Choice Band Donphan Team

[LordPenguinFan]

My team at a glance:

My team in Depth:

Donphan (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fire Fang
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Donphan is the guy I really wanted on my team. I knew that because Donphan sets barely varied that this guy would be able to really confuse other leads and go for either the STAB or the super-effective move. The EV spread allows Donphan to take some hits and I avoid putting them into speed because even with significant investment, Donphan isn't outspeeding anything due to its abysmal speed. Fire Fang and Ice Shard help get rid of those pesky steels and dragons. While Earthquake and Stone Edge give me the Edgequake combo. I primarily pick Donphan over Mamoswine because the difference in attack stats in minimal and Donphan is much less predictable to have a choice band. Also Mamoswine does not carry a physical fire move (to my knowledge) Sturdy is for sure a plus for my lead and gives me the option of carrying an item that isn't focus sash. In practice, Donphan is actually very good at revenge killing able to take a hit and deal out a harder, unexpected ones after coming in on a clean switch.

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost

Skarmory's job is to ruin pesky Baton Pass teams that I absolutely abhor with whirlwind. Stealth Rock over spikes because Donphan obviously doesn't carry it, and SR hurts every thing that switches in. Brave bird for good STAB and roost to recover recoil damage and aid Skarmory's walling abilities. Skarmory is a good switch in to any dragon type move. Skarmory continues the theme of keeping the opponent on their toes because they expect a two-turn spikes setup (albeit not much difference).

Tentacruel (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Tentacruel has a pretty standard set here with the exception of toxic over toxic spikes. This can easily throw off opponents as they switch in expecting a free turn to set up only to have consistent damage thrown at their face. Also in general I prefer statusing appropriately as in poison on walls and burns/paralysis on sweepers as opposed to uniformly statusing opponents. Rapid spin because Donphan doesn't carry it. Scald and Ice Beam finish off the set with two offensive moves. Scald a great wall move providing the STAB and burn chance. Ice Beam for coverage and super-effective hits on pokes expecting another support move.

Victini @ Life Orb
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 80 Atk / 176 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Shadow Ball
- V-create
- Fire Blast
- Fusion Bolt

A Mix-tini set is something that not a lot of people have come by. The EV spread maxes out speed and puts a bit more emphasis on the the special attacks that have weaker base powers than the physical ones on this set. Fire Blast and V-Create paired with STAB and LO provide two awesome wall-breaking moves that hit on both ends of the spectrum. Fusion Bolt and shadow ball provide powerful, accurate moves that aren't STAB, again on both ends of the spectrum. This set will keep opponents guessing as to what moves I actually carry and how to counter this pokemon. Victini pairs well will both Skarmory and Tentacruel who can take the ground and water moves respectively. Tentacruel also aids Victini by spinning away rocks that do a significant amount to Victini.

Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick

The Rotom-W set provides me with another option at a lead pokemon due to Volt Switch. HP Fire cripples ferrothorns and scizors. Trick cripples walls that switch in. Hydro Pump provides great STAB. All in all, this Rotom-W set is pretty standard and a very reliable pokemon to have on a team in which most of the other pokemon do their job in a more roundabout manner than usual.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
- Thunder Wave

Celebi to take statuses with Natural Cure. Giga Drain + Recover ensure survivability. HP Fire again to make sure Celebi isn't walled by Ferrothorns. Also it's a must to combat Scizors who like to come in and pursuit me to death. Celebi also provides T-wave and other than Tentacruel is my only real option to throw around status.

Overall I guess I should have titled my team "On Your Toes" because of the slight deviation from normal sets on 4 out of 6 pokemon (I'm including everyone except Celebi and Rotom-W). The goal of this team is to abuse common knowledge and hopefully squeeze out a win.


So yeah, I apologize in advance for any typos that I am sure are there. I've been doing decently with this team on PO considering I'm not the best battler. I'm open to suggestions so please feel free to critique, tweak, and I'll see what I'd like to implement.

 

[LordPenguinFan]

I changed a little bit of the formatting namely adding animated sprites and larger individual pictures. But getting onto page 3 after a couple of days should surely warrant a bump post.

Again looking for someone to critique this team. I've been trying other teams in the meantime but I really like this one and it has been my most successful team so far.

 

[aDaTheCheat]

This is actually a really good team. It took me awhile to find something that you can possibly tweak. The Donphan is really smart, i run a set that is the general spinner, but i put physical investment in more than usual but i always lack that extra push that comes from CB. The only change that i would maybe do is add psyshock to victini instead of shadow ball. I only say this because your team seems to be walled by blissey if the situation you mentioned with donphan, in which you have to activate sturdy. A 1 Hp CB donphan will be felled by even a blissey. And if that happens you dont have any physical attackers. Just the only thing i can think of on this team. Still very solid and good luck with it.

