If you came into this thread expecting a team about Tropius, you are officially cool!
*Made by the talented Safariblade*
*Introduction*
I first got into competitive Pokémon near the end of Gen 4, right around Salamence’s banning. I mostly fooled around on PokeBeach’s Shoddy server, playing with mediocre teams that never had a high record. Once Gen 5 came around, I tested the waters, but retreated after about 4 months. I was completely overwhelmed in this new metagame, and I had no idea where to begin. There was so much sand, just like in the previous generation. I dislike conformity, so I wanted to be different. Unfortunately, I found it pretty hard to be different, and just gave up in January.
Around the beginning of June, I was bored, sitting on my computer. I decided to visit Smogon, and read “The Smog”, like I did before. I read one of the articles, and at the bottom was a disclaimer “This article was written before Drizzle Politoed as released”. I couldn’t believe it! The teams I ran in Gen 4 were all Rain teams. Now I didn’t need to worry about having 3 Pokemon to set up Rain, I could just have Politoed.
I had everything set up, with my team of Politoed/Kingdra/Ludicolo/Ferrothorn/Jellicent/Jirachi, and I went to start laddering, and I got a message “The combination of Swift Swim and Drizzle is banned in OU”.
Ugh, I had to completely reconstruct the team. Since then, I had been in a rut; I could never really win anything. But, after 6 weeks of testing, I was out of my rut. I had finally tasted the success I longed to find. This team easily beats the non-weather teams, some sun teams, the occasional sand, and rarely against opposing rain. I will definitely take all comments and suggestions into consideration, as I want this team to excel before, and if, Drizzle gets the uber vote.
*Team Building Process*
As with any good, you need to have the support of Politoed’s Drizzle. While including the frog does reduce your options (ie, no Kingdra, Ludicolo or Kabutops), the payout is about the same, and you don’t have poor synergy (4 members weak to Electric).
Next, we have another staple of Rain teams; Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn’s support it provides for this team is unparalleled. It is frequently the pivot of choice, due to its large amount of resistances it can come in on. This Ferrothorn even has a way to counter Magnezone’s Magnet Pull, while still having Leftovers.
Now unfortunately, Ferrothorn and Politoed aren’t the biggest heavy hitters around. Dragonite blends perfectly with the team, and it’s very powerful with its mixed Rain set. This was when I decided that Dragonite would be the focal point of my team. Huzzah!
Like Ferrothorn, Jirachi is a support Pokemon. It lays down hazards, and provides Wish support. However, the biggest boon that Jirachi supplies is, ironically, its Ground weakness. If an Earthquake is coming, and there aren’t any Rocks around, Dragonite can come in with Multiscale intact and start sweeping.
Given the above comment about Rocks, you probably could guess where I was going. Starmie is the perfect offensive spinner I could have asked for. Sporting Surf and Thunder, it’s no slouch offensively, and with Recover and Natural Cure, it can keep itself healthy for a while.
Right around now, I started to analyze my team’s weaknesses. Now obviously, they were Blissey and opposing Rain teams. Virizion takes on a wall breaker approach with a Swords Dance set, sporting 108 base Speed to boot.
After some testing, I was able to pinpoint what my team needed. Obviously Lati@s was a huge problem, which is why I added Scizor to my team. With Pursuit and U-Turn, he puts the Eon duo in a checkmate situation, and gets a guaranteed KO with Pursuit while holding his wonderful Choice Band. This replaced all the offense Virizion provided, as well as more. Like Ferrothorn, it's fire weakness was also reduced in the rain.
Scizor forms a fantastic offensive core with Rotom-Wash. They resist each others sole weakness, and keep the momentum in my favor with Volt Switch and U-Turn. Under rain, Rotom performs extremely well with a Scarf Set.
