My fascination with Pokémon started when I was four years old. It was at that time that I had tricked myself into believing that these creatures truly existed, and that on my 10th birthday, I too, would embark on a journey and live out my dreams of becoming a Pokémon master. This RMT is a homage to the franchise that filled my childhood paradise with both wonder and enchantment.
With that being said, I welcome you to one of my better teams, which has helped me live out what still remained of that youthful fantasy to become the strongest trainer in the world. I welcome you all to my "Elysium".
Greetings, fellow Pokémon lovers.
Some of you may remember me from my first RMT, “Ignite the Desert”. At that time, I never spent more than 10 minutes building a team and often liked to incorporate ‘innovation’, potentially at the expense of practicality.
However, when I saw Lycon’s RMT, my perspectives were revolutionised. I was captivated by the amount of thought that he had incorporated into this game. The gravity of that team’s conception, along with Lycon’s passages on the structuring of battles according to the archetype/mons in team preview, reminded me that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than I often care to remember.
I also found my aversion towards ‘standard’ teams as being misguided. As I realised that Lycon's team was more interesting and clever than any 'innovative' team I had produced. Because it wasn’t a matter of combining the most powerful mons with their most common sets. Every member, every move, and every EV in that team was selected with a purpose. Every element was thoroughly deliberated on so that the final composition of six mons unified into the most effective team. Changing any detail would require a complete reconfiguration, and it is this delicacy that made it special.Some of you may remember me from my first RMT, “Ignite the Desert”. At that time, I never spent more than 10 minutes building a team and often liked to incorporate ‘innovation’, potentially at the expense of practicality.
However, when I saw Lycon’s RMT, my perspectives were revolutionised. I was captivated by the amount of thought that he had incorporated into this game. The gravity of that team’s conception, along with Lycon’s passages on the structuring of battles according to the archetype/mons in team preview, reminded me that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than I often care to remember.
I had discovered the beauty of supreme functionality.
However, supreme functionality does not reject creativity, but rather thrives off it. In Lycon’s pursuit of upmost effectiveness, he selected several unconventional options like Max HP Tyranitar, Knock Off Scizor etc. This was because these generally substandard sets were superior in the context of his personal team’s situation. Lycon did not compromise the ability of his team to be more creative, but rather required creativity to be most effective.
It was also in a very brief conversation with Lycon, that he touched upon something that resonated with me. He spoke about how everyone has their own unique style, and I couldn’t agree more. When you open up a fresh page on teambuilder, you have the liberty to create anything that your imagination desires. Art is a difficult word to define, but let’s take the one provided by Google: “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.” Using this criterion, I believe that one can deem teambuilding as a form of art.
This game is not just a matter of who is the best fighter. Without the right weapon, you will not secure victory. I believe that many people overlook the beauty of this. The freedom to imagine, forge and sharpen a sword tailored to your own unique way of combat is as much significant as it is artistic.
In my appreciation for Lycon’s post, I became inspired to build teams that embodied the critical analysis that is required to play above the rest of the crowd. I also made a commitment to employ rigorous thought behind every turn I played. During this period, I was able to create a number of highly successful teams, one of which I will be sharing today.
Unfortunately, I have only a limited amount of time available to write this, so I will not be able to detail this team to the degree of Lycon’s. Although I do hope that you’ll appreciate my efforts anyway.
There were a couple of inspirations for this team’s creation. The first came from a match on the ladder a few months ago in which I was rendered completely useless and subsequently 6-0ed by a Cosmic Power Clefable. The second of which may surprise you, being Wish Killer’s timeless set of six. However, I am neither referring to its members or their sets, but rather I wished to emulate one of its fundamental elements. This was to create a spike stacking balance that did not require defog. With a vague plan and an initial mon that appeared to synergize well at the outset, I was ready to conceptualize something out of this vision.
The second member to be added to this team was Zapdos who acts as the perfect guardian to our focal mon. Issues that can plague Clefable include:
- Haze users (Toxapex, Mantine)
- Taunt users (Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados)
- Steel types (Scizor, Bisharp, Kartana, Celesteela)
Zapdos is able to neutralise all these threats while also adding a useful ground immunity.
With an initial core developed, I now needed three significant holes to be patched up. These were a check to rain, something to resist an onslaught of the ever popular Lele+Zam and Lele+Diancie cores, and finally those spikes that I wanted. With these factors at play, my best option was Ferrothorn.
The next batch of weaknesses in my army pertained to offensive fire types and the ever-dreaded stall. After pondering for quite some time, Mega Latias was deemed most suitable. This also forms a nice Stored Power duo with Clefable.
