Asta's Late Game Zapdos - Team Analysis
This is one of my recently made teams with helpful inputs from Fear, The real UD and Foggi. It's a team that has multiple ways to create win conditions and i find it quite fun to use.
Overview and Gameplan
A glance at the team lineup shows an overall well rounded team with two and a half (Dugtrio) rock resists, two flying resists, two ground resists, two steel resists and one normal resist. Heracross is partially accounted for thanks to Dugtrio. Given that my flying and normal resists are a CBTar and an offensive Zapdos, this means that the team won't be tanking hits for long on the physical spectrum. Aerodactyl and CB Mence can also be an issue late game, but Agility Zapdos denies them coming in to revenge. Blissey and SDef Claydol on the other hand should cover the majority of special attackers even if the team loses Blissey early on. With regards to offensive presence there's EndPert and Dugtrio to ensure the special walls are taken care off to setup Zapdos. You also have CB Tar who can take on Snorlax/Regice early and midgame. CB Tar can also pull an "Aero" late game if it gets passed an Agility. Claydol provides spin support and cleric support from Blissey means you can win the spikes war. Boom is a good backup move to stop setup sweepers towards endgame, notably Gyarados, Salamence and Snorlax, and it can also setup a Dugtrio revenge in mid-game thanks to ADV mechanics ending a turn when something dies.
It's vital that Zapdos stays at around 55% until late game as with the special walls gone and Agility to deny any revenge attempts from Aerodactyl and BoomGar means you'll be doing a lot of damage. Given that Blissey is there Zapdos is only really taking damage early on from Heracross and maybe a CBGross Meteor Mash.
Top priority threats that you could even consider trading one for one include Metagross (as no Ghost or dedicated steel means Metagross will have his way with Boom anyways) and also CB Mence. Claydol is EV'd in Defense specifically to get an extra switch in on this beast. Flygon can be annoying but non-CB variants are walled by Blissey. Heracross is also trade worthy, you can buffer at least one Megahorn and you can also revenge it with Dugtrio.
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 188 Atk / 80 Def / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Focus Punch
Tyranitar is the best lead to use for the team as it gets sand immediately up and its presence mitigates initial damage to the team. For instance, lead Zapdos would be forced out of an opposing Tyranitar lead and would force my offensive Swampert to take the hit and also reveal the set in turn 2. Getting sand early means:
1) Zapdos does more damage on Snorlax, Blissey and Celebi. The latter two are forced to Recover more often which in turn gives you free turns to get CB Tar in. Snorlax as an example takes 27% from Thunderbolt and will be forced to boom/rest earlier.
2) Endeavor Pert becomes scary. Without Sand the set loses its edge as it can't force as many KOes.
3) It stops Gengar's recovery making spinning easier.
So the lead CBtar mitigates damage taken to the team by (a) forcing an early switch to a wall and (b) getting sand in which boosts your damage capabilities. This is huge for a team who relies on 5/6 Pokemon on the team lacking recovery.
EV Spread:
Enough defenses to ensure Jolly Dugtrio and +1 Standard DDtar fail to OHKO. I've shifted some defense to HP to improve it's ability to take Special Attacks. 361 HP allows this notably to always be 3hkoed by Timid Zapdos Thunderbolt in case I am forced to switch into it. It also tilts the favour of the Offensive Celebi matchup in Tyranitar's favour as it reduces the possibility of being 2HKOed by 298 Giga Drain from 80% to 40%. I've stuck with 198 Speed as after one agility pass this should outspeed everything and kept the rest into Attack. If I was to increase the Speed of this to say beat other Tyranitars, I'd go 203 to outspeed 270 Speed DDmence in a +2 vs +1 situation.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
- Baton Pass
Zapdos was the main inspiration of the team. The idea was that Zapdos even with the special walls out of the picture gets passively countered by speedy revenge killers such as Aero, Boomgar, Flygon. Agility Zapdos acts in a similar sense to Agiligross in the team as it cannot be revenged late game and it also has the "get out of jail free" card in the form of Baton Pass. Baton Pass synergies well with all of the team as:
1) CB Tyranitar becomes a pseudo Aero in-case i pass the Agility, being able to one shot something. This could for instance be a CM Celebi/Jirachi.
2) Claydol outspeeds Gengar and therefore quarantees me the spin. This was shown in my battle against Tesung.
3) Swampert can pull the Endeavor stunt without getting revenged by Jolteon/Aero/Dugtrio.
4) I get a 50/50 situation to revenge Jolteons with Dugtrio which will prevent my Thunderbolts early game.
