A friend an I replayed the Gen 4 games a while ago - which was amazing and also led me straight to the smogon forums,
where I've been lurking around for a couple of months now.
This is not the first team I built, but probably the most consistent one so far.
I wanted to make a team with Scarf Flygon and SD Scizor because they both can sweep,
provide useful speed control and have really good type synergy.
Also, I always felt that Flygon is an insect as well, so that kinda sets the theme for the team.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Dragon Claw
Flygon is arguably one of the best Choice Scarf users in the tier. With its immunity to Sandstorm, Spikes, Earthquake
and Thunderbolt it gets on the field easily and sticks around. The downside is that it does almost nothing against
defensive teams. I've seen Toxic used in the last slot, but since two of the most common checks are Skarmory and Bronzong,
I decided against it. Dragon Claw messes with hyper offense nicely, since they often rely on an Outrage lock after Flygon kills a dragon.
The fact that this Flygon is walled by Skarmory and Bronzong can also be turned to your advantage: the predictable switches allow
to get in a team mate and also chip them via U-Turn and Stealth Rock.
Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Atk / 28 Def / 176 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Bug Bite
- Roost
With Fire Punch Jirachi being so common, Scizor definitely took a hit in viability, but that still means you shouldn't underestimate it.
It can set up on quite a few of its checks, like Zapdos, Rotom, Gyarados and Skarmory if they lack the right coverage move and handles
threats like Agility Metagross, DD Tyranitar, TR Bronzong and a lot of CM Jirachi well. Again, the synergy with Flygon is really good -
against a CM Jirachi, I can simply switch to Flygon to take the Thunderbolt or HP Fire and if they don't have it, U-Turn back.
Against a DD Tyranitar with a possible Shuca Berry, Flygon U-Turns into Scizor on Crunch or Ice Punch for the KO with Bullet Punch.
It's really important to wear down checks that threaten it, like Heatran and Zapdos with Heat Wave, which the rest of the team does nicely.
Metagross @ Iron Ball
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 20 Def / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Trick
- Explosion
I like to have two steel types on my teams, especially when one is easily trapped by Magnezone.
Trick + Iron Ball obviously works well with Scarf Flygon since several common checks (Zapdos, Rotom, Skarmory)
are vulnerable to it. Skarmory is especially nice, because it allows Scizor to set up on Taunt variants in a last mon scenario.
Tricking a Scarf Rotom can be annoying, since it can Trick the Iron Ball to something else on my team.
Sometimes it feels a bit passive, but I think this has more to do with play style than with the set itself.
I also noticed that I rarely use Explosion - maybe worth dropping but the fail-safe is really useful in certain games.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Toxic
Choice Specs is a lot more common as a lead and it works quite well. However, I really missed Roost and Leftovers
and the team also lacked a sturdy Fighting resist (I added Starmie at the same time). This is not an ideal lead, since the
common Azelf can get rocks and blow it up. I usually hit it once and then switch to Metagross or Scizor.
It matches up well against other common leads like Metagross and Machamp though. One matchup I want to point out
is that against Swampert and Hippowdon. They will usually get up rocks (Swampert sometimes runs from Specs HP Grass),
which means Zapdos can Toxic them right at the start of the match. I could change Toxic to U-Turn and improve the Azelf
matchup that way, but it's hard to give up the easy Toxic on one of the most common stall leads.
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 48 HP / 144 Atk / 52 SpA / 160 SpD / 104 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
I refused to run Tyranitar for quite some time - which is also why this EV spread still looks very much like the one on the dex page.
However, it fits really nicely on this team in particular. Sand support is pretty big and the only team mates vulnerable to it have
instant recovery and Leftovers. I also like that it's a Stealth Rock user that can beat Starmie one on one. I ran Passho Berry in the past to
improve this matchup further and also change the weather vs rain teams, but overall Lum Berry is more useful.
Tyranitar most commonly enters against a lead Heatran, whose potential Specs Overheat Zapdos doesn't enjoy, and handles more Heatran,
Rotom and fire moves from mixed Dragonite and Flygon later in the game. Superpower also chases out Clefable - since the berry is single
use anyways, Tyranitar doesn't mind Knock Off all that much.
One thing I don't like quite as much is the awkward speed tier. Outspeeding Skarmory, Metagross and Breloom is really nice, but it's often hard
to know how much speed they run themselves. I would probably like to run either more speed or no speed and a Brave nature, but this spread
worked good enough to not change it up immediately.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 140 HP / 152 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
This one is pretty basic, but it does a lot. A second Fighting and Fire resist, speed control, status absorption and Rapid Spin.
I like Psychic a lot because of how common Breloom is. With this SpA investment, it OHKOs most variants and Gengar as well.
It's quite interesting that the common grass types (Breloom and Roserade) are both weak to Psychic. Ice Beam would be better
for Celebi, Shaymin and Latias, but the first two are uncommon and Latias is handled by the rest of the team quite well.
Threats
SD Lucario is a major one - after a Swords Dance only Zapdos stands in its way and it can't KO back.
On the other hand, only Tyranitar dies to an unboosted hit, so I can usually prevent it from setting up for free.
Gyarados can also be tricky if I lose Zapdos, but it's more manageable since Metagross, Scizor and Flygon can handle it
depending on the circumstances.
Torment Heatran - I've rarely seen this, but it messes with this team pretty badly. Not a single member has more than one move
to hit it with, so the game might very well just end there on the spot.
