The Dark Dragon
Hello Smogon! I've been playing a lot of Pokémon ever since I posted my first RMT in ages here, and this team is the product of all those hours on the ladder. My previous team, which actually was my first real gen V team, started to get on my nerves a bit. I am used to slow, bulky offensive teams, and the team I was using was a very defensive one. This team is designed to be a much more offensive.
Now, onto the team. The team I was about to make had to be more offensive. To achieve such offensive power, I decided to go with a pair of powerful, choiced attackers. The stars of the team are Modest Choice Specs Hydreigon and the infamous Choice Band Terrakion.
Statitics:
One Pokémon weak to Stealth Rock, 1 resist.
3 Pokémon are affected by Spikes.
2 Pokémon are affected by Toxic Spikes.
I do not have a Phazer.
I have a Rapid Spinner.
In depth:
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 232 SDef / 248 HP / 28 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
My apologies for the picture, I just couldn't help myself from using it.
Rotom is pretty much my lead in all situations. It threatens weather inducers (at least, Rotom isn't threatened by any of them) and helps me grab momentum early on with Volt Switch. The specially defensive spread gives me a solid answer to many rain sweepers and an answer for Heatran and Scizor.
Pain Split provides Rotom with semi-reliable recovery and a way to leave a dent in defensive Pokémon with high HP stats such as Jirachi and Blissey. I use Thunder Wave over Toxic, because Thunder Wave serves as a deterrent to scarfers, speed boosters and fast Pokémon in general. This makes it easier to deal with these threats, for I don't have a Choice Scarf user or blazing fast sweeper.
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
As one of the stars of the team, this thing packs a serious punch. It may not be as fast as Latios, but Hydreigon isn't weak to Pursuit and due to not being "forced" to run a Timid Nature, he is actually stronger. I opted for a Modest nature because there are not a lot of threatening Pokémon in the 95 speed tier that have to be outsped. With a Modest nature and max speed, Hydreigon comfortably outspeeds base 80's with max speed, neutral natured base 95's and he still gets to tie with max speed base 85's.
I usually use Draco Meteor whenever possible, since it leaves a sizable dent in pretty much anything. Dark Pulse is my main sweeping tool, powered up by STAB. Fire Blast serves as a coverage move and a pseudo-stab in the Sun, but I tend to use it with caution due to the prevalence of Heatran.
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
The other star of the team. Now, I have considered using a scarf Terrakion to cover my lack of speed dozens of times, but the difference in power is a too much of a letdown. I "use" Earthquake over X-Scissor because I have never found myself using X-Scissor at all: it's just a weak move only used against things that are hit just as hard by Stone Edge. It's only actual usefulness lies in KO'ing Celebi, which isn't an issue at all and takes over 60% from Stone Edge anyway. It's not like I use Earthquake a lot (just about as often as X-Scissor), but it's a safe option when the enemy team has rain up, a bunch of low hp Pokémon and a full hp Tentacruel.
Quick Attack is my last effort against low hp, speedy threats. It usually manages to deal 20% of damage to such threats.
Volcarona (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 240 Def / 252 HP / 16 Spd
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Roost
Volcarona serves as a bit of a glue. She's a very safe switch-in to the likes of Venusaur and Breloom, and provides me with another answer to the deadly Scizor, but requires a bit of support to work. A confession: If it weren't for Volcarona, Forretress' position on the team may not have been as firm as it is now.
Either way, the support Volcarona requires does pay off. Scizor and Breloom can't really scratch Volcarona, especially with my defensive spread. Venusaur is pretty hopeless to begin with: Volcarona's stellar Special Defense prevents it from dealing a lot of damage, which is further accomplished by the HP investment and Roost.