5) Blissey can outspeed Flygon which is a nuisance late game.
EV Spread:
112 HP EVs quarantee I always survive a +1 boosted 290 SAtk Ice Beam from Suicune even after Sand damage. This is the Special Attack that a 101 HP Substitute Suicune would run as they typically go for the 222 Speed for Tyranitar. Given that this is the only Suicune set that would be able to go through this team, surviving that hit is crucial. At the same time, while Speed with Agility might be counter-intuitive, it is also important to make sure i Outspeed Modest Cune, in case an Offensive Cune manages to go through my Blissey via a trap of some sort. Max Special Attack is obligatory for the late game sweep as it helps put pressure on the Special walls and also help tilt the 2HKO on Tyranitar towards my favour.
Since I don't have Spikes Hidden Power Ice loses its edge over grass as it can no longer stack enough damage on pert to make it any threatening. I prefer Hidden Power Grass as that way Zapdos won't be constantly phazed by Roar Swampert.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 180 SpA / 76 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Ice Beam
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
The team definitely benefits from a cleric. Whether its a late game +2 CBtar or the endeavor pert, all my win conditions become significantly weaker if I'm taking Wisps and Toxics early on. Aromatherapy allows Claydol to last the Spike war a lot longer against Skarmory and it makes Zapdos switching into its Toxics a lot less painful as well. People on TSS teams typically like to switch Skarmory on cleric Blissey. With the Agility + Claydol combination I'm not scared of getting Spiked to death. As such, getting in Seismic Tosses early on Skarmory is useful for the late game conditions as it softens it up for CB Tar.
EV Spread:
I gave this 165 Speed as at +2 I'd be able to scare away Flygon which I'm weak to late game. The Speed at +2 also helps against offensive Jirachi and Celebi in CM Spam teams. I prefer Bold to Modest on this as Blissey is my initial Swampert pivot. Thus its important to tank Earthquakes more so than the merits of having Modest to KO Dugtrio/Mence more often.
Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 8 HP / 228 Atk / 40 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Dugtrio is great with Baton Pass Zap and it also synergies well with Swampert, able to finish the job that endeavor might of left undone. It's my secondary method to take down the special wall in case Swampert falls short, something that benefits Zapdos alot.
EV Spread:
8 HP ensures i always take CBTar's Rock Slides. 8/40 allows me to always survive Bold Blissey's Ice Beams. I prefer Adamant to Jolly on this team as I'd rather take Blissey, Tyranitar and Celebi down rather than Raikou. Starmie is the only thing I'm missing out on and is definitely the reason I might contemplate getting back onto Jolly.
Swampert @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Roar
Endeavor pert with Roar over Ice Beam. While you miss out on coverage which equates to losing on opportunities to kill some pokemon, you gain opportunities on beating some others. For instance, defensive teams typically cover Endpert with Recover users. The bait is to force those fellas in and start baiting the Recover cycle after one or two endeavors. Once they get comfortable you Roar them out, putting them into a 50/50 situation. If you are behind a Sub, Endeavor instantly is a lot more backbreaking with their Recover user not in. Roar is also the more optimal choice for the team as it allows one to Roar Rest cune out while its attempting to stall out Seismic Toss Blissey with its Rest turns.
Roar puts Suicune in a bad spot as well as it will be in a predicament to break your subs rather than just CM in your face to outstall. Other uses of Roar involve typical phazing duties and also phazing a 100% Skarmory that wants to trade his HP to deny your sweep first.
This set would also become 5X better with Spikes support as well, albeit I don't have room for that here as it stands.
EV Spread:
252/252/4 I think is optimal as outspeeding <361 Speed Raikou and Starmie is more crucial than any stat point spent elsewhere.
Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 24 SpD / 40 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
Claydol is solid for this team. It's my secondary Rock resist and it does its job well, thanks to Fear's EV spread. Psychic so that it gets past Gengar and Earthquake so that the Special walls don't get in completely for free. Also beats SubCM Jirachi which would be problematic otherwise. Tyranitar is not that crucial to beat as I have Dugtrio and Swampert to cover for that. As such i kept Attack uninvested in favor of Speed in order to outspeed Gengar after a pass. Psychic is needed to force Spin with +2 Speed. Explosion for stopping setup sweepers late game and setting up Dugtrio midgame. Passing speed on it via Zapdos provides me with a fast boomer of my own as well.
