Oh yeah, this kinda died so I might as well revive it (omg double post op) with the team that came out of
this core since I would describe the team as "very nice but not quite there yet" so it's pretty much in tweak mode but could use a facelift. It's really more geared toward suspect but can kinda-sorta hang with Mega Metagross I guess? Lol.
Many of y'all have faced this team, and if you have then you know I like to play it aggressively as I am not super confident in the defensive core. My suspect ladder record is 31-13 though I think the team's record is closer to 26-8 because I started on suspect with an offense team whose defensive stopper was MegaZard X haha, so you can guess how that went. Anyway, here's what I have:
Slowbro (M) @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
The old post explains why I like Mega Slowbro so much, but let's just say that he's a really terrifying win condition. I think in practice the only thing I have been annoyed with is that, if he doesn't get Scald burns (which *would* happen to me), breaking iffy pseudo-checks like Ferrothorn and Rotom-W does get a bit more difficult. I have this paired with Healing Wish support (spoiler alert) which allows me to play it very aggressively early on, which is nice. Even though it can be stopped, I kind of find this to be a BS poke tbh. :/
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 12 SpA / 208 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Toxic
I tossed in Heatran for SR support, a kinda-sorta Talonflame check, a little status, and much-needed special bulk. I'm not a huge fan of Heatran but he does his job pretty well and closes some gaps on the team. I would be open to a replacement here. Oh, and idek about the EVs. I think they all just made the numbers pretty (like 300 satk or something?) so don't ask.
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 40 Atk / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- U-turn
I actually removed this for a bit because Hurricane's accuracy kept costing me games. No matter: I still love his Speed, utility, and ability to grab momentum, even though I really wish that Hurricane didn't suck. He's a great early game breaker against some teams as well though I wouldn't say it's as good as the mixed Defiant Thundurus I enjoyed spamming in XY. The big thing with Tornadus is that he can safely switch into Serperior and especially Celebi and get me back momentum. It allows me to play Slowbro aggressively and not fear an incoming vegetable mon. sry sims.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
I always use this mon lol. It's just too useful. I liked the idea of dual CM with MegaBro, and her utility actually supports Slowbro nicely, especially on the status absorption front. Otherwise, it can spread status, somewhat alleviate the pressure from weak VoltTurns, and checks numerous Pokemon or can at least prevent them from sweeping, because Fairy type is insane. Thunder Wave gets the nod over Flamethrower because I find it more useful defensively and for Heatran, though given how spotty this team is against fast Mega Scizor, I think Flamethrower is a fair choice even though Heatran can check it if it gets paralyzed.
Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 248 SpA / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute
Ehhhh I feel like the metagame has started to adapt to this guy a bit (as evidenced by the rise of Celebi, Starmie, etc.) and I find it less effective than I did when ORAS started. Even so, this is my primary stall-breaker (translation: stall is a difficult matchup for me) and still puts pressure on a lot of teams and checks Scizor and Bisharp, though not all that well. I feel like this is where my team building got a tiniest bit lazy.
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Defog
- Healing Wish
This guy has actually been really clutch and is a great synergy mon. For some reason, I find people to be more careful about coverage moves when playing vs. Latios than Latias, so I've found HP Fire to be a surprisingly effective Scizor/Ferro lure. It provides a *badly* needed Electric resist and a good switch-in to Charizard Y and non-SubMind Keld I guess. The real story here is Healing Wish, which is usually when I make my move in a game and corner my opponent. Often I find that teams can check any one of my CM sweepers but not all that well, so I can weaken them and then come back for round two. This is especially true of MegaBro who can actually beat/severely maim some of its checks 1v1 but is left at really low health (think vs. like LO Thund or something) which effectively kills Slowbro since it's too slow to recover on anything. Healing Wish changes that equation, which is awesome.
Okay so here are the issues I want to have fixed:
- Fairies: For a suspect ladder team you'd think I'd be better against these guys, but nah, Clefable can completely shut me down (Slowbro is not the best Clef check in the world, I'll just say that) and my Mega Diancie check is uhhh Slowbro lol? I can survive, but it's not ideal. Oh, and don't even get me started on Azumarill, who I basically just sacrifice mons to.
- VoltTurn: Oh look, balance is super popular and VoltTurn mons like Rotom-W, Landorus-T, and Mag are really common, and they check the mon I'm building around! BRB I'm going to make myself obnoxiously weak to this strategy.
- Stall: I can outplay this match-up, but it requires really sound execution.
- Mega Pinsir: I have literally not seen a single one of these, but lol.
These flaws haven't been crippling because
I am a prodigy they can be played around to various degrees and I have four Pokemon that are really frightening win-cons on their own, which gives me tremendous in-game flexibility. I feel like the build is just a little flabby, meaning that I'm not quite making efficient use of my team slots. I've been stuck on what exactly I should be shifting around. Suggestions welcome etc.
As for Band Scizor I ran him with a few different builds and just found him to be a liiiittle too slow and too frail (or perhaps easy to wear down) than I would have liked, and while the advantages I mentioned were there, I just found it to be iffy on the whole. Oh well not every idea can take off. ;(