and it didn’t do all that much for me when I ran it, and suicune and zapdos can cover stuff well enough.
Flygon (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 Atk/252 SAtk/176 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Fire Blast
So as I got rates for this team, I realized that stall would rip right through me. Normally I disregard it because of being primarily a wifi player, but then I investigated a suggestion made by The LegendKiller, who said try a stallbreaking flygon. I have seen people use it against me before and simply scoffing at it as it did some nice damage to me. I started testing some ideas around as to how-to incorporate it well, and sure enough, I got an amazing set-up with it, and started doing massive damage. With it, I can bluff the scarf, and nab the first surprise kill, then come in to do some other damage once I get rid of their main flygon killers, and those can even fall to this. So EQ for physical STAB to beat special walls, Draco Meteor for special STAB to beat physical walls, Fire Blast to hit skarm and forry and a couple other things, and roost to heal up to continue laying hurt.
So that is my team, I hope you guys like it, and give some good advice. Thanks for the read!