My RMT

Dork Void

#OCCUPYALLTHINGS
Member
An Intro to the Team and Why and How I Created It

I have a lot of OU Gen 5 teams stored on my computer for Pokemon Online (Over 30) and yet this is by far my most successful. While I inevitably get too bored of laddering with it and make a gimmick team to trash my rating, whenever anything serious like a tournament comes up I use this team as it remains my most successful team to date. A short intro on how I decided to create it:

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I inspired myself to create a team around this guy with my post in this thread. That should give you an idea of the approximate age of this team. For a long time my previous teams had had major trouble with it, and I wanted to try it out myself.

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I've been using Starmie on my teams for as long as I can remember, and it has never disappointed me. It's so useful that it is the first Pokemon I add in any team, regardless of what type of team it is. On this team, it works amazingly well with Gengar, as both can reliably 2HKO a huge amount of the metagame.

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I started really using Mienshao as my lead in this team and was so impressed I have never considered replacing it and, like Starmie, use it as a lead in all of my teams when I start testing them (yes, even stall teams, although he gets replaced in those). Hi Jump Kick is basically a 190 BP (nearly that of Selfdestruct) move firing off of a 125 Attack power which is nothing to underestimate and can OHKO Pokemon that it hits neutrally, really ripping holes in the opponent's team before they can even get rolling.

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As it was, my team was looking a little frail, with nothing having very good defenses. Heatran is the first member of my core, and is an amazing bulky sweeper for many reasons. 91/106/106 defenses are pretty impressive even without any investment, and its defensive typing is among the best if not the best in the game. For example, it is immune to Fire and Poison, 4x resistant to Ice, Grass, Bug, and Steel, and 2x resistant to Dark, Dragon, Psychic, Ghost, and Flying.

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Meet Gastrodon. Since when I created this team Thundurus was still OU, I needed something that could take its hits. Sure, Gastrodon couldn't counter a Thundurus with Grass Knot and even if the Thundurus had Focus Blast Gastrodon only had a 51% chance of not getting 2HKOed, and it could barely scare Thundurus away. However, the only other Pokemon that could even do that much was Lanturn, which I found less useful due to not having Recover. In the end, it just goes to show just how meta-breaking Thundurus was. Even after Thundurus's ban I've never found any reason to replace Gastrodon as an immunity to Water and Electric as well as Recover and good defensive stats really help in this meta, especially against rain teams.

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The final member of my team, Skarmory. I needed a hazards user as well as a good physical wall and the 3 Pokemon that came to mind were Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Since I didn't run Psychic or Disable on my Gengar I was afraid Ferrothorn would make me too weak to Machamp and Conkeldurr. I've never been a fan of Forretress because after it sets up it's mostly just dead weight aside from using Rapid Spin, which my team didn't even need. So, I settled on Skarmory as my hazards layer.

A More In-Depth View of My Team

Note: All of the pictures used in this section of my RMT were hand-drawn by me. I don't mind if you use them, but please credit me if you do.

All new changes are in bold, and old ones are slashed through.

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Mienshao (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Hasty
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SAtk/252 Spe
-Fake Out
-Hi Jump Kick
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-U-Turn

This set is fairly standard. Fake Out is an excellent move, especially combined with Life Orb and Regenerator because it allows me to scout my opponent's team, break Sashes and Sturdy, revenge KO nearly any threat, and it makes it easier to get OHKOs. Hi Jump Kick is also standard on Mienshao. 130 BP Life Orbed STABed attack firing off a 125 base attack is nothing to scoff at, even without an attack boosting nature. It is capable of OHKOing many Pokemon that don't resist it, and it allows Mienshao to further function as my check to anything and everything. Hidden Power Ice is an amazing attack as it can OHKO Gliscor and Dragonite as they switch into Fake Out turn 1, which is great because Gliscor and Dragonite are probably the most common switch-ins on Mienshao. U-Turn rounds out the set by giving you negative switch priority, extra damage, and a Regenerator boost all at once. EVs are also standard, giving Mienshao as much speed and power as possible.

Changes I am considering: None at the moment.

Beware: Below picture scrolls the page a bit.

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Could've resized but chose not to because GanonGar deserves to be full-sized!

Gengar (F) @Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Substitute
-Pain Split

Fairly standard GanonGar. Shadow Ball for STAB and killing Link while Focus Miss rounds out with perfect coverage. Max speed for speed tying other Gengar, Latios, and Latias, max special attack should be obvious, and I threw the last 4 EVs into Defense because if I put them in HP he wouldn't be able to use Substitute as much or gain as much health from Pain Split. This guy is incredible, 2HKOing nearly the entire metagame (aside from Blissey and Chansey, but I'll get to that later) making him very deadly because the opponent is constantly pressed to find a solid switch in. Chansey and Blissey get laughed at by GanonGar (I mean, he just took over Hyrule, what can a pink blob do to him?) because he sets up a Substitute to stop their feeble attempts at hitting him with a status condition, then he can repeatedly use Pain Split to not only negate any damage done to him, but also stall out their Softboiled PP. From there, I pray for mercy from the hax gods (who have never liked me much before, so idk how much that works) and attempt to KO with Focus Miss.