 

[Dr Ciel]

Hey there. This is a pretty good team, so I'll go over certian Pokemon individually and tell you what you can do to make it better.

Donphan-All I can suggest here is that you use Seed Bomb over something else to give you more coverage.

Victini- I like that Mixtini set, it looks like it could beat a ton of threats. I could suggest thats you use Psychic over Shadow Ball so you get an secondary stab move to hit Fighting pokes hard. This is suggested because you already can hit every ghost very hard.

Celebi- I suggest you toss those Defense EV's into Special Defense as it seems you have 2 solid physical walls in Tenta and Skarm.\

~Dr Ciel

 

[Jimbon]

Hi,

Your team is very interesting. CB Donphan and Mixed Victini are sets that I have not seen a lot of and can work with the right support. Just from looking over this team, I can see you are weak to a lot of common Dragons. Latios and Hydreigon in particular are two that I see causing problems. They have no problem spamming Draco Meteors when your only resist is a Skarmory, who still takes a large chunk despite the resistance. Donphan / Rotom locked into Earthquake and Hydro Pump respectively give opposing Dragons a free hit on something or a chance to set up a Substitute or Calm Mind. One way you can repair this problem would be to try a Specially Defensive Heatran over your current Victini. Heatran does a number of things for your team, it combines with Tentacruel and Celebi to make a reliable FWG core that can handle a lot of common threats, including the aforementioned Dragons. Heatran also carries Stealth Rock, which allows Skarmory to run Spikes over Stealth Rock. The combined hazards will easily wear down opposing threats putting them into KO range for Rotom and Donphan.

Specially Defensive Heatran

Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

If you choose to go with the changes I have mentioned, you will realize that you will not be walled by Ferrothorn as easily. This means that there is less need to run Hidden Power [Fire] on Rotom. I recommend switching it to Hidden Power [Ice] to act as a revenge killer for weakened Dragons.

 

[heinz25]

how would you counter this starmie

starmie @ expert belt
timid 252 SpA / 4 SpecialD / 252 Speed
ability: natural cure
thunder
hp fire
hydro pump
icebeam

Once rotom and celebi are still alive you should be able to take it out, but if rotom is dead it might become much more of a problem

 

[The QWAZ]

how would you counter this starmie

starmie @ expert belt
timid 252 SpA / 4 SpecialD / 252 Speed
thunder
hp fire
hydro pump
icebeam

Once rotom and celebi are still alive you should be able to take it out, but if they are weakened or dead, starmies like this one could be a threat

Mate, the pint of RMT is to identify threats and provide a solution to them, you just point them out and leave it there.

To solve the issues you currently have I would suggest CM virizion> celibi


Virizion@ life orb
252 SPE / 252 SPA / 4Hp
-calm mind
-focus blast
-giga drain
-hidden power ice

This set gives you something which you currently lack, finishing power.
The aim of this set is to sweep late game and it synergies well with donphan as they both take out the wall type the other has issues with.

Good luck, hope I helped.

 

[heinz25]

Mate, the pint of RMT is to identify threats and provide a solution to them, you just point them out and leave it there.

To solve the issues you currently have I would suggest CM virizion> celibi


Virizion@ life orb
252 SPE / 252 SPA / 4Hp
-calm mind
-focus blast
-giga drain
-hidden power ice

This set gives you something which you currently lack, finishing power.
The aim of this set is to sweep late game and it synergies well with donphan as they both take out the wall type the other has issues with.

Good luck, hope I helped.

Mate, normally I ask a question first then depending on the answer, I would try to give a solution if I can. Sometimes the person has a way to take down the pokemon which you can't see by just looking at the team. I recently started pokemon black, maybe 2, 3 weeks now and I'm still not too familiar with some pokes and their moves, so I'm not the best person at giving out solutions. If someone agrees with a threat which I listed, and I haven't given a solution, then feel free to pose a solution. Most of you have been playing the game much longer than me and would most likely be able to provide better solutions than I would be able to.

 

[LordPenguinFan]

Okay I'm going to break this up into parts.

For aDaTheCheat

Hide

This is actually a really good team. It took me awhile to find something that you can possibly tweak. The Donphan is really smart, i run a set that is the general spinner, but i put physical investment in more than usual but i always lack that extra push that comes from CB. The only change that i would maybe do is add psyshock to victini instead of shadow ball. I only say this because your team seems to be walled by blissey if the situation you mentioned with donphan, in which you have to activate sturdy. A 1 Hp CB donphan will be felled by even a blissey. And if that happens you dont have any physical attackers. Just the only thing i can think of on this team. Still very solid and good luck with it.