*The Team*
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Bulldoze
Speaking of Ferrothorn, this is a Ferrothorn build designed to defeat Magnezone. With only two weaknesses, and the more common one (How many Pokemon run Hidden Power [Fire] just to 2HKO Ferrothorn?) being halved by Rain, Ferrothorn is an unstoppable force if the opposition lacks a Conkeldurr, Toxicroak or Machamp. Spikes provides some support, netting up to 25% health off of all switch-ins, which are usually grounded to take out Ferrothorn. Leech Seed provides healing for Ferrothorn, as well as for my team, while slowly draining the opponent’s health. Power Whip is standard STAB, though it won’t usually do much without investment. Bulldoze is where things get interesting. Ferrothorn’s biggest counter is Magnezone, who just happens to be 4x weak to Ground. Unless they run Magnet Rise, Ferrothorn can beat Magnezone, as Ferrothorn is 4HKOed by anything Magnezone tries to do to it. Bulldoze will also break Magnezone’s substitutes, meaning that Magnezone has no chance at taking out Ferrothorn.
As said above, the support Ferrothorn provides has no equal. Because its fighting weakness lures in fighting types, Dragonite gains another thing to switch in on. And nothing will want to take a Hurricane from Dragonite, resulting in a switch, thus more spikes damage. Ironically, Ferrothorn is the first Pokemon to usually be KOed, because it comes in so many times.
Leading with Ferrothorn lets me do the same trick as I did with Jirachi when versing Tyranitar leads. Previously, Tyranitar would either Fire Blast or Earthquake Ferrothorn. Now, because Ferrothorn isn't weak to Ground, they will always Fire Blast, letting me bring in Politoed, and start the rain.
Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Surf
- Hypnosis
- Focus Blast
- Perish Song
With the offense Rotom-W and Scizor provide, I figured it would be safe for Politoed to take on a supporting set, and its worked wondefully. Against opposing weather teams, this added bulk gives Politoed the ability to come in and (pardon the pun) Rain on their Parade. Perish Song stops Baton Pass teams, while Hypnosis gives my team a chance at eliminating a threat. Surf is the STAB move of choice due to superior accuracy and Power Points. Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn, Tyranitar and Abomasnow, albeit not very powerfully.
Perhaps I should replace Focus Blast with Ice Beam, or some other supporting move. It hasn't really been doing me much good.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunder
- Surf
- Recover
Ending the realm of support, and leaping into the realm of offense leads us to Starmie. Usually if Dragonite doesn’t sweep the opponent, they will be severally weakened. That usually results in Starmie cleaning up, with Surf and Thunder both being buffed by Politoed’s Drizzle. Surf is, again, the required high power sweeping move, with Thunder hitting the Waters that are usually left at the end of the game. Rapid Spin gets rid of those annoying hazards that plague my team, especially Stealth Rock which kills Dragonite’s Multiscale. Starmie’s Natural Cure lets it come in on Toxic Spikes, spin them away, and heal itself to come in later. Recover is another obvious move, it allows Starmie to heal the damage it took from Stealth Rock and Spikes when it had to spin. It also heals Life Orb recoil.
Starmie usually pops in after the opposing Spiker has been eliminated to clean up the hazards. Then it usually isn’t seen again until near the end if there is cleaning up to do. Most of my games have been one with Starmie cleaning everything up at the end. The Timid Nature and EV spread allow Starmie to outrun neutral natured 130 base Speed Pokemon, and hit them with a high powered Surf.
As for changes to Starmie, fitting in Ice Beam would be really cool. But I don’t see it happening, simply because of how staple the other moves are already.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-U-Turn
-Superpower
Scizor was just what my team needed to take on the Psychics in OU: Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. Pursuit and U-Turn, when coming off of nearly 600 attack, really hurts, since they have no way to boost their defense. U-Turn is for scouting the team, and with Ferrothorn's spikes, it really racks up some passive damage, making life easier for Dragonite. Superpower hits Blissey, Chansey and Tyranitar hard, and the stat drops don't matter due to the hit and run nature of the set.
