History 101: Dictatorship through Intimidation
Nobody knows this, but I studied History in College. History fascinates me in that, even though there appears to be copious amounts of evidence that suggest that certain acts should not be repeated due to the negative backlash or results that were netted from the event; people, leaders and countries, somehow still find ways to re-commit the same errors as if there isn’t already a precedence for the action in question.
Take for example the Munich Agreement of 1938. It was supposed to appease Nazi Germany and establish a baseline for peaceful relations between all the countries in Europe. As history would have it, this was nothing more than a failed attempt at trying to stop a leader and his country from plunging the world into a Second World War.
Despite these lessons in history, we currently have a situation in the world that is eerily similar to it in the form of the Ukraine, Crimea, Russia Story. Despite both the White House (US) and the European Union (EU) declaring the referendum that Crimea backed unanimously on March 16th a violation of international law, undermining the re-designation that Europe went through after the USSR dissolved in 1991, it appears, per media sources, that Russia and its leader will plow ahead and annex Crimea from the Ukraine, despite threats from both the US and the EU.
The reasoning for mentioning this to demonstrate how intimidation is the most effective tool for bending the people to ones will. If the Crimean Parliament building was taken in a storm of gunfire, it goes without saying that we wouldn’t be talking about this situation with such civility. Mussolini did the same thing when the Fascist Grand Council passed the Acerbo Law of 1923. Even though all political figures that weren’t Fascist knew that ratifying the law would be political suicide, it’s hard to voice your opinion when your life was literally hanging on your vote.
Intimidation in our game has the same purpose. Though not immediately life threatening, when used judicially, can be an exceptional tool for strong arming your opponents into making decisions that would otherwise, not be considered because of the lack of positive momentum it generates. Though in our Meta, with the presence of Bisharp and to a lesser extent, Thundurus, an ability that had no real drawbacks now has to be used more carefully. With that in mind, here is the team that we came up with to Intimidate our foes into submission:
Everyone Loves Rocks ^_^
Landorus-T @ Leftovers
EV: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- U-Turn
This EV spread allows me to outrun Adamant Gyarados and Dragonite, affording me the opportunity to pummel them with Stone Edge before they can get off a Dragon Dance. EQ is for STAB goodness and every team needs Entry Hazards, and this guy does his job best. U-Turn completes the Intimidate Core and provides options and momentum.
Bad Girl
Latias @ Life Orb
EV: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Timid Nature
IV: 0 Atk/ 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
I love Latias… she just rocks ^_^ In all seriousness, whenever you plan on using VoltTurn, hazard removal becomes a priority and thus, Defog is needed. HP Fighting is here for Nazi Overlord, Bisharp, trying to switch in and net a free +2 cause of the Defog. Draco Meteor is the standard nuke of this set, with Psyshock rounding out the set to take on opposing Mega Venusaur and Chansey/Blissey who would otherwise wall my girl (xoxo)
Did Anyone Get the Plate on that Truck???
Keldeo @ Choice Specs
EV: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Ability: Justified
Timid Nature
IV: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Sacred Sword
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Icy Wind
Was added to the team thanks to strong support from the RMTers of this AWESOME forum. Keldeo just breaks shit. FU Blissey, Chansey, Mega Venusaur... hell even Icy Wind on a Multiscale Dragonite nets a 2HKO. If that ain't power, I don't know what is...
Escalibur Wannabe?
Aegislash @ Air Balloon
EV: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Ability: Stance Change
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Pursuit
- King’s Shield
- Sacred Sword
Though this mon may not have the Intimidate ability, he is arguably one of the more fearsome Mixed Wall Breakers in the game. EVs and Move set are standard, with Air Balloon providing pseudo immunity to Ground Attacks that would otherwise jeopardize Aegislash’s longevity.
Edit: Added Pursuit after a very nice rate from a fren ^_^
The Oddity
Clefable @ Assault Vest
EV: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Ability: Magic Guard
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
Ok, this is probably the first time anyone has seen this, but I was feeling a little frisky. So please bear with me as I try to hashs this thought process out.
So after settling on the first 5 members of the Fascist Party, I actually took a while to figure out who I wanted for the 6th slot. This usually is rare, as between fitting in Stealth Rock, Defog, VoltTurn, etc; the team tends to build itself. Normally, when I have a sixth undedicated slot, I usually go for a Cleric, so I looked at all of them and decided I wanted one that could actually put up a fight. (Sorry Blissey and Chansey)
After thinking about this further, I looked at my team and felt that though reasonably bulky, a Cleric might not be necessary as my Main Sweeper(s) were either relatively frail and can absorb a Will-o-Wisp cause they are mostly attacking from their Special Attack (Mega Manectric & Aegislash ) or can absorb a T-Wave (Mega Manectric & Landorus-T).
So that’s when I started fumbling with Clefable. I’ve seen her in action and thanks to her new found typing, was granted a second lease on life; combine all the shiny new resistances and a new immunity to the fact that her weaknesses don’t have as wide a distribution pool as some would like and, finally an awesome ability in Magic Guard, making WoW and Stealth Rock obsolete, well, let’s just say it was time to experiment.
Standard Life Orb and Leftovers sets already exist, but I still felt, though efficient in the roles they played, the team needed something different. That’s when it hit me like a truck, AV Clefable. Not saying this is the new ground breaking set that will take the world by storm, but at the bare minimum, if you read this far, I’m assuming that this set piqued your interest. (Either that or you just wanted to understand how retarded people think and have a good laugh) If that was the case, then you’re welcome ^_^
Well with AV, even unvested Clefable’s Special Defense sits at a Base 324 which is just 4 points below a Calm Specially Defensive Celebi. With that being said, I decided to Fully Invested HP and Defense with a Bold Nature to give her a Base 269 Defense which is slightly under an un-invested neutral nature Hippowdon, which is no small feat.
Since this is an AV set, nothing but attacks are allowed and we have everything and the kitchen sink to throw at the opponent; Flamethrower for Steel Types, T-Bolt for Azumarill, Ice Beam for Ground Types and Moonblast for good old fashion STAB goodness. This addition will definitely raise some eyebrows… so please think and be thorough when evaluating this addition.
The Grand Finale
Manectric @ Manectite
EV: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Ability: Lightningrod -> Intimidate
IV: 0 Atk / 30 Def
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
The EV Spread allows SS2 Manectric to outspeed Talonflame’s Flare Blitz, allowing me to invest the remaining EVs into HP, which also gives me an odd number for Stealth Rock Damage purposes. The set is pretty standard, creating an Intimidate Core with the next member on this list. Though some people prefer the fully invested 252 Speed to outrun certain mons like Garchomp and Charizard on the turn they Mega, I believe that the teammates around Manetric will be more than capable of handling these threats.
What History has taught us…
Really, history doesn’t teach people anything, people teach people. History is nothing more than a living recorder denoting all of humanity’s greatest achievements and failures. The onus is on us to expand and progress on the achievements, while finding ways to learn from our failures and mitigate the reasons why these failures occurred. With that in mind, any critiques and input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all for taking the time to read through this team and may you all have a wonderful day. ^_^
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