Evening!
Long time reader, since probably the Pearl/Diamond/Platinum days and I'm a first time poster.
I wanted to post my 105 win Super Singles team here, but first, I just want to thank everyone who's contributed to this incredible forum for years for all the tips and guidance. I also hadn't seen this team in the leaderboards and I wanted to contribute if I got past 90 wins. Anyways, I'm not the most eloquent writer, so I'll just get right into it.
Much of this is adapted from Insanemaniac's guide from the Battle Maison (in ORAS I believe, no X/Y), so I'll link his team here if you want more details of the team, which is essentially a copy of his/her's (lol).
@
insanemaniac
Greninja / Mega Blaziken / Gliscor
http://www.smogon.com/forums/members/88565/
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-maison-discussion-records.3492706/page-129#post-6046740
My battle video code of my losing fight is
N4KW-WWWW-WWW8-2M9U
(I'm new to posting here and sending video codes, so forgive me if it doesn't work, I'll include a screenshot of my win streak from my phone)
Anyways, here are the stars of this run.
FroGlenn the Greninja
Item: Life Orb
Nature:
Ability:
IV's: 31HP/ 26-27Atk/ 31Def/ 31SpA/ 31SpD/ 31Spe
EV's: 4HP/ 0Atk/ 0Def/ 252SpA/0 SpD/ 252Spe
Stats: 148HP/ 101Atk/ 87Def/ 155SpA/ 91SpD/ 191Spe
Moves:
Grass Knot
Surf
Dark Pulse
Ice Beam
My thoughts: Jack of all trades, speedy special sweeper... FroGlenn (an homage to Frog from Chrono Trigger) is my opener and many fights start and end with him. He has incredible coverage and Protean gives him both a little boost and a little extra defense if you guess your opposing Pokemon right. Most of the time, choosing an attack with him comes down to trying to OHKO or 2HKO vs. trying to stay alive. I usually only switch him out if an electric Pokemon is facing me (most often to my Gliscor). Grass knot can hit like a truck, but check out your opponents weight, because that definitely makes a big difference. If you don't think you can 2HKO an opponent, I'd switch him out for Blaziken or Gliscor asap. Life Orb gives him a bit more power, but it does it with a bit of life. He almost always takes down at least 2 before he bites the dust (unless I switch him out in the first turn, haha)
Hellfyre the Blaziken/Mega Blaziken
===>
Item: Blazikenite
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Speed Boost / Speed Boost
IV's: 31HP/ 31Atk/ 31Def/ 11SpA/ 31SpD/ 31Spe
EV's: 4HP/ 252Atk/ 0Def/ 0SpA/ 0SpD/ 252Spe
Stats: 156HP/ 189Atk/ 90Def/ 108SpA/ 90SpD/ 132Spe
Mega Stats: 156HP/ 233Atk/ 100Def/ 126SpA/ 100SpD/ 152Spe
Moves:
Low Kick
Protect
Flare Blitz
Earthquake
My thoughts: He is the wild card of this group because of his type coverage and his type strengths/weaknesses. I often find him tearing through Steel and Grass walls, Ice pokemon (which both Greninja and Gliscor have a lot of problems with) or anything that can't be easily or swiftly taken care of by the other two. Low Kick runs like Grass Knot above, so lookup the weight on that opposing Pokemon. Fire Blitz hits like a freight train, and as insanemaniac writes, the fights are generally not too long, so the recoil lost in using Fire Blitz isn't too terrible in the big scheme of things. I often find that he is easy to switch into as long as the attack he faces when switching in isn't super effective against him. Protect is nice to use at the start of the fight to get a Speed Boost (usually, one is all you need to out speed nearly everything the Battle Tree can throw at you, except for Pokemon with a Choice Scarf or if Trick Room is in effect, but those don't come around too often). Earthquake rounds out the package, usually used when you KO one pokemon, and the one that comes in is strong against fire and fighting. Although he might be the least used Pokemon of the team, he is integral to its overall success (you can see the side story below, but you can definitely skip it, haha)
On a tangent, I actually made this team in ORAS and when Sun and Moon came out, I was able to transfer all 3 of these Pokemon, but I could not get a Blazikenite for this guy until about a month or two ago, so I put in a perfect IV Dragonite running Multiscale with a Lum Berry whose moves were Roost, Outrage, Fire Punch, and Earthquake and the team fell apart (I tried other well trained Pokemon, but that Dragonite was the most successful). It was an odd situation to have had this really wonderful ORAS team but missing the item on Sun/Moon (in my case, Moon) that really brought the team together. I could barely get past 40 wins until I had Blaziken back.