Scizor packs quite a punch with this set, and it and Rotom-W were the perfect scouters my team could have. Scizor's sole Fire weakness is reduced with Rain, and Politoed, Starmie, Dragonite and Rotom can all come in on Fire attacks anyways, without taking much damage. While I'm not a fan of Choice Band/Specs, I knew I needed the raw power if Dragonite goes down, and Starmie is in the yellow. I've certainly appreciated having Scizor around.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Trick
Because of Rotom's synergy with Scizor, there's sure to be lots of switches. Once the opponent gets the idea of my constant switchings, they'll bring in their Blissey to take the Volt Switch. Then, I hit them with Trick, leaving them with a useless Pokemon. Rotom's Scarf set also lets me revenge some things, with its very powerful Hydro Pump. Volt Switch is for more scouting, and Hidden Power [Ice] hits the Dragons hard.
Much of what I said with Scizor applies to Rotom. Its got one weakness, as well as an awesome typing, both defensive and offensive. With Ferrothorn's hazards, passive damage is racked up very quickly, meaning Dragonite has less work to do. Trick has been oh-so-very useful against defensive Pokemon, even though I do lose my revenge killer in the process. Dragonite, Scizor and Ferrothorn all have a 4x resistance to Rotom-W's only weakness, meaning that there is almost always a check in place if Celebi, Shaymin or Venusaur come in.
Dragonite (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Hurricane
- Aqua Tail
- ExtremeSpeed
- Dragon Pulse
Lastly, we have Dragonite, the powerhouse of the team. It needs no set up, and can start wrecking the opposition immediately once it comes out. Hurricane is the very powerful STAB move that Dragonitespams utilizes in the rain, firing off of that 328 SAtk stat. Aqua Tail hits the special walls that Hurricane doesn’t, and, like Hurricane, is buffed by Rain. ExtremeSpeed is my team’s sole form of priority, though ExtremeSpeed does have the advantage of having +2 Priority (as opposed to +1), allowing Dragonite to KO weakened Infernapes and other priority users. Dragon Pulse is the Dragon stab that lets Dragonite defeat Latias and Latios, after they have been paralyzed by Jirachi. Life Orb maxes out the damage potential of this set.
As the core of the team, Dragonite has a sole purpose: Beat down the opposition. It doesn’t need any set up, it has two 180BP moves (Hurricane and Aqua Tail) at its disposal. If it can’t do that, then at least they are weakened enough for Starmie to finish them off.
The synergy Dragonite provides its team with is truly spectacular. It can come in on the Ground moves aimed at Jirachi, the Grass moves aimed at Starmie and Politoed and the Fighting moves aimed at Ferrothorn. Because it takes minimal damage from those moves, or none, perhaps Leftovers could be an option for the item.
Aside from Leftovers, the only change I could see happening to Dragonite would be Dragon Pulse. If Virizion ends up setting replaced by a better counter to Latias/Latios, then I can probably put Roost back on Dragonite, or try Brick Break.
*Past Team Members*
Jirachi
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Wish
- Stealth Rock
While I usually lead with Politoed, the advent of Team Preview, and a resurgence in Sand teams but Jirachi up front. Tyranitar is the most common lead of the Generation, and unless it runs Thunderbolt, I can beat it. Jirachi sets up Stealth Rock, which is, again, one of the massive boons Jirachi gives my team. Body Slam provides paralysis support 60% of the time, which greatly helps with Dragonite’s less than stellar speed. Iron Head works with Body Slam, providing 60% flinch rate. We’ve also got Wish, so that a weakened Dragonite can come in on an Earthquake, and heal its wounds, possibly activating Multiscale again.
Quite frequently, Jirachi comes in, and then out. Because Tyranitar, the number one lead currently, packs Fire Blast for Ferrothorn, it will always use it against Jirachi. I then switch out to Politoed, and I get my rain up, and Fire Blast does pitiful damage. Tyranitar is then forced out, and I get a kill with a 190 base power surf.
In addition to providing a support role, Jirachi is also my only check to numerous Pokémon, specifically: Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. It can’t do much to them but paralyze them, but its accomplished its task once they’ve been Paralyzed, opening it up for a Dragonite kill, although Jirachi usually has to sacrifice itself for that to happen.
