TEAM BETA
After taking a long furlough from competitive battling, I have once again returned with a new team. Here goes nothing.
TEAM BUILDING
One of the main doubts I have about this team as a whole is its lack of a good special wall. Even max SDef Forry is still more of a physical wall than a special one. I'd like to eliminate one of the 4x Ice weaknesses and replace it with something like Chansey or Jellicent (the latter would be nice as it'd give me an extra fire-type resistance), but both Gliscor and Dragonite seem important and useful.
On a side note, two thirds of this team ended up being some shade of purple. Maybe I could make this a full-fledged purple-themed team...
Anyways, have at ye.
After taking a long furlough from competitive battling, I have once again returned with a new team. Here goes nothing.
TEAM BUILDING
Okay, to start off the team, I chose a really fun and commonly underestimated lead, Sableye.
As Sableye has no type weaknesses, I had to think of other ways to cover its shortfalls. Sableye gets mercilessly wrecked if the opponent switches in a Conkeldurr with Stone Edge, so an anti-Conkeldurr pokemon was necessary. For this, I chose the omnipresent Gliscor, more specifically the Acrobatics variant.
This left me with a need for an Ice resist, and I also desired a resistance to Outrage with Mence and Haxorus running around as well as entry hazard support/spinning. Forry was the natural choice.
Forry's fire weakness and the fact that I did not yet have a fire resistance both stood out, and I realized what good synergy Dragonite has with Forry, so I threw him in. Forry Spins away rocks that would negate its Multiscale and resists Ice-type attacks aimed at him. I chose the offensive DD set in lieu of the bulky one as I did not yet have a fast, powerful sweeper.
At this point, I panicked and realized that I hadn't yet included any special pokemon! Also, I still lacked a few things I figured it'd be handy to have- e.g. a spinblocker and a poison-type - both would be very helpful in the event that Forry was injured/KO'd. Before I'd even realized these things, I was already considering Gengar as I've fallen victim to its SubDisable set on WiFi before. Enter Gengar, stage right.
Now I took inventory. I had a lead, a physical tank, a mixed wall, a physical sweeper, a special... umm... thing, but I still lacked a special setup sweeper. Also, not a single pokemon on my team resisted rock and I was still stuck with two 4x weaknesses to Ice and only one resistance to it. I began to search for pokemon that could pull resist both Ice and Rock. I narrowed it down to water-fighting, water-steel, and fighting-steel. The fact that I certainly didn't want to use Poliwrath or Empoleon combined with the fact that I did not have a special setup sweeper brought me to Lucario.
As Sableye has no type weaknesses, I had to think of other ways to cover its shortfalls. Sableye gets mercilessly wrecked if the opponent switches in a Conkeldurr with Stone Edge, so an anti-Conkeldurr pokemon was necessary. For this, I chose the omnipresent Gliscor, more specifically the Acrobatics variant.
This left me with a need for an Ice resist, and I also desired a resistance to Outrage with Mence and Haxorus running around as well as entry hazard support/spinning. Forry was the natural choice.
Forry's fire weakness and the fact that I did not yet have a fire resistance both stood out, and I realized what good synergy Dragonite has with Forry, so I threw him in. Forry Spins away rocks that would negate its Multiscale and resists Ice-type attacks aimed at him. I chose the offensive DD set in lieu of the bulky one as I did not yet have a fast, powerful sweeper.
At this point, I panicked and realized that I hadn't yet included any special pokemon! Also, I still lacked a few things I figured it'd be handy to have- e.g. a spinblocker and a poison-type - both would be very helpful in the event that Forry was injured/KO'd. Before I'd even realized these things, I was already considering Gengar as I've fallen victim to its SubDisable set on WiFi before. Enter Gengar, stage right.
Now I took inventory. I had a lead, a physical tank, a mixed wall, a physical sweeper, a special... umm... thing, but I still lacked a special setup sweeper. Also, not a single pokemon on my team resisted rock and I was still stuck with two 4x weaknesses to Ice and only one resistance to it. I began to search for pokemon that could pull resist both Ice and Rock. I narrowed it down to water-fighting, water-steel, and fighting-steel. The fact that I certainly didn't want to use Poliwrath or Empoleon combined with the fact that I did not have a special setup sweeper brought me to Lucario.
