Well, it's certainly been a while. I've been away from competitive Pokemon since the early stages of generation 5 thanks to the prevalence of rain, and the relative total ease of mirroring a team on the cartridges as of X and Y drew me back in.
Before I begin, that's actually a self-imposed restriction for this team, I will not be using anything that cannot be bred, since I want to mirror my team on the games themselves and don't have as much time to devote to Pokemon. For similar reasons, I'm not using any tutors from gen 3, since I don't have the proper in-game resources for efficient breeding in that generation. This doesn't seem to be holding me back any, but that may just be my subconscious at work.
In any case, I've always found my playstyle worked best with bulky offense, and so this team was made based on that. However, I have found my rating on the ladder stuck lower than I would like (~1500), and thus I'm posting here for help.
Now that I have the introduction out of the way, let's take a look... Changes in red.
Tomoe (Clefable) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpA
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Soft-Boiled/Moonlight
- Stealth Rock
Replacing Togekiss as a team member, and taking over Excadrill's role, Clefable is the team's lead the vast majority of the time. It needs to get those rocks up to make things easier for the other members, and occasionally knock opposing Pokemon out. Fire Blast helps out quite a bit here, as many seem to switch in their Ferrothorns and Scizors, not expecting them to be taken out in one hit. Unfortunately, it is forced out by any Steel or Poison opposition. It is quite fortunate that the rest of the team supports it quite well at this.
I had attempted to use Clefable as a cleric, but the team never got a chance to use it, replacing it with the aforementioned Fire Blast. Soft-Boiled technically breaks my gen 3 tutor rule, but I'll call Moonlight close enough when I mirror the team in-game and just hope ORAS brings back the Soft-Boiled tutor.
Belief (Excadrill) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 176 HP / 64 Def / 200 SpD / 70 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
Excadrill is here because a few things about the rest of the team mandate its existence. I have two Pokemon weak to the rocks. Dragonite really cares on the switch-in due to rocks negating Multiscale and my bulky Volcarona is really hurt by rocks, so I have no real choice in the matter.
Otherwise, Excadrill simply uses Swords Dance and hits hard. Mold Breaker allows it some amusing KOs. However, it rarely gets an opportunity to do very much, stopping an opposing team member or two before falling and lacking the bulk to be switched in more than once.
Almighty (Gastrodon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Recover
- Toxic
Gastrodon is actually the latest addition to the team. It tanks several Pokemon that the rest of my team would find problematic, like Talonflame. Thanks to Storm Drain, its presence also makes the team less weak to Water, which the team had no real outs to prior to adding this and Dragonite. Its typing also helps against Ice, which is only otherwise resisted on the team by two Pokemon I don't want to switch in too often, and Fire, which this team really hates dealing with.
It has, however, been unable to stop any Water-types that also carry Grass moves. This notably includes most Greninja I've faced, which would lead against Excadrill, have this tank the incoming Hydro Pump/Ice Beam, then proceed to OHKO with Grass Knot.
Shindeiru (Volcarona) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 18 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
In the little I've played of gen 5, nobody seems to expect a Volcarona with high Defense. Although it seems they're more common now, physically defensive Volcarona still appear to catch people off-guard. With this spread, Volcarona's Defense is only a bit lower than its Special Defense, allowing it to survive a few hits it normally wouldn't have any right to, and 248 HP gives it an odd-numbered HP stat.
This was originally a ChestoRest Volcarona in order to get as many boosts as possible and eliminate status (catching many opponents who thought they had the Volcarona taken out off-guard), but that made Volcarona only have one chance to do anything. With a Lum Berry and Roost this is still the case if the rocks are up on my side, but it at least has the potential to not be.
I'd wanted to add a Cleric in instead of using a Lum Berry, but I've found that, as much as the team likes the idea of a Cleric, it never actually gets the chance to use one if one is added. While Dragonite and Togekiss technically have access to Heal Bell, Dragonite cannot have it and ExtremeSpeed simultaneously, and Togekiss cannot afford the slot.
Jusgot (Dragonite) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Att / 6 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- ExtremeSpeed
- Roost
Dragonite's main role here is getting rid of fast, frail opponents with ExtremeSpeed. This makes it my other Talonflame counter, as the team simply cannot stand up to that bird unless I have two outs to it.
Outside of that, Dragonite is simply bulky and strong. Dragon Claw is there for STAB and Earthquake is there for coverage against things the team can't defeat. Notable among these is Heatran, which danced circles around most of the team until I added this and Gastrodon.
This moveset renders it unable to fight Skarmory, Shedinja and Bronzong, but the latter two are rare and the former can be handled just fine between Gastrodon, Volcarona and Togekiss. The aforementioned Heatran issue is the only thing stopping me from using Fire Punch over Earthquake, which would have left Heatran as the only thing resisting a Normal/Dragon/Fire combination.
However, Dragonite as it it is completely incapable of hitting with enough power to get KOs on its own. It can weaken stuff, get super-effective OHKOs/2HKOs from Earthquake and ExtremeSpeed will seal KOs, but it can't do squat alone.
Meanwhile (Mawile) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate → Huge Power
EVs: 252 Att / 172 Def / 86 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Pain Split
- Substitute
Mega Mawile is the team's big gun, and usually comes out towards very end when I'm down to 1 or 2 other Pokemon unless the way the game's going forces my hand. Substitute is here to protect against status and to get 2HKOs against things that could normally OHKO back. After an Intimidate, I've also found that Substitute tends to prevent Ferrothorn from actually doing anything against it (although defeating it takes several hits and dents Mawile's health in the process), which can be quite funny as my opponents stubbornly refuse to switch (or, if it's their last Pokemon, a perfect way to guarantee a victory as the opponent loses all hope).
Pain Split is mainly here to replenish health for substitutes, though having this instead of Swords Dance or Fire Fang has made me lose certain match-ups I've happened to come across, such as the potential mirror match. Mawile's low HP stat has also occasionally undermined its bulk, as many Pokemon seem to easily OHKO without giving me a chance to use Substitute in the first place. As such, if I am ultimately pushed to the point where this is used, its success ultimately depends on whether the team has successfully eliminated everything that gives it trouble.
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And that's the team as it is right now. Thanks in advance for any help.
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