I think it would be cool to fit U-Turn on Jirachi, fitting Jirachi’s usual pivot nature, and giving it at least something strong against Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. Stealth Rock could go to open up a slot, as I rarely use it, and Ferrothorn’s Spikes are usually enough for hazards.
Virizion
Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade
Virizion here beats opposing Rain and Sand teams, as well as Blissey and the Iron Pringles core. Sacred Sword is its main STAB attack, with Fighting’s solid solo coverage. It also stops anything that runs Curse from wrecking my team, due to ignoring their defence buffs. Leaf Blade is another STAB move, though it is nowhere as good as Sacred Sword, it still works well against the bulky waters that otherwise stop Virizion (Ironically, they can’t do much to Virizion either, unless they have Ice Beam). Stone Edge is a coverage move that hits the flying types that plague Virizion, although its mediocre accuracy is annoying at the best of times. Swords Dance buffs up Virizion’s base 90 attack, and turns it into a powerful sweeper after one turn.
To be quite honest, Virizion, by gift of it being the last Pokémon added, is probably the easiest to replace. Unlike the Pokémon listed above, Virizion does not help Dragonite accomplish a sweep, and it doesn’t pack as much of a bunch I had hoped for. Maybe this could be solved by going to a Mixed or Calm Mind set, or just completely changing the Pokemon.
Virizion started off having Hidden Power [Ice] instead of Leaf Blade, to counter Gliscor who walls this set. But, Hidden Power [Ice] didn’t do much damage to the flying Scorpion, and was quickly replaced by Leaf Blade.
*Threats*
Breloom is the only thing to be troubling my team lately. With SubPunch, it really hits my team hard, and Toxic Orb ensures that it can do it for a while. Spore is its icing on the cake, and annoys me to no end. Perhaps Gliscor can fit somewhere, and then all my problems with this mushroom will be solved.
*Closing*
So here’s my team. As of recent, I’ve had quite a large amount of success with it, and it’s truly been fun to play. I’m hoping Drizzle doesn’t get banned, solely because I can keep using this team then. If you’ve made it this far, you deserve props for reading all of this. As I said in the above, I will try and consider all suggestions, providing that they are reasonable.
*Made by the talented Safariblade*
*Introduction*
I first got into competitive Pokémon near the end of Gen 4, right around Salamence’s banning. I mostly fooled around on PokeBeach’s Shoddy server, playing with mediocre teams that never had a high record. Once Gen 5 came around, I tested the waters, but retreated after about 4 months. I was completely overwhelmed in this new metagame, and I had no idea where to begin. There was so much sand, just like in the previous generation. I dislike conformity, so I wanted to be different. Unfortunately, I found it pretty hard to be different, and just gave up in January.
Around the beginning of June, I was bored, sitting on my computer. I decided to visit Smogon, and read “The Smog”, like I did before. I read one of the articles, and at the bottom was a disclaimer “This article was written before Drizzle Politoed as released”. I couldn’t believe it! The teams I ran in Gen 4 were all Rain teams. Now I didn’t need to worry about having 3 Pokemon to set up Rain, I could just have Politoed.
I had everything set up, with my team of Politoed/Kingdra/Ludicolo/Ferrothorn/Jellicent/Jirachi, and I went to start laddering, and I got a message “The combination of Swift Swim and Drizzle is banned in OU”.
Ugh, I had to completely reconstruct the team. Since then, I had been in a rut; I could never really win anything. But, after 6 weeks of testing, I was out of my rut. I had finally tasted the success I longed to find. This team easily beats the non-weather teams, some sun teams, the occasional sand, and rarely against opposing rain. I will definitely take all comments and suggestions into consideration, as I want this team to excel before, and if, Drizzle gets the uber vote.
*Team Building Process*
As with any good, you need to have the support of Politoed’s Drizzle. While including the frog does reduce your options (ie, no Kingdra, Ludicolo or Kabutops), the payout is about the same, and you don’t have poor synergy (4 members weak to Electric).