THE TEAM
Sableye @ Leftovers
Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Prankster
-Taunt
-Will-O-Wisp
-Recover
-Foul Play
Ahh, Sableye. One of the chosen few who received Prankster as a hidden ability, this delightfully annoying little nuisance also benefits from the fact that it is the original Dark/Ghost. This means that he has no type weaknesses, and it also means that he owns Reuniclus. The Leftovers increase his ability to take hits even more, they can mean the difference between life and death in a few cases.
Taunt prevents setup and outspeeds everything but Whimsicott and Tornadus. Will-O-Wisp's function is obvious- it effectively doubles its physical bulk while providing low damage over time. Priority Recover makes it very resilient, able to withstand anything that can't 2HKO it. Foul Play hits harder than Night Shade on average and is a good option in case the opponent leads with a speedier Prankster, it also OHKOs many psychic or ghost types. If the opponent is a defensive pokemon, it can be easily taken down with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover, and if it's got high attack then Foul Play can be added in to this strategy do do heavy damage.
The nature and EVs max out his ability to take special hits as the physical side is covered by Will-O-Wisp. Careful is chosen over other +SpD natures as it lowers SpA which will never be seeing any use, anyway. The remaining 4 EVs were originally going to go into Defense, but I put them into Speed to speed creep the occasional enemy Sableye.
Questions: Leftovers or something else?
Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Sand Veil
-Swords Dance
-Acrobatics
-Earthquake
-Substitute
This set fools people into thinking it's one of the more common ones, prompting a switch to something that counters them. Sand Veil helps if my opponent happens to be running a sand team (and weather is EVERYTHING nowadays, so that just might happen). Poison Heal would not help much as the set forgoes Toxic Orb and no opponent would be stupid enough to poison a Gliscor as they'd expect a Poison Heal set. Flying Gem is used as it boosts Acrobatics' base power by a lot (3x due to the fact that it both boosts flying moves and is used up, activating Acrobatics' special effect.
Swords Dance lets me set up while sitting comfortably behind a sub, doubling Gliscor's already high attack stat. Acrobatics hits 247.5 base power on its first use (4.5 times the original 55) after factoring flying gem, its effect, and STAB. (On subsequent uses, it has 165 power.) Earthquake has 150 power and 100 accuracy after STAB, making it a great move with good coverage. Substitute can be used on an opponent's switch, and it can then safely Swords Dance.
The nature and EVs are quite self-explanatory: Max physical offense with Jolly (originally adamant, but Jolly allows me to set up Sub faster) and one extra point dumped into Defense.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sturdy
-Spikes
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Volt Switch
Specially defensive Forretress gives me a pokemon who can easily tank Ice Beams aimed at other members while setting up entry hazards for me and spinning away the opponent's. Because I run Volt Switch, Shed Shell is unnecessary and I am able to run Lefties instead. Sturdy is used because gaining the ability to survive a potential OHKO is far superior to negating hail damage.
Spikes is... well... spikes. It's helpful on any team and other monz on this team like Gliscor and Sableye tend to cause the opponent to switch around quite a bit, so it helps. Stealth Rock is superior to Toxic Spikes in this case as the opponent should switch frequently and toxic spikes would render Sableye's W-O-W useless after being set up. Rapid Spin does exactly what it's meant to do- it gets rid of unwanted hazards that can easily chip away enough of my pokemon's health to secure a victory for the opponent. Volt Switch lets me escape Magnezone while letting me ditch Shed Shell for Leftovers.
The EVs are obvious- Max special bulk with one Defense point. While for a moment it may seem pointless to use a speed-lowering nature on a set that doesn't run Gyro Ball, the Sassy nature is only used as I am using both attacking stats between Rapid Spin and Volt Switch.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Multiscale
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Punch
-Earthquake
Dragonite, as stated in the team building section, works well with Forry as he can take fire-type attacks aimed at Forretress easily with Multiscale and Forretress gets rocks out of the way for him. This set helps as my teams lacks a strong offensive presence. Multiscale is a godsend for DNite, and it even reactivates if Dragonite Roosts to 100%. Lum Berry allows me to rid myself of a status condition once, and a burn would wreck Dragonite if it didn't carry this.
