Hello guys ! Now that pokebank is out (more or less), I decided at last to make a team for this metagame. I played around a little bit with Crawdaunt, and figured it had an amazing wallbreaking power, as well as being very fun to play with. So I tried to build a team around him and came up with this :
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
The star of the team. It usually KOes a pokemon every time it comes into play, thanks to that amazing ability. Building a team around that guy is not without its drawbacks, though. Being the only powerful wallbreaker in the team, I need to keep him alive until it defeats the opposing team's defensive threats. I don't usually use Swords Dance but it can come in handy against stall, and it doesn't have any better option anyway.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
Aegislash's typing is a blessing. It can usually come in when Fighting or Bug attacks threaten Crawdaunt, and can proceed to weakening the opposing team with Shadow Ball. Even if it dies in the process, it usually deals enough damage to put one or two pokemon in my 4 priority users' KO range. It also helps me dealing with sweepers such as Cloyster and Lucario. Weakness Policy is situational but gives him some wallbreaking power that can be needed in those situations when Crawdaunt is KO.
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SAtk / 20 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Discharge
Here's my Mega and a very useful pivot for my team. Ampharos' main job is to use its bulk and slow Volt Switch to bring in Crawdaunt safely and start wrecking things. Ampharos usually attracts the likes of Garchomp and Excadrill, though, so I often need to predict the opponent switching to them, as Ampharos has the coverage options to OHKO both. Ampharos is also my answer to Rotom-W and Talonflame, but having no recovery options really means I have to bring him in carefully.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (over Jolly)
IVs: 29 HP
- Ice Shard
- Freeze Dry (over Icicle Crash)
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
..alright, I know I should swap Icicle Crash/Spear for Superpower xD I'm just such a Substitute paranoid, and at the same time, I hate it when Icicle Spear ends up doing only 2 hits, so I'm running both at the moment. (my team really hates Rotom-W when Ampharos is weakened, though, so I'll try running Superpower ... or maybe Stealth Rock ?)
Anyway, Mamoswine's job in this team is pretty obvious, it revenge kills dragons/deals with the likes of Landorus-T, Thundurus, Gliscor, Tyranitar and Heatran when I don't want to risk bringing Crawdaunt in.
edit : Freeze Dry takes care of Rotom-W, as my team has a hard time dealing with him when Ampharos is weakened, especially if he spams Volt Switch.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 50 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind
Talonflame is my cleaner and my last resort revenge killer. Brave Bird wrecks things when Tyranitar/Heatran/Rotom-W have been taken care of by Crawdaunt/Mamoswine/Ampharos. In some scenarios when Crawdaunt is still healthy in late game and the opponents packs a Tyranitar or something, I can sometimes attempy a Tailwind Crawdaunt sweep.
Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Defog
Crobat brings a lot of utility to the team, thanks to Defog and its blazing speed. I really needed a Defog user as Talonflame needs all the health it can have to withstand Brave Bird's recoil when it's cleaning in late game. Taunt is for Smeargle/Sashloom/Will-o-wisp users, and it causes a lot of switches which give me opportunities to bring Crawdaunt in, using U-turn.
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Main threats to the team :
Gyarados : It can set up in the face of a lot of my pokemon (especially its Mega form) and my only way of dealing with it is to sacrifice something and deal enough damage for Talonflame to come and revenge kill
Rotom-W : If the game lasts for too long, the opponent can weaken Amphy little by little and then Rotom-W completely walls me (Crawdaunt only outspeeds it if it's running 0 speed EVs =/)
Excadrill : Crawdaunt can kill it but each of my team members really fears either Earthquake or Rock slide from that guy :s
Stall : Defensive cores such as Mega-Venusaur + Heatran wall me really easily (Crawdaunt can hurt but I need to sacrifice him against Saur to stand a chance). Add a Rotom-W and this team is going to have a very bad time =/
So yeah, I think that the team can be improved. As you can see, it's a team that likes fast paced battles, because my checks to common threats (Ampharos/Aegislash) get weakened really fast if it goes on for too long. I might need a second wallbreaker, to put more pressure on the opponent, and take some pressure off Crawdaunt, because keeping him alive at all times while trying to bring him in to break the opponent's defenses sometimes feels like being on a mine field. But I'm a little lost because I don't know what pokemon I can afford to remove from the team without losing precious resistances/utility/synergy. (I thought of Latios>Crobat, the loss of U-turn, Taunt, and the loss in speed hurt, though)
Anyway, thank you very much for reading my RMT :) Feel free to criticize/comment/suggest, and sorry if my English is weird at times ^^
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
The star of the team. It usually KOes a pokemon every time it comes into play, thanks to that amazing ability. Building a team around that guy is not without its drawbacks, though. Being the only powerful wallbreaker in the team, I need to keep him alive until it defeats the opposing team's defensive threats. I don't usually use Swords Dance but it can come in handy against stall, and it doesn't have any better option anyway.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
Aegislash's typing is a blessing. It can usually come in when Fighting or Bug attacks threaten Crawdaunt, and can proceed to weakening the opposing team with Shadow Ball. Even if it dies in the process, it usually deals enough damage to put one or two pokemon in my 4 priority users' KO range. It also helps me dealing with sweepers such as Cloyster and Lucario. Weakness Policy is situational but gives him some wallbreaking power that can be needed in those situations when Crawdaunt is KO.