There's probably more but these are the ones I identified so far.
where I've been lurking around for a couple of months now.
This is not the first team I built, but probably the most consistent one so far.
I wanted to make a team with Scarf Flygon and SD Scizor because they both can sweep,
provide useful speed control and have really good type synergy.
Also, I always felt that Flygon is an insect as well, so that kinda sets the theme for the team.
Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Dragon Claw
Flygon is arguably one of the best Choice Scarf users in the tier. With its immunity to Sandstorm, Spikes, Earthquake
and Thunderbolt it gets on the field easily and sticks around. The downside is that it does almost nothing against
defensive teams. I've seen Toxic used in the last slot, but since two of the most common checks are Skarmory and Bronzong,
I decided against it. Dragon Claw messes with hyper offense nicely, since they often rely on an Outrage lock after Flygon kills a dragon.
The fact that this Flygon is walled by Skarmory and Bronzong can also be turned to your advantage: the predictable switches allow
to get in a team mate and also chip them via U-Turn and Stealth Rock.
Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Atk / 28 Def / 176 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Bug Bite
- Roost
With Fire Punch Jirachi being so common, Scizor definitely took a hit in viability, but that still means you shouldn't underestimate it.
It can set up on quite a few of its checks, like Zapdos, Rotom, Gyarados and Skarmory if they lack the right coverage move and handles
threats like Agility Metagross, DD Tyranitar, TR Bronzong and a lot of CM Jirachi well. Again, the synergy with Flygon is really good -
against a CM Jirachi, I can simply switch to Flygon to take the Thunderbolt or HP Fire and if they don't have it, U-Turn back.
Against a DD Tyranitar with a possible Shuca Berry, Flygon U-Turns into Scizor on Crunch or Ice Punch for the KO with Bullet Punch.
It's really important to wear down checks that threaten it, like Heatran and Zapdos with Heat Wave, which the rest of the team does nicely.
Metagross @ Iron Ball
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 20 Def / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Trick
- Explosion
I like to have two steel types on my teams, especially when one is easily trapped by Magnezone.
Trick + Iron Ball obviously works well with Scarf Flygon since several common checks (Zapdos, Rotom, Skarmory)
are vulnerable to it. Skarmory is especially nice, because it allows Scizor to set up on Taunt variants in a last mon scenario.
Tricking a Scarf Rotom can be annoying, since it can Trick the Iron Ball to something else on my team.
Sometimes it feels a bit passive, but I think this has more to do with play style than with the set itself.
I also noticed that I rarely use Explosion - maybe worth dropping but the fail-safe is really useful in certain games.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Toxic
Choice Specs is a lot more common as a lead and it works quite well. However, I really missed Roost and Leftovers
and the team also lacked a sturdy Fighting resist (I added Starmie at the same time). This is not an ideal lead, since the
common Azelf can get rocks and blow it up. I usually hit it once and then switch to Metagross or Scizor.
It matches up well against other common leads like Metagross and Machamp though. One matchup I want to point out
is that against Swampert and Hippowdon. They will usually get up rocks (Swampert sometimes runs from Specs HP Grass),
which means Zapdos can Toxic them right at the start of the match. I could change Toxic to U-Turn and improve the Azelf
matchup that way, but it's hard to give up the easy Toxic on one of the most common stall leads.
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 48 HP / 144 Atk / 52 SpA / 160 SpD / 104 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
I refused to run Tyranitar for quite some time - which is also why this EV spread still looks very much like the one on the dex page.
However, it fits really nicely on this team in particular. Sand support is pretty big and the only team mates vulnerable to it have
instant recovery and Leftovers. I also like that it's a Stealth Rock user that can beat Starmie one on one. I ran Passho Berry in the past to
improve this matchup further and also change the weather vs rain teams, but overall Lum Berry is more useful.
Tyranitar most commonly enters against a lead Heatran, whose potential Specs Overheat Zapdos doesn't enjoy, and handles more Heatran,
Rotom and fire moves from mixed Dragonite and Flygon later in the game. Superpower also chases out Clefable - since the berry is single
use anyways, Tyranitar doesn't mind Knock Off all that much.
One thing I don't like quite as much is the awkward speed tier. Outspeeding Skarmory, Metagross and Breloom is really nice, but it's often hard
to know how much speed they run themselves. I would probably like to run either more speed or no speed and a Brave nature, but this spread
worked good enough to not change it up immediately.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 140 HP / 152 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
This one is pretty basic, but it does a lot. A second Fighting and Fire resist, speed control, status absorption and Rapid Spin.
I like Psychic a lot because of how common Breloom is. With this SpA investment, it OHKOs most variants and Gengar as well.
It's quite interesting that the common grass types (Breloom and Roserade) are both weak to Psychic. Ice Beam would be better
for Celebi, Shaymin and Latias, but the first two are uncommon and Latias is handled by the rest of the team quite well.
Threats
SD Lucario is a major one - after a Swords Dance only Zapdos stands in its way and it can't KO back.
On the other hand, only Tyranitar dies to an unboosted hit, so I can usually prevent it from setting up for free.
Gyarados can also be tricky if I lose Zapdos, but it's more manageable since Metagross, Scizor and Flygon can handle it
depending on the circumstances.
Torment Heatran - I've rarely seen this, but it messes with this team pretty badly. Not a single member has more than one move
to hit it with, so the game might very well just end there on the spot.
There's probably more but these are the ones I identified so far.
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