Dragon Dance is a wonderful move as it buffs DNite's low base 80 Speed and capitalizes on his base 134 Attack stat. Dragon Claw has plenty of power behind it, especially after a DD or two. Fire Punch gets great coverage on Steel-, Grass-, Bug-, and Ice-types, with nearly perfect coverage alongside Outrage. Earthquake covers other pokemon like Heatran who would be serious problems otherwise.
The EVs scream max physical offense. Jolly is favored over Adamant as Dragonite's base speed is on the low side and one extra DD can make a huge difference.
Questions: Outrage or Dragon Claw?
Gengar @ Leftovers
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Levitate
-Substitute
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Disable
Here to fill in the need for a special attacker on my team is Gengar. I opted to use the SubDisable set as I'm well aware of how frustrating it is to face. Gengar also does two other useful things- he spinblocks and he absorbs toxic spikes, taking some stress off of Forretress. Leftovers is used to let it survive longer. Levitate is Gengar's only option as far as abilities go.
Substitute prevents Gengar from getting hit with any status move and lets him safely Disable moves that threaten him with Disable, whose accuracy was raised to 100% with Generation V. Shadow Ball is a reliable STAB move that hits hard even when only neutrally effective due to Gengar's great SpA. Focus Blast gets amazing coverage with Shadow Ball; it gets super-effective coverage on all types that resist or are immune to Shadow Ball while Shadow Ball takes out psychics and ghosts that Focus Blast can't handle. Disable is the icing on the cake, annoying the crap out of pretty much anything once Gengar subs up.
The EVs and nature are self-explanatory. Seriously, why are you even reading this paragraph? And why am I writing it? Because I feel obliged to as I've done it to the other pokemon? Really, just skip to the next pokemon... anyway, I digress. Max Speed and Special Attack to increase offensive ability with one point in HP because I feel like it. Timid to outspeed everything below base 110 speed, which is a lot of things.
Questions: Replace with Jellicent? His coverage is redundant with Lucario's and Jelly makes a great special wall and it'd allow me to run a physically defensive set on Forry, which would be much more effective. This could even lead to me replacing Forry with another pokemon having SR and RS.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/30/30/31/31/31
Inner Focus
-Nasty Plot
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Hidden Power (Ice)
And so we come to the last pokemon on my team (though order does not matter, barring the first pokemon), Lucario. This ninja wolf thing presents a serious challenge to any team unable to sponge special hits. Inner Focus keeps Jirachi from haxxing me to death, though Steadfast seems like it could be useful as free speed boost could easily win me the game or at least extend my sweep. Life Orb increases Lucario's offensive power while making him a bit more frail, but he already can't take much of a beating.
Nasty Plot increases Lucario's SpA stat to 658 and then to 987, an impressive number. Aura Sphere not only gets great coverage with Dark Pulse or Shadow Ball, it also gets STAB and cannot miss. Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball both get great coverage with Aura Sphere. Shadow Ball gets better coverage than Dark Pulse, but Dark Pulse has a flinch rate that could be helpful on occasion. Hidden Power Ice is used rather than Vacuum Wave as I am running a Timid nature. If I'd chosen Modest, I probably would have used Vacuum Wave. HP Ice is great as Ice is one of the best offensive types, getting super-effective hits on the ubiquitous dragon-, flying-, and ground- types and the occasional grass-type.
The EVs and nature here are, well, yeah. Weren't you listening before? The IVs give Lucario a 70 BP Ice-type hidden power without hurting any of his stats too badly.
Questions: Should I scrap the set and run a Naive Agility mixed set with 4HP/252Atk/252SpA? It seems like Lucario could pull it off quite well with its great mixed 110/115/90 offensive stats and wide movepool. Or perhaps I could run Modest instead. Is Vacuum Wave really worth it?
EXPORTABLE
Sableye @ Leftovers
Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Prankster
-Taunt
-Will-O-Wisp
-Recover
-Foul Play
Ahh, Sableye. One of the chosen few who received Prankster as a hidden ability, this delightfully annoying little nuisance also benefits from the fact that it is the original Dark/Ghost. This means that he has no type weaknesses, and it also means that he owns Reuniclus. The Leftovers increase his ability to take hits even more, they can mean the difference between life and death in a few cases.
