Index:
A) Introduction + Team Building ProcessB) Team + Weaknesses/Resistances
C) Team Member Explanation
D) Concerns and Discussion
E) Importable Code
F) Final Words
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Hello everybody! I'm pretty new to competitive Pokemon (Attempt #3 :$) and I decided to just make a team around two of my favorite pokemon and center it around a style I like. A defensive, passive style. I'm 7-4 with this team on Pokemon Showdown and have already made some changes to it because of weaknesses I experienced. I came here for further advise and possibly some great tips! Without further ado, the team building process:
So, the initial team was done. In hindsight, I see a couple of pretty clear problems.
A) the lack of special attacks. With the exception of Psychic and Scald (both barely have any EV's to back them up) there's not a lot going on in here. This is an obvious flaw.
B) My thought process with taking a frail pokemon to abuse Wish was wrong: Aerodactyl was incapable of correctly switching in to take advantage of the Wish. It just died. Fast. FAST 0_0.
C) I had no decent response to Alakazam, which is common.
D) No fighting type moves actually hurts more than expected, a lot of pokemon take full advantage of that, easily.
E) This team relies heavily on Swampert being alive for a lot of the checking of opposing pokemon. Swampert is a bulky beast, but doesn't last forever and has an enormous weakness to Grass that I had no good response to.
I decided to drop Mega Aerodactyl in favor of Mega Ampharos. I decided having a dedicated lead and wasting my mega stone for that was not worth it. Aerodactyl didn't do the job I needed him to and I needed more staying power and special attacking strenght.
Another problem I started to notice around this time: Entei misses out on a lot of kills without the Life Orb, but with LO, possible Rocks and switch in damage, it died too fast for my liking. I decided to swap it out for Goodra.
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The Team!
The Team!
See the chart of weaknesses and resistances (in a defensively oriented team like this one, I deemed a chart like this relevant):
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Umbreon
Explanation: Umbreon is the first part of my beloved duo! It does a great job of checking a multitude of threats with it's Foul Play (Mega- Beedrill being to most dangerous) as well as offering great support to the team. It's defensive bulk is threatening to say the least. Wish, Protect demand no explanation. Toxic is chosen as the fourth move because it helps Umbreon deal damage and rack up on the residual damage, especially when combined with a very defensive team and Wish + Protect for stalling. As unspectacular as this pokemon seems, it fulfills a vital role in the team. Synchronize is excellent for taking advantage of Sleep Powder (etc.) and predicted Will-o-Wisps. The team lacks Status Absorbers (I run Heal Bell on Espeon) so this is a nice compromise.
Considerations: Umbreon is a tad weak on the special side. I might want to add a bit of special defense to it if that seems necessary. So far, it seems like there is enough special bulk in the team to go without.
Espeon
Explanation: Espeon is my second wish passer. It's ability also makes it a beloved member of my team. Magic Bounce takes full advantage of a good deal of moves and actually makes Espeon very hard to deal with. It's fairly bulky on both ends of the spectrum and usually gets multiple support moves a game of. Heal Bell is pretty crucial to the team, so I carry it over other moves that might benefit me. Wish/Protect add a lot of bulk to the team as well. Espeon gets a lot of easy switch in opportunities. It does more Wish Passing than Umbreon does, but lacks the ability to deal some actual damage to the opposition.
Considerations: I have considered dropping Protect for Baton Pass. That would make Espeon less resilient, but more capable of passing the boosts in case one of my pokemon gets critically low in health. I also allows for more initiative on my side, because it happens after switches. Additionally, I have considered dropping the Speed investment for additional SpA or SpD.
Forretress
Explanation: Forretress keeps the hazards away that really hurt my team and playstyle. He also attempts to get Spikes up. Sadly, that doesn't really work most of the time. As of now, Forretress is the pokemon I'm least happy with. He does offer the Rapid Spin support, but that's it. Spikes take too much time and don't really help in UU, I feel. Anyways, Gyro Ball has helped me against most noticably Mega- Glalie a couple of times. Earthquake is just there for coverage, there isn't much else to put there. The spread is just what Showdown advised. I'm not too certain about it, but in Forretress case (and my limited experience), defending rarely comes down to a couple of hitpoints; it's either takes 100% or 15%.
