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My favourite team needs some help

Pentenshi

i am nothing and nothing is me
28
Posts
9
Years
    • Greetings fellow poke fans, I've made this thread for some help on my team which hasn't been doing very well and I've yet to even win a match with it so i am hoping that some of you Specialists could help me out by mentioning the weaknesses and the major threats that could sweep my team of the ladder.

    Ok here goes

    Hydreigon (M) @ Choice Specs
    Ability: Levitate
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
    Hasty Nature
    - Draco Meteor
    - Dark Pulse
    - Flash Cannon
    - Acrobatics

    Whimsicott (F) @ Leftovers
    Ability: Prankster
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    - Encore
    - Taunt
    - Leech Seed
    - Toxic

    Gengar (M) @ Black Sludge
    Ability: Levitate
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    - Clear Smog
    - Curse
    - Substitute
    - Pain Split

    Serperior (F) @ Light Clay
    Ability: Contrary
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    - Leaf Storm
    - Reflect
    - Light Screen
    - Dragon Pulse

    Crobat (M) @ Black Sludge
    Ability: Infiltrator
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Jolly Nature
    - Brave Bird
    - Defog
    - Cross Poison
    - U-turn

    Krookodile (F) @ Focus Sash
    Ability: Moxie
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
    Adamant Nature
    - Knock Off
    - Earthquake
    - Stealth Rock
    - Counter

    there it is
     
    Emboar

    Emboar

    6,658
    Posts
    9
    Years
    • Okay, you really shouldn't have Acrobatics on Hydreigon. If it's holding a Choice Specs, it needs special attacks, and not physical attacks. Acrobatics is also only useful if the Pokemon is holding a consumable item like a berry or gem, but your Hydreigon is holding a Choice Specs, so that's not consumable. I suggest replacing that with Fire Blast or Earth Power so you can get some coverage. I also recommend giving Hydreigon a Timid nature instead of Hasty, because then it could last a little longer, and as I've said, it is a Special attacking Hydreigon.

    I'm sorry, but that Gengar set is really bad. Curse is never good on Gengar, as Gengar is a fast special attacker, and Curse lowers speed and raises Attack. And Curse is pretty pointless without any physical attacks. Curse is really bad with substitute, because after a Curse and a Substitute, Gengar only has 25% of it's health, and Gengar can't take hits well, so it will die quickly. Having only Clear Smog is bad because Clear Smog is not a powerful move, and then you're walled by a steel type like Magnezone, Scizor, or Ferrothorn. I suggest Shadow Ball + Sludge Bomb so you can hit any Pokemon. But if you really want a Pokemon with Clear Smog, I suggest Amoonguss.

    Hope this helps!
     
    Last edited:
    Nah

    Nah

    15,956
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    • Age 31
    • she/her, they/them
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    One major problem with your team is that 5 of the 6 Pokemon are weak to Ice, and the one that isn't doesn't resist it. Anything with an Ice attack will give you a hard time, like Mamoswine, Weavile, Black Kyurem, etc.

    I think that the first thing to do would be to replace Crobat with Starmie. Crobat's not a bad poke, but Starmie gives you an Ice resist while still being able to remove entry hazards and resisting Fighting. And it resists Psychic. Water's just a good type in general:

    Spoiler:


    The first set is a more defensive one that lets Starmie deal with Bisharp and Ferrothorn (and a few other things), common checks to Starmie, while the second is a straight-up offensive set if you want more firepower.

    Then there's:
    >Specs Hydreigon
    >has Acrobatics

    On a Specs set you'll generally wanna run all special moves. If you're looking for a mixed set, Life Orb or Expert Belt suit that better since mixed sets want the ability to switch moves. Hydreigon also has much better coverage moves than Acrobatics (which does not work well when holding an item, especially without STAB) like Fire Blast, Earth Power, Superpower, etc.

    Gengar is, even with bulk investment, still a frail 'mon. Curse rips out half of its HP, and the opponent can just KO it and then switch out to remove the curse. Clear Smog is a nice move, but it's a little weak, attackers that don't rely on set up don't care about it, and as Gengar's only attacking move, it's getting walled by every Steel and Poison type out there. A better way to do SubSplit would be like this:

    Spoiler:


    Though personally I think that a plain offensive set is better:

    Spoiler:


    Serperior is also a very threatening poke thanks to Contrary Leaf Storm, but is somewhat easily walled and needs coverage moves like Hidden Power Fire/Rock, and Giga Drain/Knock Off provide some nice healing or utility, respectively.

    But those are just set fixes. In addition to the Ice thing, some other issues with the team are:
    1) how are you dealing with Fairies?
    2) how are you handling stall?
    3) how are you combating very fast offensive teams?

    The Fairy thing isn't a terribly huge problem I suppose since you have Gengar and Serperior can possibly steamroll them if need be.