Taunt prevents setup and outspeeds everything but Whimsicott and Tornadus. Will-O-Wisp's function is obvious- it effectively doubles its physical bulk while providing low damage over time. Priority Recover makes it very resilient, able to withstand anything that can't 2HKO it. Foul Play hits harder than Night Shade on average and is a good option in case the opponent leads with a speedier Prankster, it also OHKOs many psychic or ghost types. If the opponent is a defensive pokemon, it can be easily taken down with Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover, and if it's got high attack then Foul Play can be added in to this strategy do do heavy damage.
The nature and EVs max out his ability to take special hits as the physical side is covered by Will-O-Wisp. Careful is chosen over other +SpD natures as it lowers SpA which will never be seeing any use, anyway. The remaining 4 EVs were originally going to go into Defense, but I put them into Speed to speed creep the occasional enemy Sableye.
Questions: Leftovers or something else?
Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Sand Veil
-Swords Dance
-Acrobatics
-Earthquake
-Substitute
This set fools people into thinking it's one of the more common ones, prompting a switch to something that counters them. Sand Veil helps if my opponent happens to be running a sand team (and weather is EVERYTHING nowadays, so that just might happen). Poison Heal would not help much as the set forgoes Toxic Orb and no opponent would be stupid enough to poison a Gliscor as they'd expect a Poison Heal set. Flying Gem is used as it boosts Acrobatics' base power by a lot (3x due to the fact that it both boosts flying moves and is used up, activating Acrobatics' special effect.
Swords Dance lets me set up while sitting comfortably behind a sub, doubling Gliscor's already high attack stat. Acrobatics hits 247.5 base power on its first use (4.5 times the original 55) after factoring flying gem, its effect, and STAB. (On subsequent uses, it has 165 power.) Earthquake has 150 power and 100 accuracy after STAB, making it a great move with good coverage. Substitute can be used on an opponent's switch, and it can then safely Swords Dance.
The nature and EVs are quite self-explanatory: Max physical offense with Jolly (originally adamant, but Jolly allows me to set up Sub faster) and one extra point dumped into Defense.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sturdy
-Spikes
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Volt Switch
Specially defensive Forretress gives me a pokemon who can easily tank Ice Beams aimed at other members while setting up entry hazards for me and spinning away the opponent's. Because I run Volt Switch, Shed Shell is unnecessary and I am able to run Lefties instead. Sturdy is used because gaining the ability to survive a potential OHKO is far superior to negating hail damage.
Spikes is... well... spikes. It's helpful on any team and other monz on this team like Gliscor and Sableye tend to cause the opponent to switch around quite a bit, so it helps. Stealth Rock is superior to Toxic Spikes in this case as the opponent should switch frequently and toxic spikes would render Sableye's W-O-W useless after being set up. Rapid Spin does exactly what it's meant to do- it gets rid of unwanted hazards that can easily chip away enough of my pokemon's health to secure a victory for the opponent. Volt Switch lets me escape Magnezone while letting me ditch Shed Shell for Leftovers.
The EVs are obvious- Max special bulk with one Defense point. While for a moment it may seem pointless to use a speed-lowering nature on a set that doesn't run Gyro Ball, the Sassy nature is only used as I am using both attacking stats between Rapid Spin and Volt Switch.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Multiscale
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Fire Punch
-Earthquake
Dragonite, as stated in the team building section, works well with Forry as he can take fire-type attacks aimed at Forretress easily with Multiscale and Forretress gets rocks out of the way for him. This set helps as my teams lacks a strong offensive presence. Multiscale is a godsend for DNite, and it even reactivates if Dragonite Roosts to 100%. Lum Berry allows me to rid myself of a status condition once, and a burn would wreck Dragonite if it didn't carry this.
Dragon Dance is a wonderful move as it buffs DNite's low base 80 Speed and capitalizes on his base 134 Attack stat. Dragon Claw has plenty of power behind it, especially after a DD or two. Fire Punch gets great coverage on Steel-, Grass-, Bug-, and Ice-types, with nearly perfect coverage alongside Outrage. Earthquake covers other pokemon like Heatran who would be serious problems otherwise.