In my experience, V-Create on Victini has generally been enough to take out a Blissey especially if it has taken previous damage. I'll try the Psyshock and experiment with it, to see if it has a significant impact. Thanks for the rate. =)

For Dr. Ciel

Hide

Hey there. This is a pretty good team, so I'll go over certian Pokemon individually and tell you what you can do to make it better.

Donphan-All I can suggest here is that you use Seed Bomb over something else to give you more coverage.

Victini- I like that Mixtini set, it looks like it could beat a ton of threats. I could suggest thats you use Psychic over Shadow Ball so you get an secondary stab move to hit Fighting pokes hard. This is suggested because you already can hit every ghost very hard.

Celebi- I suggest you toss those Defense EV's into Special Defense as it seems you have 2 solid physical walls in Tenta and Skarm.\

~Dr Ciel

For Donphan I think that that's a great idea. Since EQ is STAB and Fire Fang and Ice Shard have both done work in many battles, I'm going to try and replace it Stone Edge with Seed Bomb. To tell you the truth I had no idea Donphan learned a physical grass move.

Victini is for sure getting Psychic. That was incredibly stupid of me not to give that STAB to it.

I agree with what you said with Celebi but I'm actually going to probably replace it with the Virizion set mentioned by the Qwaz. But play it more defensively if possible. Thanks for the rate. =)

For Jimbon

Hide

Hi,

Your team is very interesting. CB Donphan and Mixed Victini are sets that I have not seen a lot of and can work with the right support. Just from looking over this team, I can see you are weak to a lot of common Dragons. Latios and Hydreigon in particular are two that I see causing problems. They have no problem spamming Draco Meteors when your only resist is a Skarmory, who still takes a large chunk despite the resistance. Donphan / Rotom locked into Earthquake and Hydro Pump respectively give opposing Dragons a free hit on something or a chance to set up a Substitute or Calm Mind. One way you can repair this problem would be to try a Specially Defensive Heatran over your current Victini. Heatran does a number of things for your team, it combines with Tentacruel and Celebi to make a reliable FWG core that can handle a lot of common threats, including the aforementioned Dragons. Heatran also carries Stealth Rock, which allows Skarmory to run Spikes over Stealth Rock. The combined hazards will easily wear down opposing threats putting them into KO range for Rotom and Donphan.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

If you choose to go with the changes I have mentioned, you will realize that you will not be walled by Ferrothorn as easily. This means that there is less need to run Hidden Power [Fire] on Rotom. I recommend switching it to Hidden Power [Ice] to act as a revenge killer for weakened Dragons.

Victini has actually provided me with quite a bit of offense and at times is the only pokemon that can kill Blisseys because opponents usually predict Donphan to be phsycial. That being said i do often have to use death fodder to let those dragons get their Sp.A drops and then set up SR and hope an Ice Shard gets them which it often does. The extra entry hazards will definitely help and I'll for sure try it out.

One other thing though is that I'm probably going to adopt a defensive version of the Virzion Set that will be easily able to sponge and special dragon moves thrown at it. I'll test everything out though. Thanks for the rate. =)

For Heinz25

Hide

how would you counter this starmie

starmie @ expert belt
timid 252 SpA / 4 SpecialD / 252 Speed
ability: natural cure
thunder
hp fire
hydro pump
icebeam

Once rotom and celebi are still alive you should be able to take it out, but if rotom is dead it might become much more of a problem

As I've said a couple times now in the other responses in this post, I'm going to go with a more defensive set of the Virizion set that The QWAZ mentioned. With a massive special defensive stat I should be able to take the unSTAB moves pretty well, even if they are supereffective. Other than that I guess my main option is to draw in the Ice, Water, or Fire move and switch to Rotom for the resist and Volt Switching out to my specially defensive grass poke for a giga drain to faint the Starmie and gain back some health in the process, if the Volt Switch didn't do the job. Thanks for the rate =).

For The QWAZ

Hide

Mate, the pint of RMT is to identify threats and provide a solution to them, you just point them out and leave it there.

To solve the issues you currently have I would suggest CM virizion> celibi


Virizion@ life orb
252 SPE / 252 SPA / 4Hp
-calm mind
-focus blast
-giga drain
-hidden power ice

This set gives you something which you currently lack, finishing power.
The aim of this set is to sweep late game and it synergies well with donphan as they both take out the wall type the other has issues with.

Good luck, hope I helped.

You know I think that this exactly the right pokemon. It definitely plays Celebi's role much better. I'm probably going to run it more as a defensive Calm Minder than an offensive one because otherwise I'm left pretty weak on the Sp. Def side on my as I've realized through testing. After a calm mind or two I should have the finishing power I need. I'm probably still going to run Life Orb though for some late game help. Thanks a lot though. I think this will really help the team.

I realize you recommended this to me as a sweeper though, and I'll try it both ways and see what works best. Appreciate the rate. =)