Heatran immediately came to mind when deciding my stealth rocker for his all-around functionality and balance/stall breaking prowess. One steel type is not enough to deal with those broken psychic spam teams, so Heatran also acts as an added line of defence in those matches.
Finally, and probably inevitably, Toxapex was chosen. With little more to cover in terms of overall weaknesses, I just simply couldn’t pass up on one of the most metagame defining mons. A blanket check to a multitude of threats, Toxapex not only alleviates a ton of the defensive workload that my army must endure, but also contributes to the hazard war that her team primarily functions around. This gut feeling turned out to be fruitful, as I believe the team wouldn’t have been nearly as effective in her absence.
Now that we have covered the inspiration and building of this team, I feel this is an appropriate time to mention a funny anecdote that inspired the writing of this RMT itself. To preface, I never expected to write up one of these again. It was my intention to keep my teams to myself, but the following encounter changed my mind.
It involved a random match on the ladder in which my opponent was using a copy of my team (imo a bad variation, where some of the moves were altered like putting Defog on Zapdos etc.). After winning a turn one speed tie between our Heatrans, I eventually lost, but not before being told the following (and a lot more):
☆OhMyKatyPerry: the original build was okay but there were some real problems
☆OhMyKatyPerry: once it got passed around to strong battlers the team improved a bunch
While I was able to appreciate the humor, it did make me want to claim the team as originally my creation while showcasing the rationale behind some of my “bad” choices. This compounded with the uncertainty of viability once the upcoming games are released, is why I am writing this today.
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
Unlike in most teams, Clefable acts as one of "Elysium's" primary win conditions. Functioning as a predominately offensive presence, I have ensured in team design that the need for its defensive utilities are minimal. This set with Cosmic+Stored Power is very effective in the current meta, capable of singlehandedly abolishing most of the balance and bulky offense teams that dominate the ladder. Cosmic Power allows for Clefable to theoretically set up against most of its usual counters including Celesteela, and if given just a single free boost, it can invalidate a large portion of the tier. I stress the “theoretically” part though, because Clefable is extremely vulnerable to critical hits due to the time it takes to load up ammunition into its Stored Power. With this in mind, Clefable is far more capable of sweeping late game when the amount of hits it needs to pull off are minimised. However, if opportunities for it to strike are restricted, it is advised to proactively exploit certain positions during the early and mid-games in order to avoid wasting a potential sweep. A perfect example of what I’m talking about is in matchups against the Z-Victini HO from the sample teams thread. As you can gather, Clefable is extremely hard pressed to set up against the majority of those mons if they have any momentum. Which is why I have had hilarious matches where I lead Clefable on the lead drill allowing me to boost away and subsequently win games outright. Additionally, Clefable is a great antidote to Chansey Offenses thanks to its ability to take advantage of that aforementioned mon.
Born by the Wind (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Three attack Zapdos with static is an absolute nightmare for offensively inclined teams. As outlined in the first chapter, Zapdos is a great soldier for Clefable’s needs. However, Zapdos is also a capable threat in its own right. Blessed with impressive coverage, typing, and stats, Zapdos can steal a lot of momentum if you manage to pick out the correct super effective attack from its arsenal. But even if your foresight is off, spamming Discharge can be a very lucrative course of action for obvious reasons. Static is an essential component of this team because of the lack of speed control. It also allows Zapdos to function as a chance last resort sacrifice against physical threats gone wild.
Heaven's Blossoms (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes
Despite its tendency to avoid the spotlight, Ferrothorn is possibly the centre of "Elysium". After adjusting to the initial shocks of a new generation, Spikes eventually became an integral part of the OU meta. Although they are often an apathetic addition to most squads, I wanted to build a team that lived and breathed spikes, and could fully exploit their capabilities. With only two mons that feel their full strength (pex’s regenerator essentially negates their impact), in the case of all out spike warfare, this team’s chances of victory soars. But I also bring to your awareness that this team is far from helpless without them. Returning to Ferrothorn, a maxed-out spread allows it not to become overwhelmed by the psychic and fairy spam that infects the tier. Usage of Tapu Lele and Diancie has surged recently, particularly with the former’s tendency to hold Specs and Z-Psychic, which blows back most common steels. Protect is further insurance against these threats as coverage attacks can still cause annihilation. It is also beneficial in rain matchups as stalling weather turns from Mega Swampert is vital. Protect also promotes the effectiveness of leech seed which in turn increases switching, something that I have capitalized on. Spikes also alleviates Ferrothorn’s issue with being passive, because every free turn can be put to productive use.