Next, we have another staple of Rain teams; Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn’s support it provides for this team is unparalleled. It is frequently the pivot of choice, due to its large amount of resistances it can come in on. This Ferrothorn even has a way to counter Magnezone’s Magnet Pull, while still having Leftovers.
Now unfortunately, Ferrothorn and Politoed aren’t the biggest heavy hitters around. Dragonite blends perfectly with the team, and it’s very powerful with its mixed Rain set. This was when I decided that Dragonite would be the focal point of my team. Huzzah!
Like Ferrothorn, Jirachi is a support Pokemon. It lays down hazards, and provides Wish support. However, the biggest boon that Jirachi supplies is, ironically, its Ground weakness. If an Earthquake is coming, and there aren’t any Rocks around, Dragonite can come in with Multiscale intact and start sweeping.
Given the above comment about Rocks, you probably could guess where I was going. Starmie is the perfect offensive spinner I could have asked for. Sporting Surf and Thunder, it’s no slouch offensively, and with Recover and Natural Cure, it can keep itself healthy for a while.
Right around now, I started to analyze my team’s weaknesses. Now obviously, they were Blissey and opposing Rain teams. Virizion takes on a wall breaker approach with a Swords Dance set, sporting 108 base Speed to boot.
After some testing, I was able to pinpoint what my team needed. Obviously Lati@s was a huge problem, which is why I added Scizor to my team. With Pursuit and U-Turn, he puts the Eon duo in a checkmate situation, and gets a guaranteed KO with Pursuit while holding his wonderful Choice Band. This replaced all the offense Virizion provided, as well as more. Like Ferrothorn, it's fire weakness was also reduced in the rain.
Scizor forms a fantastic offensive core with Rotom-Wash. They resist each others sole weakness, and keep the momentum in my favor with Volt Switch and U-Turn. Under rain, Rotom performs extremely well with a Scarf Set.
*The Team*
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Bulldoze
Speaking of Ferrothorn, this is a Ferrothorn build designed to defeat Magnezone. With only two weaknesses, and the more common one (How many Pokemon run Hidden Power [Fire] just to 2HKO Ferrothorn?) being halved by Rain, Ferrothorn is an unstoppable force if the opposition lacks a Conkeldurr, Toxicroak or Machamp. Spikes provides some support, netting up to 25% health off of all switch-ins, which are usually grounded to take out Ferrothorn. Leech Seed provides healing for Ferrothorn, as well as for my team, while slowly draining the opponent’s health. Power Whip is standard STAB, though it won’t usually do much without investment. Bulldoze is where things get interesting. Ferrothorn’s biggest counter is Magnezone, who just happens to be 4x weak to Ground. Unless they run Magnet Rise, Ferrothorn can beat Magnezone, as Ferrothorn is 4HKOed by anything Magnezone tries to do to it. Bulldoze will also break Magnezone’s substitutes, meaning that Magnezone has no chance at taking out Ferrothorn.
As said above, the support Ferrothorn provides has no equal. Because its fighting weakness lures in fighting types, Dragonite gains another thing to switch in on. And nothing will want to take a Hurricane from Dragonite, resulting in a switch, thus more spikes damage. Ironically, Ferrothorn is the first Pokemon to usually be KOed, because it comes in so many times.
Leading with Ferrothorn lets me do the same trick as I did with Jirachi when versing Tyranitar leads. Previously, Tyranitar would either Fire Blast or Earthquake Ferrothorn. Now, because Ferrothorn isn't weak to Ground, they will always Fire Blast, letting me bring in Politoed, and start the rain.
Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Surf
- Hypnosis
- Focus Blast
- Perish Song
With the offense Rotom-W and Scizor provide, I figured it would be safe for Politoed to take on a supporting set, and its worked wondefully. Against opposing weather teams, this added bulk gives Politoed the ability to come in and (pardon the pun) Rain on their Parade. Perish Song stops Baton Pass teams, while Hypnosis gives my team a chance at eliminating a threat. Surf is the STAB move of choice due to superior accuracy and Power Points. Focus Blast hits Ferrothorn, Tyranitar and Abomasnow, albeit not very powerfully.