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SAtk / 20 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Discharge
Here's my Mega and a very useful pivot for my team. Ampharos' main job is to use its bulk and slow Volt Switch to bring in Crawdaunt safely and start wrecking things. Ampharos usually attracts the likes of Garchomp and Excadrill, though, so I often need to predict the opponent switching to them, as Ampharos has the coverage options to OHKO both. Ampharos is also my answer to Rotom-W and Talonflame, but having no recovery options really means I have to bring him in carefully.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (over Jolly)
IVs: 29 HP
- Ice Shard
- Freeze Dry (over Icicle Crash)
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
..alright, I know I should swap Icicle Crash/Spear for Superpower xD I'm just such a Substitute paranoid, and at the same time, I hate it when Icicle Spear ends up doing only 2 hits, so I'm running both at the moment. (my team really hates Rotom-W when Ampharos is weakened, though, so I'll try running Superpower ... or maybe Stealth Rock ?)
Anyway, Mamoswine's job in this team is pretty obvious, it revenge kills dragons/deals with the likes of Landorus-T, Thundurus, Gliscor, Tyranitar and Heatran when I don't want to risk bringing Crawdaunt in.
edit : Freeze Dry takes care of Rotom-W, as my team has a hard time dealing with him when Ampharos is weakened, especially if he spams Volt Switch.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 50 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind
Talonflame is my cleaner and my last resort revenge killer. Brave Bird wrecks things when Tyranitar/Heatran/Rotom-W have been taken care of by Crawdaunt/Mamoswine/Ampharos. In some scenarios when Crawdaunt is still healthy in late game and the opponents packs a Tyranitar or something, I can sometimes attempy a Tailwind Crawdaunt sweep.
Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Defog
Crobat brings a lot of utility to the team, thanks to Defog and its blazing speed. I really needed a Defog user as Talonflame needs all the health it can have to withstand Brave Bird's recoil when it's cleaning in late game. Taunt is for Smeargle/Sashloom/Will-o-wisp users, and it causes a lot of switches which give me opportunities to bring Crawdaunt in, using U-turn.
-------------
Main threats to the team :
Gyarados : It can set up in the face of a lot of my pokemon (especially its Mega form) and my only way of dealing with it is to sacrifice something and deal enough damage for Talonflame to come and revenge kill
Rotom-W : If the game lasts for too long, the opponent can weaken Amphy little by little and then Rotom-W completely walls me (Crawdaunt only outspeeds it if it's running 0 speed EVs =/)
Excadrill : Crawdaunt can kill it but each of my team members really fears either Earthquake or Rock slide from that guy :s
Stall : Defensive cores such as Mega-Venusaur + Heatran wall me really easily (Crawdaunt can hurt but I need to sacrifice him against Saur to stand a chance). Add a Rotom-W and this team is going to have a very bad time =/
So yeah, I think that the team can be improved. As you can see, it's a team that likes fast paced battles, because my checks to common threats (Ampharos/Aegislash) get weakened really fast if it goes on for too long. I might need a second wallbreaker, to put more pressure on the opponent, and take some pressure off Crawdaunt, because keeping him alive at all times while trying to bring him in to break the opponent's defenses sometimes feels like being on a mine field. But I'm a little lost because I don't know what pokemon I can afford to remove from the team without losing precious resistances/utility/synergy. (I thought of Latios>Crobat, the loss of U-turn, Taunt, and the loss in speed hurt, though)
Anyway, thank you very much for reading my RMT :) Feel free to criticize/comment/suggest, and sorry if my English is weird at times ^^
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