EV Spread:
310 Special Defense is the magic number to quarantee a 4HKO from 310 Satk Bulky Gengar's Ice Punches. I'm also 4HKOed by 236 Ice Beams from Swampert which is also handy. 298 Defense means I am 3HKOed (80% of the time) by CB Salamence which can be an issue late game. 40 Speed EVs get me to 176 which allow Claydol to outspeed Gengar at +2.
The Team in Action
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-170952
My game against Tesung in WCOP had a pretty even matchup against a Jolteon TSS team. I call it even because these type of teams typically lose to Zapdos in end game, but I am shut down for the most part in early game. Notice how I am taking any damage I can get with my Blissey against Skarmory despite letting myself get spiked down. I was also playing Dugtrio very conservatively until i ensured he was no HP Grass variant on his Celebi. Tesung did a great job reading the Zapdos vs Jolteon matchup able to get the best of the exchange in all but one situation. That Jolteon was also HP invested, possibly 304 HP which is the reason why my Zapdos was only 4HKOing it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-386545030
A ladder game against BKC. I changed my lead to Zapdos in my matchup against Tesung predominantly because of his previous lead history and secondarily to throw East off in case my alt was traced during this game. BKC's Reflect Celebi has me doing nothing for most game until i manage to get a Roar in on Celebi behind a substitute. Getting rid of Celebi mid game means Zapdos can do serious damage later on and the threat of Agility Passes restricts a lot of plays for my opponent in mid-game.
Reminder to update this with a few more.
RAW:
Conclusion
The team is quite straightforward to use once the operator understands how to play the 1 vs 1 matchups based on the team's needs. It is a rewarding team to use. The exchange trades early on are crucial as they will gear the end game win condition. Thankfully there's many ways to make plays late game, whether its an Agility pass to Tyranitar, a sweep from Zapdos or a late game Swampert poking holes in their team.
The team certainly has its weaknesses, notably CB Mence and Starmie being major issues to circumvent. The latter is sort of alleviated with Jolly Dugtrio which i've ran on this in the past. Feedback is appreciated as I still believe there is room for optimization.
This is one of my recently made teams with helpful inputs from Fear, The real UD and Foggi. It's a team that has multiple ways to create win conditions and i find it quite fun to use.
Overview and Gameplan
A glance at the team lineup shows an overall well rounded team with two and a half (Dugtrio) rock resists, two flying resists, two ground resists, two steel resists and one normal resist. Heracross is partially accounted for thanks to Dugtrio. Given that my flying and normal resists are a CBTar and an offensive Zapdos, this means that the team won't be tanking hits for long on the physical spectrum. Aerodactyl and CB Mence can also be an issue late game, but Agility Zapdos denies them coming in to revenge. Blissey and SDef Claydol on the other hand should cover the majority of special attackers even if the team loses Blissey early on. With regards to offensive presence there's EndPert and Dugtrio to ensure the special walls are taken care off to setup Zapdos. You also have CB Tar who can take on Snorlax/Regice early and midgame. CB Tar can also pull an "Aero" late game if it gets passed an Agility. Claydol provides spin support and cleric support from Blissey means you can win the spikes war. Boom is a good backup move to stop setup sweepers towards endgame, notably Gyarados, Salamence and Snorlax, and it can also setup a Dugtrio revenge in mid-game thanks to ADV mechanics ending a turn when something dies.
It's vital that Zapdos stays at around 55% until late game as with the special walls gone and Agility to deny any revenge attempts from Aerodactyl and BoomGar means you'll be doing a lot of damage. Given that Blissey is there Zapdos is only really taking damage early on from Heracross and maybe a CBGross Meteor Mash.
Top priority threats that you could even consider trading one for one include Metagross (as no Ghost or dedicated steel means Metagross will have his way with Boom anyways) and also CB Mence. Claydol is EV'd in Defense specifically to get an extra switch in on this beast. Flygon can be annoying but non-CB variants are walled by Blissey. Heracross is also trade worthy, you can buffer at least one Megahorn and you can also revenge it with Dugtrio.
The Team
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 188 Atk / 80 Def / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Focus Punch
Tyranitar is the best lead to use for the team as it gets sand immediately up and its presence mitigates initial damage to the team. For instance, lead Zapdos would be forced out of an opposing Tyranitar lead and would force my offensive Swampert to take the hit and also reveal the set in turn 2. Getting sand early means:
1) Zapdos does more damage on Snorlax, Blissey and Celebi. The latter two are forced to Recover more often which in turn gives you free turns to get CB Tar in. Snorlax as an example takes 27% from Thunderbolt and will be forced to boom/rest earlier.