Changes I am considering: Nothing. Some people may want me to change Pain Split to Disable, but that doesn't work out as well. I can honestly say that in all the times I've used this team I've only run across a scenario in which I would want Disable once or twice, while I use Pain Split in nearly every single game, and it has definitely won matches for me. If I were to switch to DisableGar it would be impossible to defeat a team carrying Blissey or Chansey, as the only other thing I have that can take it down is Mienshao, but Thunder Wave makes that extremely risky, and Mienshao is very frail so its tough to keep him alive an entire game.

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Starmie @Leftovers Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
-Surf
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Recover

Fairly straightforward, Surf is for reliable STAB and T-Bolt/Ice Beam are for perfect coverage. EVs are also standard, giving it max speed to speed tier other Starmie then max Sp. Atk. This thing's great moverage, speed, and decent sp. attack allow it to OHKO or 2HKO a large amount of the metagame. Leftovers and Recover give it more longevity while Life Orb gives it more of a punch.

Changes I am considering: Maybe swap Lefties for Life Orb as an item. The last move slot I'm really unsure about. As other options than Recover, Rapid Spin, Psyshock, HP Fire, and Grass Knot are all viable. Rapid Spin is obviously because I don't have another spinner, Psyshock deals with Chansey, Blissey, and provides me with another STAB attack against things that resists water. Grass Knot is useful for Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and the rare Lanturn or Quagsire. HP Fire obliterates Ferrothorn, which is possibly the most common switch in on Starmie.

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Heatran (F) @Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
-Flamethrower
-Earth Power
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Pulse HP Rock

Having used all sorts of Heatran at some point in time, I can safely say ScarfTran has proven itself to be by far the best. Great special attack, great natural bulk, a great immunity, tons of great resistances, but lackluster speed and a few crippling weaknesses prevent it from doing much of anything without speed. Flamethrower is a far less risky version of Fire Blast and since my birth was some unforgivable sin to the hax gods which I will never understand or be able to atone for, Flamethrower>Fire Blast 100% of the time. Earth Power gives you great coverage alongside a fire move, hitting other Heatran hard. which are coincidentally the only things to resist another Heatran's Flamethrower+Dragon Pulse combo. Hidden Power Rock allows it to hit Volcarona much harder, a bit threat to my team. Since this Heatran forces switches a lot, it finds a good number of chances to set up Stealth Rock.

Changes I am considering: You'll find this repeated under Skarmory, but I'd like to try and move Stealth Rock onto that spot, whether its to Ferrothorn or Skarmory (I'll say more about that under Skarmory). This will give me room for Hidden Power Rock on Heatran, making Volcarona lacking Hidden power Ground (not too many, but still) much easier to deal with.

They were all like:
(09:31:24) +shadow_scyther: gastrodon can't look epic :p
and I was all like:
(09:31:48) Dark Void: http://fortnightlitpress.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/knapp01.png?w=480
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Gastrodon (F) @Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Nature: Calm Sassy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
-Scald Waterfall
-Earth Power
-Recover
-Toxic

Gastrodon is in my opinion the best bulky water in the current metagame. While Rotom-W does have a handy immunity to ground and a bit better STAB coverage, its recovery is far less reliable and the fact that Electric type attacks still hit it neutrally means it doesn't do as well against certain Pokemon that Gastrodon laughs at. Arguably the biggest deciding factor for me, however, was that in a 1 on 1 fight, Gastrodon will beat Rotom-W. If I were using my own Rotom-W, I would have a lot more trouble with this. Anyway, Toxic is standard to let me beat down bulky Pokemon such as the aforementioned Rotom-W, Jellicent, and more. Recover is staple on any bulky Pokemon that can learn it, and Earth Power and Scald provide decent coverage off of STAB.

Changes I am considering: Changing Scald to Surf because I don't think I've ever gotten a burn when I wanted/needed one. Changing it to a more specially bulky spread as it often finds itself eating Draco Meteors from Latios because Skarm can't take an HP Fire or Thunderbolt too well. I've also considered replacing one of its STAB moves (probably Earth Power) with Ice Beam, although the idea of a Gastrodon whose only STAB move is Waterfall is discouraging me from this idea.

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Skarmory (F) @Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Sp. Def
-Spikes
-Roost
-Drill Peck
-Whirlwind

Skarmory is a great wall. Its steel typing gives it lots of resistances and its flying typing gives it an immunity to Earthquake and Spikes. It is used primarily for setting up Spikes so my sweepers can get KOs easier. It is also useful for being able to switch in on most set-up sweepers and Whirlwind them away. Roost is an obvious move that greatly improved Skarmory's longevity and ability to outlast attackers. Drill Peck provides Skarmory with a reliable way of damaging anything. Due to Skarmory's good natural physical bulk, I decided to max out its special defense, with the remaining 4 EVs going into defense.

Changes I am considering: Skarmory probably has the most changes I'm considering out of any Pokemon on my team. I'm thinking of replacing Drill Peck with Stealth Rock so that I can give Heatran Hidden Power Rock, which should help a lot against Volcarona. I'm also considering a more physically bulky EV spread.