    But you don't really have anything for fast offensive teams. Serperior and offensive Starmie are good, yes, but against teams filled with stuff like Mega Metagross, Mega Manectric, Mega Lopunny, priority moves, and Scarfers, they aren't enough. Admittedly those Pokemon are hard to handle for more offensively inclined teams since those Pokemon are designed to break offense, but stuff like Prankster Thundurus-I, Klefki, Sableye, and your own priority moves help with that to some extent. Oh, and opposing Gengars are kinda threatening to the team but Gengar threatens a lot of teams no matter what you do so....

    As for stall, you don't exactly have much either for that. Whimsicott can annoy stall but it's not exactly breaking it either and you'll probably eventually lose. Hydreigon does wallbreak (sorta), but that's still just one 'mon against an entire team. Some stallbreakers to consider are like.....Keldeo, Magma Storm+Taunt Heatran, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Charizard (both forms, I think).

    Probably should replace Krookodile to make room for some of that stuff. Krookodile is great in UU, and Ground/Dark is a nice offensive STAB combo, but I think that after Crobat it's the most replaceable member on the team right now and you really imo need some stuff to handle stall and fast offense better. Removing it also makes for one less Water, Ice, Grass, and Fighting weakness.

    jesus christ why the fuck did I write so much
     
    skyburial

    skyburial

    Orca Hype
    892
    Posts
    9
    Years
    • User 101 said:
    I'm sorry, but that Gengar set is really bad. Curse is never good on Gengar, as Gengar is a fast special attacker, and Curse lowers speed and raises Attack. And Curse is pretty pointless without any physical attacks. Having only Clear Smog is bad because Clear Smog is not a powerful move, and then you're walled by a steel type like Magnezone, Scizor, or Ferrothorn. I suggest Shadow Ball + Sludge Bomb so you can hit any Pokemon. But if you really want a Pokemon with Clear Smog, I suggest Amoonguss.
    Click to expand...

    Not quite.

    https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Curse_(move)

    The user will lose half of its maximum HP (rounded down) and put a curse on the target. If the user has less than half of its maximum HP remaining, the move will execute fully but cause the user to faint. A cursed Pokémon will lose ¼ of its maximum HP at the end of each turn. The curse will remain until the Pokémon switches out or the battle ends.
    Click to expand...

    Essentially, it causes really heavy residual damage. In this gen, Trevenant is usually the standard mon for Cursing stuff, but since this player uses Serperior that's not really an option.

    I'd personally use Zapdos over the Crobat because the team would benefit greatly from a Brave Bird counter:

    Zapdos @ Leftovers
    Ability: Pressure
    EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 68 SpA / 16 Spe
    Bold Nature
    - Thunderbolt
    - Roost
    - Defog
    - Heat Wave
     

    PlatinumDude

    Nyeh?
    12,964
    Posts
    13
    Years
    • Aside from echoing what the above guys said, Krookodile was good when Aegislash was a thing in OU, but now it's not. Heatran is the better option over it, as not only does it resist Ice, but it also gets Stealth Rock up for you:
    -Lava Plume
    -Toxic
    -Taunt/Protect/Roar
    -Stealth Rock
    Nature: Calm
    EVs: 248 HP/192 SDef/68 Spe
    Item: Leftovers

    or
    -Fire Blast/Magma Storm
    -Flash Cannon/Stone Edge/Hidden Power (Ice)
    -Earth Power
    -Stealth Rock
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Air Balloon

    or (the Magma Storm lure that Zekrom mentioned):
    -Magma Storm
    -Earth Power
    -Taunt
    -Toxic/Solar Beam
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
    Item: Leftovers/Air Balloon/Power Herb

    Zekrom said:
    One major problem with your team is that 5 of the 6 Pokemon are weak to Ice, and the one that isn't doesn't resist it. Anything with an Ice attack will give you a hard time, like Mamoswine, Weavile, Black Kyurem, etc.

    I think that the first thing to do would be to replace Crobat with Starmie. Crobat's not a bad poke, but Starmie gives you an Ice resist while still being able to remove entry hazards and resisting Fighting. And it resists Psychic. Water's just a good type in general:

    Spoiler:


    The first set is a more defensive one that lets Starmie deal with Bisharp and Ferrothorn (and a few other things), common checks to Starmie, while the second is a straight-up offensive set if you want more firepower.

    Then there's:
    >Specs Hydreigon
    >has Acrobatics

    On a Specs set you'll generally wanna run all special moves. If you're looking for a mixed set, Life Orb or Expert Belt suit that better since mixed sets want the ability to switch moves. Hydreigon also has much better coverage moves than Acrobatics (which does not work well when holding an item, especially without STAB) like Fire Blast, Earth Power, Superpower, etc.

    Gengar is, even with bulk investment, still a frail 'mon. Curse rips out half of its HP, and the opponent can just KO it and then switch out to remove the curse. Clear Smog is a nice move, but it's a little weak, attackers that don't rely on set up don't care about it, and as Gengar's only attacking move, it's getting walled by every Steel and Poison type out there. A better way to do SubSplit would be like this:

    Spoiler:


    Though personally I think that a plain offensive set is better:

    Spoiler:


    Serperior is also a very threatening poke thanks to Contrary Leaf Storm, but is somewhat easily walled and needs coverage moves like Hidden Power Fire/Rock, and Giga Drain/Knock Off provide some nice healing or utility, respectively.