Angel's Symphonies (Latias-Mega) @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Surf
- Recover
To my surprise, Mega Latias ended up wearing the royal crown in “Elysium.” An already very underprepared for threat, its Stored Power set elevates Latias to unprecedented heights of potency. This effect is also magnified in tandem with Clefable, as one can usually devastate enough for the other to flourish. An important fact to also keep in mind is that Mega Latias can abuse Stored Power far quicker and more powerfully than its compatriot. Stored Power is also a venom that can shut down the immune systems of most stalls. I used Thunderbolt during my climb to #1, but upon further testing, I have concluded that commanding the ocean is superior. This change helped remedy my weaknesses to boosting Ground Types such as Landorus, Excadrill, and Garchomp while improving matchups against Banded Tyranitar.
Satan's Sympathies (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Earth Power
Heatran can reliably set stealth rocks under almost any conditions and this was the quality that I found most attractive about her. Credit to this team’s sturdy defensive battalion, Heatran is not under constant pressure from the rest of “Elysium” to cover for them. By eliminating all the unnecessary chip that Heatran often has to suffer through, she can reward you with power that you wouldn’t recognize. Although it is not always possible, Heatran is far more effective if it isn’t burdened with the task of being a primary check to more than a handful of threats. With a body composition of flame and metal, Heatran resists 10 out of the 17 types which makes it OU’s greatest backup and the best form of secondary defence thanks to its catch-all nature. This was the way that Heatran was incorporated into “Elysium”, making it such a strident force. When I climbed the ladder, I used the above set but have now discovered that I cannot justify the use of Substitute. If you are actually reading what I have wrote and not just skimming, here is a hidden gem for you to show my appreciation. Change Substitute to Taunt as it is quite redundant upon reflection and now you have a better means to conquering Calm Mind Reuniclus. Although my previous tactic to paralyze it and boost up alongside was quite successful. The only thing that I can say about Substitute is that it made wasting Sableye’s recovers a little easier so that it could not PP stall Clefable later. Apart from that I hope I haven’t cursed you by forgetting something that it was essential for. Maximum speed is because I have to at least outrun Jolly Bisharp so why not just go all out. Something that I never got around to experimenting with was the migration of some EVs from HP to SpA, so if you manage to concoct up something nice, do let me know.
Tears in the Rain (Toxapex) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Baneful Bunker
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
My divine intuition to invite Toxapex to my forces was one of my best decisions. For this team, Baneful Bunker is the most productive use of a redundant move slot. Haze and Toxic can both be forgone due to this team’s ability to handle everything that they annoy. But despite the fact that they serve almost no benefit, I want to demonstrate why I believe Baneful Bunker deserves more credit than being labelled as just a filler. The most obvious things are scouting for choice-locked moves, exposing potential double switches, poisoning unsuspecting mons who make contact, stalling weather turns, and facilitating more residual toxic spikes damage. However, the most dominant reason relates to getting clutch turns of leftovers recovery. For the magnitude of this fact to be understood, you have to consider that the more times I can throw out my Toxapex in the absence of other members, the more of an advantage I can obtain. Baneful Bunker contributes to making this possible as trying to slaughter this mon with 12% recovery becomes twice as difficult as before. If you would like a testimonial with that, I will assure you that during my own experiences I required the move to win countless matches and was able to steal massive momentum from most opponents. The above spread allows for Toxapex to adequately take on both Earth Power M-Diancie and PuP M-Lopunny simultaneously.
When I built this team, I understood that it would be impossible and foolish to try and cover every threat in the metagame. I used to make unnecessary sacrifices so that I wasn’t weak to certain individual mons, but if you do this too much, you spread yourself thin and end up vulnerable to everything. So I made a compromise and decided that I would focus on having a great matchup against the majority of common teams and rely on my own skill to overcome those games in the minority, playing differently to accommodate for the disadvantage. I have not encountered any game that was impossible to win but below are some enemies to look out for:
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(EQ)
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(Sub Seed)
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(Boost EQ)
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(Band)
Do not allow insignificant things like “matchup” or “hax” stop you from dominating every person you set your eyes on. Allow the desire for victory to consume your entire being.