Blobster the Gliscor
Item: Toxic Orb
Nature: Careful
Ability: Poison Heal
IV's: 31HP/ 31Atk/ 31Def/ 30SpA/ 31SpD/ 31Spe
EV's: 212HP/ 4Atk/ 36Def/ 0SpA/ 252SpD/ 4Spe
Stats: 177HP/ 116Atk/ 150Def/ 58SpA/ 139SpD/ 116Spe
Moves:
Substitute (16/16 PP)
Protect (16/16 PP)
Toxic
Earthquake
From the various Battle Towers, Maisons, Trees, etc. I've always been drawn to Mixed Walls and Gliscor is definitely a very strong one. I've run with Umbreons and Ferrothorns and Vaporeons, but this one has been my most successful one. I think Gliscor, especially for this team, has the right set of typing, speed, and ability to safely switch and cover for the other two while still having a very effective way to kill (toxic, then stalling with Substitute and Protect) and a surprisingly powerful STAB move for a wall in Earthquake (I'm often surprised how much damage it does, even it isn't super effective). Honestly, I've made a lot of mistakes in my run to 105 wins, mostly because I'm distracted when I'm climbing the tree (watching a show or getting some reading done) and I don't always pay attention to the moves that go on or I get lazy and I don't look up a Pokemon's type or weight (for Grass Knot or Low Kick) and something surprises me and boom, I'm either down 1 or 2 Pokemon. Blobster (affectionally named by my wife, who thinks he looks like a cross between a bat and a lobster) consistently covers for my mistakes or my lapses in attention. Whether it is nullifying an electric attack thrown at FroGlenn, dodging a ground attack aimed at Hellfyre, or if a switch needs to happen because one of the other Pokemon is confused, immobilized by love, or anything... This guy is like a Troy Polamalu safety. He has everyone's back. Getting to the nuts and bolts of it all, you can see above that I maxed out Substitute and Protect. Being able to take a hit, throw out a Protect or a substitute, and whittling down the opponents Blizzards/Surfs/Waterfalls/Ice Beams/practically any move really makes this sucker tough to KO. Toxic Orb gives quite a bit of healing over time, and when paired with an alternating sub/protect cycle, you can outlast 2 or 3 Pokemon... provided you can sneak in a Toxic in there, and the opponent can be poisoned by it. The other advantage of healing by being poisoned is that it prevents you have getting another status placed on your Gliscor. On my next run, I'll probably try to max out the PP of Toxic and Earthquake as well. I've definitely had a few close calls where more PP in those two would have made a difference. Just watch out for Ice Moves. If you got up against an Ice Pokemon and you have Blaziken around, I'd switch him out for Blaziken. Generally though, once this guy goes in, I don't switch him out. It's slow and ugly, but Blobster can grind it out with the best of them.
Overall, I really felt like I could have gone further and I plan another run soon (and hopefully I can surpass 105 and add to this list). I've just found a lot of guidance one these forums and I wanted to share and contributed some of the knowledge I've gained running this fun and dynamic team. While this is my first contribution, I hope it isn't my last! If you have any comments or critiques, I'd be happy to hear them, otherwise... Enjoy!