Volcarona rarely makes a big sweep, but she does add a lot of pressure to the enemy team and provides the team with useful resistances. As to the moveset: I'm not really sure about Bug Buzz. With a Special Attack boost or two, given by either Quiver Dance or Fiery Dance, it leaves a very big dent in Tyranitar, something I don't have a guaranteed safe switch-in to, and easily disposes of hostile Hydreigon. However, it leaves me wide open for the likes of Heatran. A properly played Heatran can be a serious pain for this team.
Lune (Cresselia) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Reflect
- Moonlight
- Lunar Dance
Just look at that fabulous Unicorn-Cresselia!
Alongside Scizor and his powerful priority, Fighting-types are another threat to my Choiced attackers. Well, Cresselia is about as deep as you can go as to countering Fighting types. Reflect is used to further cushion physical blows, to the point that even a Banded Scizor damages her for a mere 20% with U-Turn. Reflect also provides utility to the team, as most members easily take special blows pretty well, whereas physical blows are more of an issue.
Moonlight provides Cresselia with recovery. Sure, it has it's drawbacks when used in rain, sun or even hail, but Cresselia isn't here to counter such Pokémon. Fighting types rarely damage Cresselia enough for me to use Moonlight, but when they do, even the 25% recovery in less favourable weather circumstances has proven to be enough. The buff Moonlight gets when used under the effects of Sun is great: I find myself using Cresselia a lot more when facing sun teams. Lunar Dance further increases Cresselia's utility, as it can Pokécenter a damaged sweeper from near-death.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
At last, the Stealth Rock-using, Rapid Spinning, Volt Switching and Dragon resisting Steel type. Forretress is my answer to the oft-used Dragon Moves. My Forretress provides the team with all the remaining support services it needs: a steel type, Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin. On top of that, Volt Switch ensures that Forretress doesn't make me lose too much momentum.
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This team does have its distinct flaws, and while no team is perfect, I still think that there is room for change here. Change, however, involves the removal of Pokémon. I'm content with the team as it is, and I fail to come up with a different composition myself. To get you guys started, I am the least comfortable with Volcarona being on the team. Don't hesitate to come up with a replacement for her.
Then there's the lack of weather. This team fares well under all weather conditions, with a special mention to sun, for it turns Cresselia into a very strong wall. Fitting Ninetales on the team looks like a waste to me though, because she's a pretty bad Pokémon and would mess up the synergy bigtime. Besides, I don't even have a proper abuser of sun. Personally, I don't think that this team needs weather of any kind, but hey, if you find yourself in a creative mood, go ahead and amaze me.
To wrap it up, I will end this RMT with a list of threats to the team.
- Volcarona, Speed Boosters: My playstyle with this team doesn't allow much room for set up, but set-uppers such as Gyarados and hostile Volcarona can easily rip the team if the timing is right. On the other hand, Users of Dragon Dance are easily checked by Forretress and Cresselia. A phazer or revenge killer could obviously solve this issue.
- Starmie, Offensive Gengar, powerful scarfers: Basically anything that outspeeds Terrakion and has the potential to break through Rotom and Cresselia is a threat to the team. Rotom's Thunder Wave can shut down these fast menaces. Adding a fast revenge killer myself would help.
- Heatran: Half of the team is powerless versus Heatran, whilst the other half has the coverage available to deal with him. However, a properly played Heatran is certainly capable of stirring up the team. While Hydreigon and Rotom shouldn't be afraid of Heatran, he usually tends to force them out anyway. I don't use Focus Blast as a spam move, so Heatran can safely come in on Fire Blast and Dark Pulse. Draco Meteor leaves a big dent though. Rotom is powerless versus a Heatran under the sun and is threatened by Toxic.
Tyranitar: The defensive sets don't threaten my team, and the offensive ones can be checked easily as well: it's just that I don't have a very safe switch in. On the contrary, Tyranitar's best bet at switching in on one of my team members is Cresselia, which will put up Reflect anyway.
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I think I covered most major threats there: feel free to correct me if I missed anything.
Thanks in advance for rating!
~Sylivian
