Hello all! I am here to present to you my second RMT - a Tier Shift team featuring the volcanic canine Entei. This is a team I've enjoyed some success with on the PS ladder, but I feel like it has some untapped potential. I would've provided a teambuilding process, but I don't quite remember what I went through before I arrived at the current build. Anyway, here's the team at a glance;
And in more detail;
Entei @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
Entei is a beast and a half in Tier Shift. It hits 125 Atk and HP, 100 Spe, and 95 Def. STAB Choice Band Adamant Max Atk Flare Blitz is going to hurt. A lot. ESpeed is great on Entei as well, to take out faster and frailer foes. Sun teams generally don't like ESpeed, as priority moves like Sucker Punch from Shiftry fail due to ESpeed's higher priority. Stone Edge offers some coverage, and that's really about it. Entei's movepool is pretty darn poor, so I run Sleep Talk in the last slot because I literally have nothing better. I've never used it. Entei is supposed to symbolise volcanoes, why the hell does it not get Earthquake?
Galvantula @ Choice Specs
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
Galvantula is pretty great in Tier shift as well. 118 Spe and 107 SAtk with an almost perfectly accurate Thunder outside of Rain is pretty tasty. Galvantula aids Entei in sweeping by removing troublesome Water types, and even some Ground types, thanks to Giga Drain. Bug Buzz is nice secondary STAB that hits Psychics and Darks, while Volt Switch allows me to gain/maintain some momentum. I've been thinking about possibly switching the item to a Choice Scarf, but I'm not entirely sure how much the power drop will bother me.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SDef / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar
- Toxic
Even though it gains no stat boosts in Tier Shift, Heatran is still pretty great. It has some pretty nifty resistances and works well as a special wall and Sun counter. Darmanitan and Sawsbuck are the only really problematic Pokés on Sun teams for Heatran, but the other members of this team's Defensive core can take care of those quite well. Lava Plume is a nice STAB attack with a nifty Burn rate, Toxic is for wearing down walls, Protect is for stalling for Toxic/Burn damage as well as Lefties, and Roar is for Phazing setup sweepers. Pretty standard tbh.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SDef / 28 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Stun Spore
Amoongus is a solid Poké in Standard OU, and getting +10 to all stat certainly doesn't hurt. Amoonguss is another part of the defensive core, and checks Rain quite nicely for the team. Spore is very handy to cripple an opponent for most of the match, while Giga Drain is a nice form of recovery in conjunction with Black Sludge and Regenerator. Sludge Bomb provides secondary STAB against Grass or Dragon types hoping to come in for free on a Giga Drain. I have Stun Spore over Clear Smog as Heatran can already Phaze, and crippling a switch in after Spore can be pretty nice too, and can aid Entei in its sweep later.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Starmie was the last addition to this team. I noticed that Stealth Rocks were taking their toll on my main sweepers. I decide I wanted a more offensive spinner, so I went with Starmie. Starmie is an excellent spinner, with good offenses and great coverage. Starmie usually pulls its weight on the team offensively, and I'm happy about how it's done. Surf is for STAB (I may switch it for Hydro Pump), while BoltBeam offers some nice coverage. Rapid Spin is pretty self explanatory.
Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 120 SDef / 252 HP / 136 Def
Bold Nature
- Heal Bell
- U-turn
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock
God damn this thing is bulky. It's ridiculous. I brought it to the team for Heal Bell originally, but I ended up slapping on Stealth Rock as well to free up a slot on Heatran. U-Turn allows me to keep momentum, while Psychic gives Uxie a possibility of retaliating against the Pokés it walls. It's surprisingly fast, too. I usually lead with Uxie to get Rocks up as soon as possible
So that's the team. You may have noticed that it's very specially oriented, with only Entei attacking physically. It'd be nice therefore if at least some suggested changes were more physically oriented. I've been considereing Hitmontop over Starmie, as I'd kinda like to have some Fighting-type presence on the team, but Starmie's been really useful as I mentioned before. Hope you enjoyed so far, and thanks in advance for taking the time to have a look! :)
And in more detail;
Entei @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
Entei is a beast and a half in Tier Shift. It hits 125 Atk and HP, 100 Spe, and 95 Def. STAB Choice Band Adamant Max Atk Flare Blitz is going to hurt. A lot. ESpeed is great on Entei as well, to take out faster and frailer foes. Sun teams generally don't like ESpeed, as priority moves like Sucker Punch from Shiftry fail due to ESpeed's higher priority. Stone Edge offers some coverage, and that's really about it. Entei's movepool is pretty darn poor, so I run Sleep Talk in the last slot because I literally have nothing better. I've never used it. Entei is supposed to symbolise volcanoes, why the hell does it not get Earthquake?
Galvantula @ Choice Specs
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
Galvantula is pretty great in Tier shift as well. 118 Spe and 107 SAtk with an almost perfectly accurate Thunder outside of Rain is pretty tasty. Galvantula aids Entei in sweeping by removing troublesome Water types, and even some Ground types, thanks to Giga Drain. Bug Buzz is nice secondary STAB that hits Psychics and Darks, while Volt Switch allows me to gain/maintain some momentum. I've been thinking about possibly switching the item to a Choice Scarf, but I'm not entirely sure how much the power drop will bother me.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SDef / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Roar
- Toxic
Even though it gains no stat boosts in Tier Shift, Heatran is still pretty great. It has some pretty nifty resistances and works well as a special wall and Sun counter. Darmanitan and Sawsbuck are the only really problematic Pokés on Sun teams for Heatran, but the other members of this team's Defensive core can take care of those quite well. Lava Plume is a nice STAB attack with a nifty Burn rate, Toxic is for wearing down walls, Protect is for stalling for Toxic/Burn damage as well as Lefties, and Roar is for Phazing setup sweepers. Pretty standard tbh.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SDef / 28 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Stun Spore
Amoongus is a solid Poké in Standard OU, and getting +10 to all stat certainly doesn't hurt. Amoonguss is another part of the defensive core, and checks Rain quite nicely for the team. Spore is very handy to cripple an opponent for most of the match, while Giga Drain is a nice form of recovery in conjunction with Black Sludge and Regenerator. Sludge Bomb provides secondary STAB against Grass or Dragon types hoping to come in for free on a Giga Drain. I have Stun Spore over Clear Smog as Heatran can already Phaze, and crippling a switch in after Spore can be pretty nice too, and can aid Entei in its sweep later.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
Starmie was the last addition to this team. I noticed that Stealth Rocks were taking their toll on my main sweepers. I decide I wanted a more offensive spinner, so I went with Starmie. Starmie is an excellent spinner, with good offenses and great coverage. Starmie usually pulls its weight on the team offensively, and I'm happy about how it's done. Surf is for STAB (I may switch it for Hydro Pump), while BoltBeam offers some nice coverage. Rapid Spin is pretty self explanatory.
Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 120 SDef / 252 HP / 136 Def
Bold Nature
- Heal Bell
- U-turn
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock
God damn this thing is bulky. It's ridiculous. I brought it to the team for Heal Bell originally, but I ended up slapping on Stealth Rock as well to free up a slot on Heatran. U-Turn allows me to keep momentum, while Psychic gives Uxie a possibility of retaliating against the Pokés it walls. It's surprisingly fast, too. I usually lead with Uxie to get Rocks up as soon as possible
So that's the team. You may have noticed that it's very specially oriented, with only Entei attacking physically. It'd be nice therefore if at least some suggested changes were more physically oriented. I've been considereing Hitmontop over Starmie, as I'd kinda like to have some Fighting-type presence on the team, but Starmie's been really useful as I mentioned before. Hope you enjoyed so far, and thanks in advance for taking the time to have a look! :)
