Hi guys, my name is Commander Cracker and this is my first RMT. I've never really had the time to be part of the forum, much less to make an RMT, but I've been playing for a while, and are usually somewhere in the top 100 with whichever ALT I'm using at the time. The reason why I decided to go and make an RMT this time around is because I made a team based on my favorite Pokemon, Slaking, and it did well on the ladder. The team was inspired by that Hydreigon team made by Snow - in other words, a Choiced hard hitter that can OHKO most of the Metagame, but I decided to approach it from the physical side instead of the special side, since Slaking is me favorite. With that said, onto the team.
Proof of the peak:
Teambuilding process:
1.
So the star of the team is Slaking, which means he was the first Pokemon to be chosen. Because the inspiration was a Choiced hard hitter, I went with a Choice Banded version. With a Choice Band, Slaking has a higher attack stat than Mega Medicham, and the same speed tier, but a stronger and more spammable STAB in Retaliate. I needed a partner, and I went with Mega Loppuny. There are three reasons for this. One, a Choice Banded Slaking destroys balance, while Mega Loppuny destroys HO, meaning they compliment each other very well. Two, they also make a Normal Spam core that pressures the same checks. And lastly, three, since balance and HO are covered, what's left is stall, which also gets huge problems from a Choice Banded Slaking, except for Mega Sableye. What can OHKO a Mega Sableye? A Mega Loppuny. So all in all, these two are a good team.
2.
Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Skarmory and Mega Scizor are very annoying to my core, so I needed a trapper with HP Fire. I couldn't decide between Magneton and Magnezone, but I eventually went with Magneton. The reason for that is because a fully speed invested Choice Banded Talonflame (which is amazing on the ladder right now in my opinion) can otherwise destroy my core. A Choice Scarfed Magneton can outspeed it and kill it before it can kill me with Flare Blitz. A Choice Scarfed Magnezone cannot do that because it is too slow.
3.
Landorus-Therian was needed because I have no ground resists so far, and all of my Pokemon so far are weak to fighting. Landorus-Therian fixes both of those, as well as punishes U-turners, provides Stealth Rocks, forces switches and provides momentum with U-turn, and is a secondary check to Birds. Overall, it is a great glue to the team that mitigates many problematic weaknesses the team would have otherwise.
4.
The legendary bird, Tal-Oh himself, the Pokemon that I feel the ladder is underprepared for right now when running 252 speed investment with Jolly nature and a Choice Band. The usual checks to Talonflame are Landorus-Therian, Garchomp, Rotom-W, Magnezone, Raikou and Thundurus. The first two get Will-o-Wispd, the third one gets U-turned on for very significant damage (especially with Stealth Rocks up) and the last three get Flare Blitzd. Everything else on offense gets killed by this thing outright. Also, my team is weak to Rotom-W, and this thing helps with that. You'd think ''how is adding another Pokemon that's weak to Rotom-W gonna help mitigate the team's Rotom-W weakness?''. Exactly with this. It lures it in, damages it with U-turn to put pressure on it, and keeps my momentum going so that I can switch into something that forces it out before it can get momentum off of me or burn something for free.
5.
I like this thing on offensive teams. My team is not HO, so it doesn't outspeed everything on the opponent's team. That means I need switchins. But my team is also not bulky offense or balance or stall that would have switchins for many things. So to have one Pokemon that can switch into many different things is great, and that Pokemon is Chansey. On top of that, it provides many utility moves and is just an all around cancer.
The logic is, when you are in an unfavorable matchup, either switch in Chansey to tank and force the opponent to switch out (which you can predict because not many things can be brought in to try and kill a Chansey), or if you cannot do that because the opponent's Pokemon can kill your Chansey on the switch (say it's a strong physical attacker), let something else die and kill something in return with Slaking's Retaliate. By the time you do that 3 times, both of you will have lost about half of your respective teams and the opponent will often no longer have anything to kill a Chansey. This thing has won me so many matches alone after Slaking has revenge killed the things that could have killed Chansey. It's also your Will-o-Wisp absorber.
In-depth analysis:
Slaking (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Retaliate
- Giga Impact
- Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch
Jolly is chosen because of the good speed tier. It is important against Mega Charizards, Mega Medicham, etc.. Retaliate is your best STAB. Giga Impact is chosen because it nets some kills that Retaliate doesn't. Fire Punch is chosen for Ferrothorn, Skarmory and Mega Scizor. Sucker Punch is chosen for priority. Earthquake can be chosen for Heatran if you want.
Lopunny-Mega (F) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
Basic set, nothing much to say. Toxic can be used if you want to lure in things like Slowbro and Toxic them, but considering Slaking kills Slowbros, I think Ice Punch will be more helpful when killing Landorus-Therians and Garchomps. Once those are down, a lot of your team can go crazy, like Slaking, Mega Loppuny itself, and Talonflame.
Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Basic set, chosen over Magnezone because it fares better against Talonflame. Also against Mega Pidgeot, that thing is scary.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Basic set.
Talonflame (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- U-turn
A Choice Band with Will-o-Wisp might look weird, but it lures in Landorus-Therian and Garchomp nicely, and burns them, crippling them for the rest of the game. Also many times you get Knocked Off when switching into a Ferrothorn or something, then you can appreciate having that Will-o-Wisp when the Choice Band is gone.
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
I personally am a big fan of dual Stealth Rocks. Many times you cannot get your Stealth Rocker in successfully, especially against skilled players on the high ladder, so to have two of them, preferably one that can switch into physical attackers and one that can switch into special attackers, can help out a lot. Stealth Rocks are the best move in the game.
That's the team, it did very well. By far the biggest problem with the team is that it has a Talonflame and nothing to get rid of Stealth Rocks. If anyone can fix this without giving birth to new problems, be my guest.
Here is the code:
Slaking (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Retaliate
- Giga Impact
- Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch
Lopunny-Mega (F) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Talonflame (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- U-turn
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
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