    But those are just set fixes. In addition to the Ice thing, some other issues with the team are:
    1) how are you dealing with Fairies?
    2) how are you handling stall?
    3) how are you combating very fast offensive teams?

    The Fairy thing isn't a terribly huge problem I suppose since you have Gengar and Serperior can possibly steamroll them if need be.

    But you don't really have anything for fast offensive teams. Serperior and offensive Starmie are good, yes, but against teams filled with stuff like Mega Metagross, Mega Manectric, Mega Lopunny, priority moves, and Scarfers, they aren't enough. Admittedly those Pokemon are hard to handle for more offensively inclined teams since those Pokemon are designed to break offense, but stuff like Prankster Thundurus-I, Klefki, Sableye, and your own priority moves help with that to some extent. Oh, and opposing Gengars are kinda threatening to the team but Gengar threatens a lot of teams no matter what you do so....

    As for stall, you don't exactly have much either for that. Whimsicott can annoy stall but it's not exactly breaking it either and you'll probably eventually lose. Hydreigon does wallbreak (sorta), but that's still just one 'mon against an entire team. Some stallbreakers to consider are like.....Keldeo, Magma Storm+Taunt Heatran, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Charizard (both forms, I think).

    Probably should replace Krookodile to make room for some of that stuff. Krookodile is great in UU, and Ground/Dark is a nice offensive STAB combo, but I think that after Crobat it's the most replaceable member on the team right now and you really imo need some stuff to handle stall and fast offense better. Removing it also makes for one less Water, Ice, Grass, and Fighting weakness.

    jesus christ why the psyduck did I write so much
    Click to expand...
    Destiny Bond is also an option in the last slot for Gengar.

    If you're looking for better Hydreigon sets, here they are:
    -Dark Pulse
    -Draco Meteor
    -Flash Cannon/Fire Blast
    -Superpower/Earth Power
    Nature: Mild/Rash/Modest
    EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Life Orb

    To further elaborate on the above users' points, sets for Thundurus, Klefki and (Mega) Sableye. To be honest, this team needs a Mega Evolution, IMO (this is all done over Whimsicott):

    Thundurus:
    -Thunderbolt
    -Hidden Power (Ice)
    -Focus Blast/Psychic/Taunt
    -Thunder Wave/Taunt
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
    Ability: Prankster

    or
    -Nasty Plot
    -Thunderbolt
    -Hidden Power (Ice/Flying)
    -Thunder Wave/Focus Blast/Substitute
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
    Ability: Prankster

    or
    -Thunderbolt
    -Hidden Power (Ice)
    -Knock Off
    -Superpower/Thunder Wave
    Nature: Naive
    EVs: 76 Atk/180 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Life Orb

    Klefki:
    -Spikes
    -Thunder Wave
    -Toxic/Magnet Rise
    -Play Rough/Foul Play
    Nature: Careful/Calm
    EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
    Item: Leftovers
    Ability: Prankster

    Sableye:
    -Knock Off
    -Will-o-Wisp
    -Recover
    -Foul Play/Toxic/Metal Burst
    Nature: Careful
    EVs: 252 HP/112 Def/144 SDef
    Item: Sablenite
    Ability: Prankster

    or
    -Calm Mind
    -Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
    -Will-o-Wisp
    -Recover
    Nature: Bold
    EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
    Item: Sablenite
    Ability: Prankster

    Speedy offensive Mega Evolutions you can use on the team include Metagross and Lopunny:

    Metagross:
    -Meteor Mash
    -Zen Headbutt
    -Ice Punch/Bullet Punch/Grass Knot
    -Earthquake/Hammer Arm
    Nature: Jolly
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Metagrossite
    Ability: Clear Body

    or
    -Agility
    -Meteor Mash
    -Zen Headbutt
    -Earthquake/Hammer Arm
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe
    Item: Metagrossite
    Ability: Clear Body

    Lopunny:
    -Return
    -High Jump Kick
    -Fake Out
    -Ice Punch/Power-Up Punch
    Nature: Jolly/Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Lopunnite
    Ability: Limber

    or
    -Return
    -High Jump Kick
    -Substitute
    -Baton Pass/Encore
    Nature: Jolly/Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Lopunnite
    Ability: Limber
     

    Pentenshi

    i am nothing and nothing is me
    28
    Posts
    9
    Years
    • thank you all for helping (didnt expect ice to such a problem) and i will change it and post it up again just for a final check but can i do it on the thread or do i make a new thread for the updated one
     
    Nah

    Nah

    15,956
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    • Age 31
    • she/her, they/them
    • Seen today
    Pentenshi said:
    thank you all for helping (didnt expect ice to such a problem) and i will change it and post it up again just for a final check but can i do it on the thread or do i make a new thread for the updated one
    Click to expand...
    You can just post the updated team in this thread. No need to make a new thread.
     
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