Another thing I have been thinking about is scrapping Skarmory completely and replacing it with Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn would have Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Power Whip, and Thunder Wave/Gyro Ball. This would give me something else that can hit Vaporeon, Rotom-W, and Gastrodon hard. It would also allow Heatran to carry HP Rock over Stealth Rocks. The problem with this and probably the reason I haven't done it yet is that it leaves my team without much to take down Machamp, Conkeldurr, and to some extent a few other fighting types.


Threatlist:

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Volcarona is the biggest threat to my team. If I haven't managed to get Stealth Rock up (which is tricky to do, sometimes I'm afraid Heatran won't scare the opponent away and I'm forced to lock myself into another move) it can switch in on just about anything on my team with impunity.

Thoughts on how to fix this: Move Stealth Rock onto Skarm, or replace Skarm with a Ferro that knows Stealth Rock. This will give me more chances to set up Stealth Rock and allow me to fit Hidden Power Rock on Heatran to make him a better counter (as of now, he can't damage it much after a Quiver Dance or two). Hidden Power Rock on Heatran does let him counter Volcarona lacking Hidden Power Ground, but unfortunately many do.
Since Gastrodon can now take Volcarona's hits very well and OHKO most back with Waterfall, I can pretty much saw my team is as Volcarona-proof as its going to get.

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Vaporeon is a very tricky Pokemon to deal with. In the rain, it hidden ability Hydration makes it immune to status conditions like Toxic, and combined with Rest it can recover all of its health in a single turn. On top of that, Starmie's Thunderbolt fails to 2HKO some versions, and if Mienshao gets burned or KOed by Scald on the switch then the only thing I can do is alternate between Gastrodon and Starmie to KO it. Starmie fires off Thunderbolts over and over, recovers away damage from Scald and Toxic, and when the Toxic damage becomes too great I predict a Scald and switch into Gastrodon, allowing Natural Cure to heal away Toxic. Then, predicting another Toxic, I go back to Starmie, and repeat until it runs out of either Rest or Toxic PP. Life Orb on Starmie makes Thunderbolt deal more damage to it, so this is much more manageable.

Honorable mentions go to Haxorus, Dragonite, and Salamence, all of whom can wreck havoc upon my team after a Dragon Dance or two if Skarmory is KOed. Note: Since Life Orb Starmie hits harder with Ice Beam, SubDD Dragonite has less things it can set up on now. Dragonite and Salamence can also put a big dent in Skarm with Fire Blast or Flamethrower. Conkeldurr also deserves a mention here because if I remove Skarmory for Ferrothorn, I'll have nothing to stop any of these 4, which is why I haven't yet made the switch.
 

Professor Palutena

The Queen
Member
Loving the pictures. :3

Try a Life Orb on Starmie. With it, it 2HKOs Vaporeon guaranteed, and does quite a number to Dragonite/Salamence/Haxorus.

As for Volcarona, you could, and I highly suggest doing so, swapping Dragon Pulse for HP Rock or Roar. Latias and Latios carry Surf, which will do lots to Heatran, and Dragonite/Salamence/Haxorus all carry Earthquake on some of their sets, so the primary targets for Dragon Pulse will kill you first.
 

Dork Void

#OCCUPYALLTHINGS
Member
Those are good ideas. I think I'm going to try out HP Rock on Heatran instead or Dragon Pulse for now, and Life Orb on Starmie. The problem is, if a Volcarona runs Hidden Power Ground, which many do, Scarftran still loses to it. At least due to its poor defense I can use Mienshao to revenge KO it with a few Fake Out, although I'll still end up down a few Pokemon.
 
J

Juliacoolo

Hidden Power Rock...I really don't think that's your best option. Most volcaronas not carrying HP ground will switch out of Heatran, and according to statistics, only 4.46% of Volcaronas carry HP Ground. With Volcaronas at 7.54%, there's a very little chance You'll get a Volcarona KO with HP rock.

Fire Blast/Flamethrower 2HKO 100% of the time.

Unless for some reason you feel HP Ground volcaronas are running rampant, I highly suggest keeping Dragon Pulse, or perhaps switch to HP Ice/Grass
 

Professor Palutena

The Queen
Member
HP Rock does have more uses than just Volcarona though; it hits popular switch-ins like Gyarados, Dragonite and Salamence for super effective damage.

Also, you can use HP Rock to hit Volcarona switchins. You also outspeed it with your choice scarf before it sets up.
 

Dork Void

#OCCUPYALLTHINGS
Member
Decided to switch Gastrodon to a special wall since it ends up taking special hits more often than physical ones. Still looking for a way to move Stealth Rock off of Heatran, because Scarftran is amazing set up fodder for Volcarona and the like when locked into SR.

Edit: After a discussion with Arceus about using Swampert to counter Volcarona, I decided to change Gastrodon's nature to Sassy and change Scald to Waterfall, which OHKOs standard Volcarona 100% of the time. Scald's burn was nice but I wasn't getting it when I needed it that often so i decided I could live without it.
 
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