2) Endeavor Pert becomes scary. Without Sand the set loses its edge as it can't force as many KOes.
3) It stops Gengar's recovery making spinning easier.
So the lead CBtar mitigates damage taken to the team by (a) forcing an early switch to a wall and (b) getting sand in which boosts your damage capabilities. This is huge for a team who relies on 5/6 Pokemon on the team lacking recovery.
EV Spread:
Enough defenses to ensure Jolly Dugtrio and +1 Standard DDtar fail to OHKO. I've shifted some defense to HP to improve it's ability to take Special Attacks. 361 HP allows this notably to always be 3hkoed by Timid Zapdos Thunderbolt in case I am forced to switch into it. It also tilts the favour of the Offensive Celebi matchup in Tyranitar's favour as it reduces the possibility of being 2HKOed by 298 Giga Drain from 80% to 40%. I've stuck with 198 Speed as after one agility pass this should outspeed everything and kept the rest into Attack. If I was to increase the Speed of this to say beat other Tyranitars, I'd go 203 to outspeed 270 Speed DDmence in a +2 vs +1 situation.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
- Baton Pass
Zapdos was the main inspiration of the team. The idea was that Zapdos even with the special walls out of the picture gets passively countered by speedy revenge killers such as Aero, Boomgar, Flygon. Agility Zapdos acts in a similar sense to Agiligross in the team as it cannot be revenged late game and it also has the "get out of jail free" card in the form of Baton Pass. Baton Pass synergies well with all of the team as:
1) CB Tyranitar becomes a pseudo Aero in-case i pass the Agility, being able to one shot something. This could for instance be a CM Celebi/Jirachi.
2) Claydol outspeeds Gengar and therefore quarantees me the spin. This was shown in my battle against Tesung.
3) Swampert can pull the Endeavor stunt without getting revenged by Jolteon/Aero/Dugtrio.
4) I get a 50/50 situation to revenge Jolteons with Dugtrio which will prevent my Thunderbolts early game.
5) Blissey can outspeed Flygon which is a nuisance late game.
EV Spread:
112 HP EVs quarantee I always survive a +1 boosted 290 SAtk Ice Beam from Suicune even after Sand damage. This is the Special Attack that a 101 HP Substitute Suicune would run as they typically go for the 222 Speed for Tyranitar. Given that this is the only Suicune set that would be able to go through this team, surviving that hit is crucial. At the same time, while Speed with Agility might be counter-intuitive, it is also important to make sure i Outspeed Modest Cune, in case an Offensive Cune manages to go through my Blissey via a trap of some sort. Max Special Attack is obligatory for the late game sweep as it helps put pressure on the Special walls and also help tilt the 2HKO on Tyranitar towards my favour.
Since I don't have Spikes Hidden Power Ice loses its edge over grass as it can no longer stack enough damage on pert to make it any threatening. I prefer Hidden Power Grass as that way Zapdos won't be constantly phazed by Roar Swampert.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 180 SpA / 76 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Ice Beam
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
The team definitely benefits from a cleric. Whether its a late game +2 CBtar or the endeavor pert, all my win conditions become significantly weaker if I'm taking Wisps and Toxics early on. Aromatherapy allows Claydol to last the Spike war a lot longer against Skarmory and it makes Zapdos switching into its Toxics a lot less painful as well. People on TSS teams typically like to switch Skarmory on cleric Blissey. With the Agility + Claydol combination I'm not scared of getting Spiked to death. As such, getting in Seismic Tosses early on Skarmory is useful for the late game conditions as it softens it up for CB Tar.
EV Spread:
I gave this 165 Speed as at +2 I'd be able to scare away Flygon which I'm weak to late game. The Speed at +2 also helps against offensive Jirachi and Celebi in CM Spam teams. I prefer Bold to Modest on this as Blissey is my initial Swampert pivot. Thus its important to tank Earthquakes more so than the merits of having Modest to KO Dugtrio/Mence more often.
Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 8 HP / 228 Atk / 40 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Dugtrio is great with Baton Pass Zap and it also synergies well with Swampert, able to finish the job that endeavor might of left undone. It's my secondary method to take down the special wall in case Swampert falls short, something that benefits Zapdos alot.
EV Spread:
8 HP ensures i always take CBTar's Rock Slides. 8/40 allows me to always survive Bold Blissey's Ice Beams. I prefer Adamant to Jolly on this team as I'd rather take Blissey, Tyranitar and Celebi down rather than Raikou. Starmie is the only thing I'm missing out on and is definitely the reason I might contemplate getting back onto Jolly.