Perhaps I should replace Focus Blast with Ice Beam, or some other supporting move. It hasn't really been doing me much good.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Thunder
- Surf
- Recover
Ending the realm of support, and leaping into the realm of offense leads us to Starmie. Usually if Dragonite doesn’t sweep the opponent, they will be severally weakened. That usually results in Starmie cleaning up, with Surf and Thunder both being buffed by Politoed’s Drizzle. Surf is, again, the required high power sweeping move, with Thunder hitting the Waters that are usually left at the end of the game. Rapid Spin gets rid of those annoying hazards that plague my team, especially Stealth Rock which kills Dragonite’s Multiscale. Starmie’s Natural Cure lets it come in on Toxic Spikes, spin them away, and heal itself to come in later. Recover is another obvious move, it allows Starmie to heal the damage it took from Stealth Rock and Spikes when it had to spin. It also heals Life Orb recoil.
Starmie usually pops in after the opposing Spiker has been eliminated to clean up the hazards. Then it usually isn’t seen again until near the end if there is cleaning up to do. Most of my games have been one with Starmie cleaning everything up at the end. The Timid Nature and EV spread allow Starmie to outrun neutral natured 130 base Speed Pokemon, and hit them with a high powered Surf.
As for changes to Starmie, fitting in Ice Beam would be really cool. But I don’t see it happening, simply because of how staple the other moves are already.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-U-Turn
-Superpower
Scizor was just what my team needed to take on the Psychics in OU: Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. Pursuit and U-Turn, when coming off of nearly 600 attack, really hurts, since they have no way to boost their defense. U-Turn is for scouting the team, and with Ferrothorn's spikes, it really racks up some passive damage, making life easier for Dragonite. Superpower hits Blissey, Chansey and Tyranitar hard, and the stat drops don't matter due to the hit and run nature of the set.
Scizor packs quite a punch with this set, and it and Rotom-W were the perfect scouters my team could have. Scizor's sole Fire weakness is reduced with Rain, and Politoed, Starmie, Dragonite and Rotom can all come in on Fire attacks anyways, without taking much damage. While I'm not a fan of Choice Band/Specs, I knew I needed the raw power if Dragonite goes down, and Starmie is in the yellow. I've certainly appreciated having Scizor around.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Trick
Because of Rotom's synergy with Scizor, there's sure to be lots of switches. Once the opponent gets the idea of my constant switchings, they'll bring in their Blissey to take the Volt Switch. Then, I hit them with Trick, leaving them with a useless Pokemon. Rotom's Scarf set also lets me revenge some things, with its very powerful Hydro Pump. Volt Switch is for more scouting, and Hidden Power [Ice] hits the Dragons hard.
Much of what I said with Scizor applies to Rotom. Its got one weakness, as well as an awesome typing, both defensive and offensive. With Ferrothorn's hazards, passive damage is racked up very quickly, meaning Dragonite has less work to do. Trick has been oh-so-very useful against defensive Pokemon, even though I do lose my revenge killer in the process. Dragonite, Scizor and Ferrothorn all have a 4x resistance to Rotom-W's only weakness, meaning that there is almost always a check in place if Celebi, Shaymin or Venusaur come in.
Dragonite (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Hurricane
- Aqua Tail
- ExtremeSpeed
- Dragon Pulse
Lastly, we have Dragonite, the powerhouse of the team. It needs no set up, and can start wrecking the opposition immediately once it comes out. Hurricane is the very powerful STAB move that Dragonite
As the core of the team, Dragonite has a sole purpose: Beat down the opposition. It doesn’t need any set up, it has two 180BP moves (Hurricane and Aqua Tail) at its disposal. If it can’t do that, then at least they are weakened enough for Starmie to finish them off.
