H
Hoenn
INTRODUCTION
This team came about after I played on PO during 4th Gen for a bit and wasn't having the best luck. I kept looking into a defense core but couldn't really find anything that was working too well. I kept seeing someone post every now and then about the Fire/Water/Grass core that was so prevalent in 4th Gen UU since they were able to cover each other's weaknesses so well. So I made this team back in my Platinum game and it worked pretty well in the 4th Gen metagame. Fast forward to 5th Gen and I just was not too impressed with some of the pickings for a team. So I decided to rebuild my 4th Gen team with some of the newer 5th Gen tweaks. I think that the team works really well with its synergy and almost battles in units together.
TEAM BUILDING
I started off with the Water member of my FWG core. Vaporeon has been one of the best walls in the game made even better by its ability to wish pass. I knew for a fact that the Water member needed to be bulky and Vaporeon is the definition of a bulky water mon.
With Vaporeon, I wanted to run a Roar set so I knew I would be needing someone to lay down entry hazards and out of all the pokemon available in the fourth gen, Forry is the best to do that. He is an entry hazard layer and a rapid spinner all in one and he would act as both for my team since he has the capabilities to do that. I was also not concerned with his weakness since obviously Vaporeon and the Fire member of the FWG core could handle it.
Knowing that this team would usually be somewhat stall based, since that is usually how my strategy ends up working since I feel I get the best results with stall. I knew I would need someone to be a wall breaker, to come in and scare away other walls that could try out stall me. I had read very good things about Infernape and despite being frail (I prefer my pokemon overall more bulky) I decided to give him a shot since his stat spread was pretty impressive.
Now I was just missing the Grass member of my FWG and it was the most difficult to find. I wanted someone who was not utility based and could deal some damage if I needed it. Someone who was fast enough to outspeed other walls/stallers without much investment. Shaymin fit all of these things in addition to being super cute and having a great ability. I planned to use a Subseed set to compliment my stalling strategy since I felt a special attacking set would make the team too offensive and leave gaps in bulk.
After looking at my team, I realized with the hazards I would be laying it would be smart to have a spin blocker just to make sure the hazards stayed in play. I didn't want a pokemon that was made to spin block so I decided to go with Gengar since he is a fast poke who could block spins and force switches. Plus he allowed for some pretty decent coverage that helped out the team a lot.
The final member of the team needed to be a powerhouse. Someone that could come in whenever I didn't really know what to do and get some damage on the opponent. He didn't need to be a wallbreaker since I already had one so I decided to just go all-out and bring in Garchomp himself. Now, I know that Garchomp is now Uber and therefore banned by Smogon but remember that I made this team back during 4th Gen before Garchomp was banned and didn't really play again until Gen V when he was no longer banned. Obviously I will need something else to go in that spot but the power and coverage that Chomp brought to the team will be missed.
ANALYSIS
ZOIDBERG
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 98 Def / 150 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+spd, -spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
I am very happy with this Forretress set and think it works wonders but would like some suggestions in regards to the item he is holding. There is a new berry this Gen, the Cutsap that acts as a Quick Claw when the pokemon is at low health. I saw someone use it on another Ferrothorn once but I feel that it should be combo'd with Explosion or something. I like the Leftovers gain but could see the Cutsap being useful if someone shocks me with an HP Fire. Thank god for the Sturdy buff this Gen though, one of the best things GameFreak has ever done.
KATARA
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 198 Def / 60 SpD
Nature: Bold (+def, -atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Surf
- Roar
I think I might switch Surf for Scald, but I don't really like having the conflicting status since I prefer to have the Toxic Spikes up and Scald is basically useless if you are not trying to inflict Burn. It could be useful against steels such as Scizor but I would just be roaring them out anyway or chipping away with Surf since Scizor can't handle Vaporeon too well. HP Fire is also something I considered in that last spot, but I am not sure since Roar is just so handy to phaze stuff that things it can set up on Vaporeon out.
GEORGE
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 236 Atk / 22 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Hasty (+spe, -spd)
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- U-Turn
- Earthquake
My biggest issue with my team is that overall the speed in 5th Gen is not what it was in 5th. Fast, boosting, sweepers are almost always dangerous for my team. Most notably, Latios. This team never had to deal with that before since it existed in 4th Gen. I am thinking about switching out Infernape's Life Orb for a Choice Scarf since with that +1 boost he would out speed most unboosted Pokemon and a few of the +1s that give this team trouble. However, I do enjoy switching up moves and catching people on the switch with predictions, I'd lose that if I went to Choice Scarf. Ahhh decisions, decisions.
LAYLA
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 74 SpA / 184 Spe
Nature: Modest (+spe, -spd)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Seed Flare
- Hidden Power (Ice)
I really enjoy Shaymin though, I think it might be a weaker point on my team but I can't think of anything that would do its exact job better. Or I could just be underestimating it most of the time and overestimating it the rest of the time.
PEEVES
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+spe, -atk)
- Disable
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
The type coverage Shadow Ball and Focus Blast get together is crazy. The combination of the STAB move and overall high powered move work very well with Gengar's impressive SpA so his attacks do a decent chunk to almost anything that does not resist it. Focus Blast has questionable accuracy but the coverage it gets make up for it hardcore, enough to 2HKO specially defensive Ferrothorn. Sick guy and I never really had too much respect for Gengar until I used him here.
TOKER
Item: Yache Berry / Perism Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+spe, -spa)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I can see why he got banned, I get it. But I never personally thought that he was that threatening unless sand storm is up. I will miss this guy but I really need someone to live up to his shoes. His job was basically just be the muscle of the team. Almost like a last resort if everything else I was trying didn't seem to be working. Whoever replaces Chomp will have huge shoes to fill.
My team has some issues with Conkledurr so I was thinking maybe a bulky, special Dragonite? Could be interesting.
THREAT LIST
As I mentioned above, bulky, set-up sweepers like Conkledurr give me some issues. Faster sweepers like Latios also give me some problems since my team is slower over all. I need a more solid way to handle them since Shaymin and Vaporeon can really only do so much together.
Other than that, I haven't had any real issues with this team. If there are any things I am missing, please let me know!