Light of the Pyreflies
Hello fellow Smogoners! I've been working really hard to create a competitive team around Umbreon and Vaporeon, two of my favourite Pokemon. I've been using this team on Pokemon Showdown with good results so far (~20-25 games). My win rate is 70% and my rating is around 1300. I'd appreciate any comments or feedback from players willing to give their advice. Please remember that this team is centered around Vaporeon and Umbreon and therefore removing them is not acceptable. Rather than being a purely competitive team it is meant to be as competitive as possible with the above restrictions. If you can think of some clever ways to make it more viable I'm all ears! Let me introduce you to the team:
Team Roster
Umbreon (@
Role: Cleric, Special Wall
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Foul Play
- Wish
- Protect
Umbreon is the cleric and special wall for the team, forming a powerful defensive core with Cofagrigus. Heal bell and Wish keep Cofagrigus and other teammates status free and healthy, allowing them to slowly wear down checks or sweep late game.
Role: Physical Wall
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Haze
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
Cofagrigus is the physical wall for the team, using its monstrous defense and Mummy ability to stop physical wallbreakers such as Azumarill and Scizor cold. Pain Split keeps it relatively healthy but it needs support from Umbreon to maintain its walling power throughout the match. Haze prevents Cofagrigus from being setup fodder. Will-O-Wisp shuts down physical attackers and wears down checks to other teammates. Shadow Ball is Cofagrigus' stab move and makes use of its decent special attack stat.
Other Options
Hex
Hex synergizes with Will-O-Wisp but the lack of status moves on the team gives it very few chances to be used.
Rest
Rest is gimicky and relies on Umbreon to use Heal Bell. There are many things that can go wrong with this strategy.
Toxic Spikes
Toxic Spikes synergizes with Hex but interferes with Will-O-Wisp. There won't be many opportunities to set up two layers of toxic spikes since Cofagrigus will be switching often.
Snatch
Snatch makes Cofagrigus more of a stallbreaker which is ideal but Snatch is difficult to predict properly and less consistent compared to Pain Split.
Other Options
Hex
Hex synergizes with Will-O-Wisp but the lack of status moves on the team gives it very few chances to be used.
Rest
Rest is gimicky and relies on Umbreon to use Heal Bell. There are many things that can go wrong with this strategy.
Toxic Spikes
Toxic Spikes synergizes with Hex but interferes with Will-O-Wisp. There won't be many opportunities to set up two layers of toxic spikes since Cofagrigus will be switching often.
Snatch
Snatch makes Cofagrigus more of a stallbreaker which is ideal but Snatch is difficult to predict properly and less consistent compared to Pain Split.
Excadrill (@
Role: Hazard Spinner/Setter, Physical Attacker
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Switching your pokemon often and forcing the opponent to switch theirs makes entry hazards a critical component to succeeding with this team. Excadrill provides Rapid Spin support, Stealth Rocks and a counter to special Fairy types that would otherwise dominate this team. Neither Umbreon nor Cofagrigus wants to take a pixilated Hyper Voice to the face but Excadrill can take it without blinking. Stab Iron Head bops Fairy Types and stab earthquake provides coverage. Mold Breaker allows Excadrill to hit Pokemon with the ability Levitate such as Rotom which is quite useful.
Talonflame (@
Role: Stallbreaker, Physical Setup Sweeper
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Talonflame synergizes well with the members of the team providing immunity to ground and resisting fire, bug, fairy, steel, grass and fighting moves. More importantly it acts as a great stallbreaker and a late game setup sweeper with Taunt and priority Brave Bird and Roost. Talonflame should be brought out only when all of its checks or counters have been eliminated or weakened.
Vaporeon (@
Role: Cleric, Scout, Pivot
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 204 HP / 248 Def / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Wish
- Protect
- Baton Pass
Vaporeon covers the remaining weaknesses of the team and acts as the central pivot that holds everything together. Vaporeon can take both special and physical hits well and most hits will be neutral damage. Baton Pass prevents the opponent from getting switch initiative while also having some added benefits. Wishpassing gives teammates who would be too weak to switch in otherwise another chance to succeed. It also allows Talonflame to switch in to Stealth Rocks and be brought up to full health immediately if needed.
Mega Altaria (@
Role: Special Sweeper
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 SpA / 92 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
Mega Altaria is the special sweeper of the team, switching into not very effective moves and firing off an earth shattering counterattack to cripple whatever decides to switch in. It takes Knock Off like a champ, something that Confagrigus loves it for. It is also immune to Trick and Taunt, moves that its teammates must be very wary of as this is a major weakness of the team. Mega Altaria causes many switches on the opponent's side and this can be used to rack up Stealth Rock damage. The abundance of healing and Mega Altaria's significant defensive and specially defensive stats can keep it healthy for the entire duration of the match.
Other Options
Tailwind
Tailwind patches up the mediocre speed of the team, however only Excadrill and Mega Altaria can really make use of it.
Roost
I find that there's not many chances to use Roost as Mega Altaria is constantly switching.
Team Checks and CountersOther Options
Tailwind
Tailwind patches up the mediocre speed of the team, however only Excadrill and Mega Altaria can really make use of it.
Roost
I find that there's not many chances to use Roost as Mega Altaria is constantly switching.
Heatran - Heatran can be very annoying due to Will-O-Wisp and Flash Fire. Cofagrigus and Umbreon are walled completely and Excadrill and Mega Altaria take significant damage from his attacks. The best way to deal with him is to predict when he'll switch in and fire off an Earthquake or Scald. Vaporeon can deal with him 1 v 1 but will most likely take significant damage. Talonflame can use Heatran to set up.
Bisharp - Bisharp is an absolute terror with Iron Head, Swords Dance, Knock Off and Sucker Punch. Cofagrigus isn't much help and this puts the rest of the team at his mercy. At +2 the only pokemon able to take a Sucker Punch is Mega Altaria (assuming he doesn't KO you with Iron Head). Prediction is key to land a Will-O-Wisp, Earthquake or Fire Blast before he has a chance to setup and sweep.
Taunt - Taunt is a serious threat to the team due to its over-reliance on status moves: Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Wish, Roost, Heal Bell, Stealth Rock, etc. Vaporeon, Umbreon, Cofagrigus, Talonflame are crippled after being taunted. Certain Taunt users can be shut down by Talonflame but priority Taunt users with Prankster do not have a counter. Therefore it is important to deal with these threats as quickly as possible and scout them out with Protect.
Trick - Trick is another serious problem that provides a permanent crippling effect to the pokemon that ends up receiving it. Mega Altaria is immune to this and provides a suitable counter. It is also usually quite obvious which pokemon carry Trick: Rotom and Latios/Latias being prime examples.
More will be added later.