Hi! This is my first RMT, so I hope you find it interesting. I think this team is pretty cool, and I've had a lot of fun testing it out. It seems quite strong, but there's definitely room for improvement. Basically, I wanted to build a team around a Bulk Up and Protect Breloom, which seemed like a fun set to fully abuse Poison Heal. I knew it would have difficulty with Skarmory in particular, which can shrug off boosted hits like nothing, threaten Breloom out and set up Spikes for free. Magnezone made sense to forcibly remove non-Shed Shell Skarmory, which makes the duo this team started with. I planned to focus on spreading paralysis, since Breloom is effective at doing so with Force Palm, and is particularly slow without investment, which makes paralyzing pokemon which can outspeed and threaten Breloom a key step in setting up for a Bulk Up sweep. (Emphasising paralysis also made me feel better about dropping Spore on Breloom, which is generally Breloom's most powerful move)
Since I wanted to spread paralysis, Jirachi was an obvious choice. It makes an excellent rocker, as well as a generally solid defensive Steel type, which can paralyze even ground types with Body Slam. However, the main target for Jirachi's paralysis was Heatran, which presents a huge threat to Breloom, Magnezone and Jirachi. By paralysing Heatran on the switch, Magnezone becomes able to trap and remove it with HP Ground.
With this, the team was looking very weak to Fire moves. Powerful Ground and Fighting moves could also prove threatening. Starmie is an excellent partner to Magnezone. Removing Skarmory and spinning away its hazards can be absolutely game breaking. Starmie's resistance to Fighting and Fire moves is paricularly appealing, as is access to Thunder Wave. Zapdos made a natural addition, with an immunity to Ground, resistance to Fighting and access to Discharge, to spread paralysis while posing an offensive threat. The Spin support from Starmie is particularly appreciated in allowing Zapdos to switch into attacks without being worn down too quickly.
Finally, I decided I wanted a scarfer. The team was not so defensively solid that I felt comfortable against threatening set up sweepers like DD Dragonite, and having access to speed control without relying on paralysis seemed wise. I settled on Flygon, which has useful resistances and immunities, such as to Ground and Fire. With Skarmory and Bronzong handled by Magnezone, Flygon can pose a very serious threat, and U-Turning on Skarmory to trap it immediately with Magnezone is particularly powerful.
L Dopa (Flygon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Dragon Claw
I put Flygon in the lead slot over Jirachi primarily for the matchup against Metagross. Unless your opponent is absolutely cracked, there's no way they're clicking EQ turn one against Flygon, which makes U-Turning into Magnezone a pretty safe play. From there, Magnezone can trap most Metagross, while potentially avoiding the Explosion with Substitute. I really like ScarfGon as a revenge killer/ late game cleaner, and the momentum it can generate with U-Turn throughout the game is always useful. It can falter a bit against more defensive builds, and locking into the wrong move can be potentially devastating. It's important to minimise reliance on Flygon as a revenge killer, since Earthquake gives such free setup to Ground immunes or resists like Dragonite and Gyarados, while Outrage and Dragon Claw can give something like Empoleon or Lucario a free turn. Giving these pokemon a free turn is often a bad idea, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Regardless, this mon is an absolute monster against offensive builds, which often lack the bulk to take the powerful STAB combo, and which get put on the back foot by U-Turn. Dragon Claw is tremendous for when Outrage is too risky/ overkill.
Bad Penny (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 44 SpD / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
The speed provides some creep on max speed TTar, while the special defence helps with pokemon like Gengar and Starmie. The rest goes into physical bulk, allowing Jirachi to take on threats like Tyranitar. I'm not sure if physically defensive is the best fit for this team. Specially defensive, or a more offensive spread are also tempting. That said, this set is consistent. Great at getting rocks up, spreading paralysis and checking a bunch of different pokemon. Tyranitar, Latias, Gengar, Breloom, Kingdra, the list goes on. It's just really hard to kill. Wish without Protect is still solid against more passive pokemon, and passing a Wish to Zapdos is a good way to ease the sting of rocks. Body Slam over Thunder Wave, since I generally prefer it, and since Starmie is great at luring and paralysing Ghost types so Thunder Wave on Jirachi becomes less valuable.
Ergot (Breloom) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
Impish Nature
- Force Palm
- Seed Bomb
- Bulk Up
- Protect
The star of the show lol. Will O Wisp is really hard to switch into, which made a bulky Breloom quite appealing to me, and this set can do some really cool stuff. Elephant in the room - there's no Spore, and no attack investment, and no Leech Seed. As a result, this Breloom poses much less of an immediate threat than other Breloom sets. Still, the ability to set up on Gyarados is quite something. Of course, this set can threaten pokemon such as Rotom-A and Clefable, but the real draw was the ability to set up on physical attacks with Bulk Up and Protect (which also happens to ruin Bounce Gyarados). Even something as powerful as Machamp can struggle to break through, while Superpower Breloom can get completely walled. This set is EVed to survive a +1 Tyranitar Ice/ Fire Punch after rocks. It also has a good chance to survive a max special attack Fire Blast from Tyranitar after rocks, which means that this mon makes a great check to pretty much any TTar set as long as it's healthy. Seed Bomb is chosen to threaten Waters like Swampert, Suicune, Milotic and Starmie. Force Palm is the primary STAB move, to threaten checks such as Latias with paralysis. Despite the investment, Breloom is still somewhat squishy, and won't enjoy taking powerful or super effective moves at all. Still, Poison Heal is what makes this set usable, as a resilient status absorber very capable of threatening slow and passive teams.
The Model (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Magnet Rise
- Substitute
With Breloom getting completely walled by Skarmory, Magnezone support seemed essential. I don't see that as much of a problem, since Magnezone is so good in general. Removing Bronzong, Skarmory and Metagross is already huge, but Magnezone can also grab a KO on paralyzed or slow Heatran, a Bullet Punch locked Scizor, and even stuff like defensive Jirachi and Empoleon in some situations. Particularly defensive Jirachi lacking Fire Punch or U-Turn stand no chance against Magnezone once they get paralyzed. Substitute has great utility here, avoiding status from said Jirachi and avoiding Explosion from Metagross and Bronzong (Metagross will often EQ first, just in case it's faster, while Bronzong will often explode immediately). Max speed Magnezone (without a speed lowering Hidden Power) will always outspeed neutral natured Metagross, which hits at most 239 speed, one less than Magnezone. Jolly Metagross is very rare, which makes switching into Meteor Mash/ Stealth Rock, then Magnet Rising on EQ and Subbing on Explosion a pretty reliable way to remove Metagross. If it Explodes as I Magnet Rise, it's a bit worse for me, but I'd still gladly trade my Magnezone to get rid of Metagross. Either way, with lead rocker Metagross removed, a Starmie Spin is likely to keep rocks off for good, which is an obvious advantage. Flygon and Gliscor completely wall this set, but choice locked Flygon can actually get PP stalled out of Earthquakes by the combination of Magnet Rise and Substitute. Finally, Substitute gives me the option to fish for full paralysis in dire situations.
Precious Thing (Starmie) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
I'm a big fan of Colbur Starmie, since a fast support Starmie is so good at spreading paralysis, spinning hazards away and checking a range of threats such as Heatran and Infernape, but can feel inconsistent when there's a TTar around every corner to ruin your day. With Colbur Berry, TTar is no longer a death sentence, making it a lot easier to get use out of support Starmie. Rapid Spin is an obvious choice, as relieving hazard pressure can go a long way in winning a game. As a result, your opponent is likely to spin block you, so spinning should generally be reserved for when you know more about your opponents team. Initially, Recovering off hits such as from the Fire types, or throwing off a T Wave is usually more productive. Catching a Gengar with a T Wave, for example, will be greatly appreciated by the team, which certainly doesn't enjoy switching into Gengar, although Jirachi can fight it off if necessary. The value of spinning fluctuates a lot from game to game, and shouldn't always be prioritised, but there are cases where it can be worth sacrificing Starmie for a Spin and some momentum. A good example would be when Skarmory is removed after laying a spike or two down, which can be permanently removed by a spin. Even better is when your opponent has lost their lead rocker, and a spin will clear the field for Zapdos to go crazy. Special defense is chosen to ease the hits from Heatran, which this team doesn't enjoy switching into. Surf is primarily for breaking Heatran's Substitute, and being a generally solid STAB move. I would prefer Psychic if not for Heatran, since Breloom can come in on Starmie for free once Poisoned and pose a significant threat to the team, particularly if rocks are up.
Fish Fry (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 36 Def / 24 SpA / 24 SpD / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Finally, Zapdos. Solid type synergy was my main incentive when picking Zapdos, but the speed, power and bulk of Zapdos really do make it one of the most threatening pokemon in the game. This set uses Discharge for the additional paralysis chance, although the power of Thunderbolt is definitely tempting. 248 HP for good mixed bulk, with enough speed for Adamant Lucario, enough defence for a +2 E Speed after rocks and enough special defence to take a Specs Draco Meteor from Latias at full health and roost it off if necessary. So far it hasn't been, but it seemed like a nice benchmark to hit, as well as helping with hits from the likes of Starmie and Empoleon. The rest goes into special attack, with a Modest nature to squeeze the most damage possible out of a largely defensive Zapdos. This mon can be quite overworked, as my main check to a number of threats. The vulnerability to rocks and sand can really hurt at times, but it can still deal with pokemon like Lucario, Scizor and Breloom. Roost helps a lot in that regard, but the lack of resilience to passive damage compared to something like Gliscor can definitely be felt. I still decided that the superior coverage, significantly greater offenses, access to paralysis and relatively greater resilience to Water and Ice atacks pushed Zapdos over the competition in my eyes, but there might be some bias there lol. But really, pokemon like Starmie and Empoleon would be a bit too scary if this was a Gliscor.
Key Threats:
Azelf - This pokemon is largely kept relevant by its unpredictability, which makes it difficult to feel safe against. That said, it's usually a lead, and U-Turn into Jirachi should be fine.
Blissey - Can keep rocks up vs Starmie and walls most of this team. Without hazards or sand, Blissey can be hard to break. The free entry for Breloom helps, but it's definitely not a mon I'm glad to see.
Breloom - Gets free entry on Starmie, so Sub is annoying. Zapdos is my best answer, but Jirachi does well, and my own Breloom can help against some variants.
Bronzong - Unless it sets up Trick Room or Earthquakes, Magnezone is a free kill. Starmie is generally safe, and can keep rocks off against support Bronzong (or just spin to pivot to Zone on the rocks). Zapdos also does well, and Jirachi can help, though I won't usually need it to.
Celebi - Super hard to break - natural cure for paralysis, completely walls Breloom and resists Electric. A defensive Celebi might actually be the worst matchup imaginable for this team, I have a really hard time beating it. Basically comes down to U-Turn doing decent damage and Iron Head having cheese potential. I guess fishing for crits and full paras is also on the table lol.
Clefable - Isn't as bad as Blissey, since I don't rely on passive damage and Clefable is forced to burn through Soft Boileds more quickly against Thunderbolts and Discharges.
Dragonite - Jirachi can take a hit and threaten paralysis, but other than that I really just have to force it to Outrage and revenge kill it, probably with Flygon. That works for DD or Band, the Mixed set can force me to switch around a bit. Fortunately, it can't come in too easily and paralysis makes it less threatening.
Empoleon - Really scary. Giving it a free turn can be lights out, specifically for Sub Petaya. It doesn't set up too easily though, but if Flygon has to lock into a Dragon move then I could be in trouble. Mach Punch on Breloom would be nice, but I don't think that really fits on this team. I could be wrong, but as it is I just hope I don't run into this monster. Starmie can fight it off somewhat, but outside of maybe stalling it out of Hydro Pumps I'm really up the creek without a paddle.
Flygon - Quite scary, but I can mostly take a hit from scarf without too much worry. The mixed set looks a lot more threatening. I haven't run into it with this team yet, but it's just a matter of time, and I'll have to be pretty careful around it.
Gengar - Pretty obnoxious, I don't love switching into this thing. Jirachi can fight it, but its not always ideal. I'll usually just attack it with whatever I have out, be that Starmie T Waving or Breloom throwing off Seed Bombs.
Gliscor - Does well against my physical attackers and Magnezone. However, it can't really avoid getting paralyzed by Body Slam or Force Palm, which makes it a lot easer to overwhelm, and Starmie and Zapdos can switch in quite easily.
Gyarados - Sometimes switches into Breloom. Tends to switch out quite quickly lol. Starmie and Jirachi can take a hit can paralyse it, and it can't set up in front of the electric types, so for once I'm not too concerned by Gyara.
Heatran - Quite threatening, but if it gets paralyzed switching into Jirachi or staying in on Starmie, Magnezone can remove it pretty quick.
Hippowdon - Can be hard to break, but Breloom and Starmie do well in the 1v1, while Zapdos and Magnezone aren't too threatened and can at least burn some PP if necessary.
Infernape - Flygon, Starmie and Zapdos do well, but a U-Turn on Starmie stings, and playing passively against it can leave me on the back foot. Another one ruined by paralysis.