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Do not allow insignificant things like “matchup” or “hax” stop you from dominating every person you set your eyes on. Allow the desire for victory to consume your entire being.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652599909 - We
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652007519 - Newmegasmadeoushit
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-651964304 - Maurice Galactica
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-651552278 - PokemonC'estDur
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-654044203 - Moskito Cup
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652588310 - Feeling Good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652903115 - Baxou
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653144055 - Baxou (Round 2)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653575109 - Korago
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653593962 - Korago (Round 2)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652007519 - Newmegasmadeoushit
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-651964304 - Maurice Galactica
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-651552278 - PokemonC'estDur
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-654044203 - Moskito Cup
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652588310 - Feeling Good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-652903115 - Baxou
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653144055 - Baxou (Round 2)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653575109 - Korago
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-653593962 - Korago (Round 2)
Satan's Sympathies (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Earth Power
Angel's Symphonies (Latias-Mega) @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Surf
- Recover
Illuminated Hearts (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
Born by the Wind (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Heaven's Blossoms (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes
Tears in the Rain (Toxapex) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Baneful Bunker
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Earth Power
Angel's Symphonies (Latias-Mega) @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Surf
- Recover
Illuminated Hearts (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
Born by the Wind (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Heaven's Blossoms (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes
Tears in the Rain (Toxapex) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Baneful Bunker
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
I am at a stage in my life where I am beginning to see that my time playing this game is likely coming to a close.Although a large amount of this community, including prominent players, like to ridicule this game as RNG garbage, I don’t like to take that perspective. As you all know, Pokémon battles are purely a game of strategy with no hand-eye coordination required. There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn with another pure strategy game: chess. However, a stark difference between the two is the involvement of luck. While this does detract from being able to accurately determine one’s skill on a micro scale, it allows this game to be dynamic rather than mundane. I say on a micro scale because luck becomes almost irrelevant when evaluating skill over the course of multiple matches. This is because of a basic mathematical theorem called the “Law of Large Numbers”. I have elaborated on this in the following:
Definition: The law of large numbers is a principle of probability according to which the frequencies of events with the same likelihood of occurrence even out, given enough trials or instances. As the number of experiments increases, the actual ratio of outcomes will converge on the theoretical, or expected, ratio of outcomes.
Example involving coin flipping:
If you watch this through a couple of times, you will notice that the proportion varies significantly at first but approaches 50% with increasing trials. I found the following extract which should further clarify:
If you flip a coin 10 times, the odds of you flipping 4 or 6 heads is 26%, and the odds of you flipping 3 or 7 heads is 10%. Now, let’s say you flipped a coin 100 times. The odds of getting exactly 50% heads is still 50%. But, do you think the odds of getting 60 heads is also 26%? It’s actually only 2%. It’s much easier to get 6 out of 10 heads, than it is to get 60 out of 100 heads. What are the odds of flipping 600 heads out of 1000 flips? It’s 0.00000001%.
What this means in the case of Pokémon, is do not be concerned if an inferior player overcomes you. Your true skill will always shine through at the end of the day.
Example involving coin flipping:
If you watch this through a couple of times, you will notice that the proportion varies significantly at first but approaches 50% with increasing trials. I found the following extract which should further clarify:
If you flip a coin 10 times, the odds of you flipping 4 or 6 heads is 26%, and the odds of you flipping 3 or 7 heads is 10%. Now, let’s say you flipped a coin 100 times. The odds of getting exactly 50% heads is still 50%. But, do you think the odds of getting 60 heads is also 26%? It’s actually only 2%. It’s much easier to get 6 out of 10 heads, than it is to get 60 out of 100 heads. What are the odds of flipping 600 heads out of 1000 flips? It’s 0.00000001%.
What this means in the case of Pokémon, is do not be concerned if an inferior player overcomes you. Your true skill will always shine through at the end of the day.
I play this game for the freedom of manifesting fragments of my imagination into teams, for the thrills of psychological warfare on the battlefield, and to engulf myself into the roaring flames of competition. But almost more importantly, I play because I still have a lot more to learn. Even if I were to invest years more into this game, I would never reach the end. There are so many more undiscovered approaches to playing this game, so many more ways to account for and inhibit hax, so many more ways to structure game plans start to finish. No one here will ever build that one perfect team, much less be capable of wielding it to its absolute most limitless potential, and that is what makes this game so appealing.
I think it is such a beautiful thing that a community exists to share the love of Pokémon. I'm sure many of us still treasure the memories of trading members of our party with our friends. Or maybe you recall that instance of euphoria when you collected all eight gym badges in your first game. These are the moments that have brought us all together on this site today.
I’ve also had the privilege to witness this first hand with my two younger brothers who are 3 and 5. To watch them get excited at Ash and Pikachu taking on the world is truly a blessing. Although it may be impossible to remember these times, I am fairly sure that many of us experienced their same emotions when we were younger. How blessed we were.
So, thank you to everyone who makes playing Pokémon possible. Whether you still engage in battles on the ladder, or just post funny memes on Smogon, you have all contributed to making mine, and everyone else’s, time here both possible and memorable.
Good luck on your own journey to become a Pokémon master, I hope you remember to find the joys in this game for as long as your heart stays young.
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