The EVs scream max physical offense. Jolly is favored over Adamant as Dragonite's base speed is on the low side and one extra DD can make a huge difference.
Questions: Outrage or Dragon Claw?
Gengar @ Leftovers
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Levitate
-Substitute
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Disable
Here to fill in the need for a special attacker on my team is Gengar. I opted to use the SubDisable set as I'm well aware of how frustrating it is to face. Gengar also does two other useful things- he spinblocks and he absorbs toxic spikes, taking some stress off of Forretress. Leftovers is used to let it survive longer. Levitate is Gengar's only option as far as abilities go.
Substitute prevents Gengar from getting hit with any status move and lets him safely Disable moves that threaten him with Disable, whose accuracy was raised to 100% with Generation V. Shadow Ball is a reliable STAB move that hits hard even when only neutrally effective due to Gengar's great SpA. Focus Blast gets amazing coverage with Shadow Ball; it gets super-effective coverage on all types that resist or are immune to Shadow Ball while Shadow Ball takes out psychics and ghosts that Focus Blast can't handle. Disable is the icing on the cake, annoying the crap out of pretty much anything once Gengar subs up.
The EVs and nature are self-explanatory. Seriously, why are you even reading this paragraph? And why am I writing it? Because I feel obliged to as I've done it to the other pokemon? Really, just skip to the next pokemon... anyway, I digress. Max Speed and Special Attack to increase offensive ability with one point in HP because I feel like it. Timid to outspeed everything below base 110 speed, which is a lot of things.
Questions: Replace with Jellicent? His coverage is redundant with Lucario's and Jelly makes a great special wall and it'd allow me to run a physically defensive set on Forry, which would be much more effective. This could even lead to me replacing Forry with another pokemon having SR and RS.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/30/30/31/31/31
Inner Focus
-Nasty Plot
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Hidden Power (Ice)
And so we come to the last pokemon on my team (though order does not matter, barring the first pokemon), Lucario. This ninja wolf thing presents a serious challenge to any team unable to sponge special hits. Inner Focus keeps Jirachi from haxxing me to death, though Steadfast seems like it could be useful as free speed boost could easily win me the game or at least extend my sweep. Life Orb increases Lucario's offensive power while making him a bit more frail, but he already can't take much of a beating.
Nasty Plot increases Lucario's SpA stat to 658 and then to 987, an impressive number. Aura Sphere not only gets great coverage with Dark Pulse or Shadow Ball, it also gets STAB and cannot miss. Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball both get great coverage with Aura Sphere. Shadow Ball gets better coverage than Dark Pulse, but Dark Pulse has a flinch rate that could be helpful on occasion. Hidden Power Ice is used rather than Vacuum Wave as I am running a Timid nature. If I'd chosen Modest, I probably would have used Vacuum Wave. HP Ice is great as Ice is one of the best offensive types, getting super-effective hits on the ubiquitous dragon-, flying-, and ground- types and the occasional grass-type.
The EVs and nature here are, well, yeah. Weren't you listening before? The IVs give Lucario a 70 BP Ice-type hidden power without hurting any of his stats too badly.
Questions: Should I scrap the set and run a Naive Agility mixed set with 4HP/252Atk/252SpA? It seems like Lucario could pull it off quite well with its great mixed 110/115/90 offensive stats and wide movepool. Or perhaps I could run Modest instead. Is Vacuum Wave really worth it?
EXPORTABLE
Sableye (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Foul Play
Gliscor (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
Dragonite (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
Gengar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Disable
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Foul Play
Gliscor (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
Dragonite (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
Gengar (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Disable
Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Hidden Power [Ice]
One of the main doubts I have about this team as a whole is its lack of a good special wall. Even max SDef Forry is still more of a physical wall than a special one. I'd like to eliminate one of the 4x Ice weaknesses and replace it with something like Chansey or Jellicent (the latter would be nice as it'd give me an extra fire-type resistance), but both Gliscor and Dragonite seem important and useful.
On a side note, two thirds of this team ended up being some shade of purple. Maybe I could make this a full-fledged purple-themed team...
Anyways, have at ye.