Jirachi - Calm Mind sets are a real problem, but paralysis goes a long way in fighting it off. Physical sets with Fire Punch are hard to trap with Zone, but as ever paralysis remains a viable solution. Hitting it hard with Flygon or walling it with Zapdos are also potential answers.
Kingdra - Always nasty to deal with, letting it set up can be dangerous, particularly Rain Dance sets. Specs is very threatening as well. Hitting it hard is a good option, and paralysis is devastating for most Kingdra sets.
Latias - A good answer to Breloom, but paralysis is painful and Jirachi makes a good switch in. It's not too bad to handle offensively or defensively.
Lucario - Letting it set up is generally ill advised, but it doesn't have much room to do so, and Zapdos can revenge kill it as long is it's in pristine condition.
Machamp - Often a lead, which can be immediately threatening with Dynamic Punch. Still, shouldn't be too hard to handle with Starmie, Zapdos and a physically defensive Jirachi. If necessary, Magnezone outspeeds it and hits it hards and Flygon can do a chunk with Earthquake or Outrage. A midgame Sub set shouldn't be as bad, since it mostly threatens Flygon out and I can weaken or paralyze it enough in most cases. If it's slow, my Breloom can outspeed it and Bulk Up, so if Machamp switches in, Breloom can grab 2 boosts before getting hit.
Magnezone - Jirachi is quite vulnerable to trapping, but max speed HP Ground Magnezone makes a good revenge killer of most opposing Magnezone.
Metagross - Magnezone will usually take care of it. Agility is scarier, but Starmie and Jirachi can take a hit and paralyze it back. Zapdos can also wall it, so it will probably just Boom.
Milotic - Struggles to take a barrage of Grass and Electric moves, and isn't too threatening in return.
Rhyperior - It doesn't come in too easily, but I also can't OHKO it too easily, which means there's a good chance something will have to go down weakening it and making sure it can't keep a Sub.
Roserade - Defensive Grass types are tricky for this team, and sleep isn't appreciated either. At least Toxic Spikes are pretty harmless and it isn't too hard to wear down.
Rotom-A - Quite a pain to deal with, but it often ends up paralyzed from spin blocking Starmie, or switches into Breloom which can beat it 1v1. Magnezone makes a decent switch in, while Flygon can potentially come in on Thunderbolt and threaten an Outrage.
Scizor - I rely mostly on Zapdos to fend off SD Scizor, but paralyzing it and taking it on with Magnezone can prove effective. Banded U-Turn hurts a lot, but Bullet Punch gives me a free trap.
Shaymin - Another problematic Grass type, this one isn't so bad. It doesn't resist Fighting and lacks the recovery of Celebi. Still a huge threat, and potentially very hard to break, it's just not as bad as Celebi.
Skarmory - Shed Shell Skarmory is a nightmare, but I can paralyze it, threaten it with powerful special attacks, and spin away the hazards. It's not a totally lost cause. Leftovers is free food for Zone.
Starmie - Quite threatening, but the offensive set can get worn down, and Jirachi makes a decent answer, while defensive variants struggle to hurt Breloom.
Suicune - Powerful Electric attacks and Breloom should keep it in check. Paralysis hurts non-Rest variants, which are set up fodder for Breloom anyway. Zapdos and Magnezone beat it regardless.
Swampert - Surprisingly threatening, I'm quite reliant on Breloom to fight it off. Starmie struggles against offensive variants, while Jirachi can't do much more than paralyze it and maybe try to flinch it down. Hidden Power Grass is tempting on an Electric, but the coverage they have is very useful, and as long as I have Breloom, I'm fine.
Tyranitar - Adequately handled by Flygon, Jirachi and Breloom. Still threatening to Zapdos and particularly Starmie, which fears Pursuit. Sand isn't too bad for this team.
Uxie - Usually a lead, Uxie can do its job mostly unimpeded, which can be dangerous if it sets up screens or rain. However, individually Uxie isn't too threatening, since it's not too strong and lacks recovery. Most of the teammates who can abuse screens or rain are threatened a lot by paralysis, so it isn't game over if Uxie sets up.
Zapdos - This team is actually quite squishy to opposing Zapdos. Magnezone and Breloom don't appreciate Heat Wave at all, Starmie is obvious, Jirachi can't touch Sub variants, and hates taking Specs boosted hits, Flygon can get walled or theatened by HP Ice. Often, I just have to rely on paralyzing and beating it down.
That's all for now, I'd love to hear some thoughts on the team. Hope you enjoyed :)
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