Considerations: I have considered Explosion over Earthquake. Pro: it deals more damage. Con: It still doesn't deal a lot of damage and using a suicide move sort of goes against the Wish Passing theme. Additionally, Exploding my Spinner seems silly. I have also considered adding Donphan in here. It has some bulk and also a good amount of Coverage. It could free up a slot on Diancie by running Stealth Rock, or I could use it with Assault Vest Ice Shard/Earthquake/Seed Bomb/Rapid Spin. I haven't tested this out yet, but I might in the future. I decided to wait for a bit, because it does change a lot on the type coverage. Essentially, it trades a defensive Pokemon for a more offensive one, which I don't necessarily need next to Swampert. Extra priority is a good thing however.
Mega- Swampert
Explanation: Swampert is that switch forcing threat and offensive powerhouse I lacked. After a single turn for setting up Swampert becomes an enormous menace to almost every pokemon in the tier. With the added survivability of the Twins, Swampert can be used quite aggressively all game long. It's grass weakness isn't covered too well in the team, but I can usually deal with the threats. This is a standard set of which I'm very fond.
Considerations: I used to run Roar over Rain Dance. I've tried both and it really depends on the opposing team which one I need most. Rain obviously gives a good speed boost and additional power in Waterfall, but without Roar my team is prone to set-up sweepers. Once it has a couple of Calm Minds under it's belt, Suicune faces no real resistance except for Machamp.
Diancie
Explanation: Diancie takes over Stealth Rocking. Additionally the typing is really cool. It has a lot of resistances and it's high defensive stats benefit the team well. Diamond Storm and Moon Blast both deal considerable damage to anything that switches in. It's just an overall solid Pokemon and a strong addition to the team.
Considerations: The fourth move is really just filler. I hardly find myself using it, ever. I have thought about using Toxic, but Diancie sort of lures Poison types in, which makes Toxic a poor move to run. I have also thought about adding Ancient Power and Calm Mind, but losing Diamond Storm means I lack the initial strenght to force a number of Fire types to reconsider their evil plans. Lastly, I thought about Earth Power, which I feel isn't needed as a result of Forretress and Swampert running Earthquake and Machamp having a lot of overlap with that as well.
Machamp
Explanation: As explained above, Machamp finally does what a lot of others couldn't. It's typing, reasonable bulk and excellent move set make it benefit a lot to my team. It hits like a train, brings priority, forces switches and also helps me get rid of some items. The set is fairly simple and straight forward.
Considerations: As of now, none, really.
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Overall Impression
I think this team has most of it's weaknesses covered. In playtesting I haven't yet experienced problems. A couple of things that worry me and that I would love some input on include Forretress. I'm not sure whether he fits on here or not. Carrying Spikes is nice, but if he never gets to use it... well... Additionally, I have played with the idea of switching Espeon to a Dual Screen variant, but I think the team is not aggressive enough for that. There is no sweepers that like the defense for setting up. Overall Impression
There is also a lack of a clear lead. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. I hope you can educate me on that. Furthermore, I have some worries about Bulky Set Up sweepers like Suicune (I have no hazing moves left) and hard hitters like Alakazam. So far, I've been able to hold them off decently, but situations will arrive where I don't have an answer for them.
Lastly, I fear my team will be weaker as I get to higher players in the ladder. Wish/Protect/Defensive Switching are risky in the sense that a good player might take advantage of it a lot more than the players I've been facing so far.
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Code:
Espeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Psychic
- Heal Bell
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- Foul Play
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Rain Dance
- Earth Power
Machamp @ Assault Vest
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Punch
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Spikes
- Earthquake
Diancie @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]I hope you enjoyed my RMT and are able to bring some valuable feedback! Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
Toastie
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