The synergy Dragonite provides its team with is truly spectacular. It can come in on the Ground moves aimed at Jirachi, the Grass moves aimed at Starmie and Politoed and the Fighting moves aimed at Ferrothorn. Because it takes minimal damage from those moves, or none, perhaps Leftovers could be an option for the item.
Aside from Leftovers, the only change I could see happening to Dragonite would be Dragon Pulse. If Virizion ends up setting replaced by a better counter to Latias/Latios, then I can probably put Roost back on Dragonite, or try Brick Break.
*Past Team Members*
Jirachi
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SDef / 32 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Body Slam
- Wish
- Stealth Rock
While I usually lead with Politoed, the advent of Team Preview, and a resurgence in Sand teams but Jirachi up front. Tyranitar is the most common lead of the Generation, and unless it runs Thunderbolt, I can beat it. Jirachi sets up Stealth Rock, which is, again, one of the massive boons Jirachi gives my team. Body Slam provides paralysis support 60% of the time, which greatly helps with Dragonite’s less than stellar speed. Iron Head works with Body Slam, providing 60% flinch rate. We’ve also got Wish, so that a weakened Dragonite can come in on an Earthquake, and heal its wounds, possibly activating Multiscale again.
Quite frequently, Jirachi comes in, and then out. Because Tyranitar, the number one lead currently, packs Fire Blast for Ferrothorn, it will always use it against Jirachi. I then switch out to Politoed, and I get my rain up, and Fire Blast does pitiful damage. Tyranitar is then forced out, and I get a kill with a 190 base power surf.
In addition to providing a support role, Jirachi is also my only check to numerous Pokémon, specifically: Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. It can’t do much to them but paralyze them, but its accomplished its task once they’ve been Paralyzed, opening it up for a Dragonite kill, although Jirachi usually has to sacrifice itself for that to happen.
I think it would be cool to fit U-Turn on Jirachi, fitting Jirachi’s usual pivot nature, and giving it at least something strong against Reuniclus, Latias and Latios. Stealth Rock could go to open up a slot, as I rarely use it, and Ferrothorn’s Spikes are usually enough for hazards.
Virizion
Virizion @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade
Virizion here beats opposing Rain and Sand teams, as well as Blissey and the Iron Pringles core. Sacred Sword is its main STAB attack, with Fighting’s solid solo coverage. It also stops anything that runs Curse from wrecking my team, due to ignoring their defence buffs. Leaf Blade is another STAB move, though it is nowhere as good as Sacred Sword, it still works well against the bulky waters that otherwise stop Virizion (Ironically, they can’t do much to Virizion either, unless they have Ice Beam). Stone Edge is a coverage move that hits the flying types that plague Virizion, although its mediocre accuracy is annoying at the best of times. Swords Dance buffs up Virizion’s base 90 attack, and turns it into a powerful sweeper after one turn.
To be quite honest, Virizion, by gift of it being the last Pokémon added, is probably the easiest to replace. Unlike the Pokémon listed above, Virizion does not help Dragonite accomplish a sweep, and it doesn’t pack as much of a bunch I had hoped for. Maybe this could be solved by going to a Mixed or Calm Mind set, or just completely changing the Pokemon.
Virizion started off having Hidden Power [Ice] instead of Leaf Blade, to counter Gliscor who walls this set. But, Hidden Power [Ice] didn’t do much damage to the flying Scorpion, and was quickly replaced by Leaf Blade.
*Threats*
Breloom is the only thing to be troubling my team lately. With SubPunch, it really hits my team hard, and Toxic Orb ensures that it can do it for a while. Spore is its icing on the cake, and annoys me to no end. Perhaps Gliscor can fit somewhere, and then all my problems with this mushroom will be solved.
*Closing*
So here’s my team. As of recent, I’ve had quite a large amount of success with it, and it’s truly been fun to play. I’m hoping Drizzle doesn’t get banned, solely because I can keep using this team then. If you’ve made it this far, you deserve props for reading all of this. As I said in the above, I will try and consider all suggestions, providing that they are reasonable.