Swampert @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Roar
Endeavor pert with Roar over Ice Beam. While you miss out on coverage which equates to losing on opportunities to kill some pokemon, you gain opportunities on beating some others. For instance, defensive teams typically cover Endpert with Recover users. The bait is to force those fellas in and start baiting the Recover cycle after one or two endeavors. Once they get comfortable you Roar them out, putting them into a 50/50 situation. If you are behind a Sub, Endeavor instantly is a lot more backbreaking with their Recover user not in. Roar is also the more optimal choice for the team as it allows one to Roar Rest cune out while its attempting to stall out Seismic Toss Blissey with its Rest turns.
Roar puts Suicune in a bad spot as well as it will be in a predicament to break your subs rather than just CM in your face to outstall. Other uses of Roar involve typical phazing duties and also phazing a 100% Skarmory that wants to trade his HP to deny your sweep first.
This set would also become 5X better with Spikes support as well, albeit I don't have room for that here as it stands.
EV Spread:
252/252/4 I think is optimal as outspeeding <361 Speed Raikou and Starmie is more crucial than any stat point spent elsewhere.
Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 24 SpD / 40 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
Claydol is solid for this team. It's my secondary Rock resist and it does its job well, thanks to Fear's EV spread. Psychic so that it gets past Gengar and Earthquake so that the Special walls don't get in completely for free. Also beats SubCM Jirachi which would be problematic otherwise. Tyranitar is not that crucial to beat as I have Dugtrio and Swampert to cover for that. As such i kept Attack uninvested in favor of Speed in order to outspeed Gengar after a pass. Psychic is needed to force Spin with +2 Speed. Explosion for stopping setup sweepers late game and setting up Dugtrio midgame. Passing speed on it via Zapdos provides me with a fast boomer of my own as well.
EV Spread:
310 Special Defense is the magic number to quarantee a 4HKO from 310 Satk Bulky Gengar's Ice Punches. I'm also 4HKOed by 236 Ice Beams from Swampert which is also handy. 298 Defense means I am 3HKOed (80% of the time) by CB Salamence which can be an issue late game. 40 Speed EVs get me to 176 which allow Claydol to outspeed Gengar at +2.
The Team in Action
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-170952
My game against Tesung in WCOP had a pretty even matchup against a Jolteon TSS team. I call it even because these type of teams typically lose to Zapdos in end game, but I am shut down for the most part in early game. Notice how I am taking any damage I can get with my Blissey against Skarmory despite letting myself get spiked down. I was also playing Dugtrio very conservatively until i ensured he was no HP Grass variant on his Celebi. Tesung did a great job reading the Zapdos vs Jolteon matchup able to get the best of the exchange in all but one situation. That Jolteon was also HP invested, possibly 304 HP which is the reason why my Zapdos was only 4HKOing it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-386545030
A ladder game against BKC. I changed my lead to Zapdos in my matchup against Tesung predominantly because of his previous lead history and secondarily to throw East off in case my alt was traced during this game. BKC's Reflect Celebi has me doing nothing for most game until i manage to get a Roar in on Celebi behind a substitute. Getting rid of Celebi mid game means Zapdos can do serious damage later on and the threat of Agility Passes restricts a lot of plays for my opponent in mid-game.
Reminder to update this with a few more.
RAW:
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 188 Atk / 80 Def / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Focus Punch
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
- Baton Pass
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 180 SpA / 76 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Ice Beam
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 8 HP / 228 Atk / 40 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Swampert @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Roar
Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 24 SpD / 40 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 188 Atk / 80 Def / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Focus Punch
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Agility
- Baton Pass
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 180 SpA / 76 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Ice Beam
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 8 HP / 228 Atk / 40 SpD / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Bug]
Swampert @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Roar
Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 24 SpD / 40 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Psychic
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
Conclusion
The team is quite straightforward to use once the operator understands how to play the 1 vs 1 matchups based on the team's needs. It is a rewarding team to use. The exchange trades early on are crucial as they will gear the end game win condition. Thankfully there's many ways to make plays late game, whether its an Agility pass to Tyranitar, a sweep from Zapdos or a late game Swampert poking holes in their team.
The team certainly has its weaknesses, notably CB Mence and Starmie being major issues to circumvent. The latter is sort of alleviated with Jolly Dugtrio which i've ran on this in the past. Feedback is appreciated as I still believe there is room for optimization.
Last edited:
