RMT My favourite team needs some help

Started by Pentenshi May 13th, 2015 12:04 AM
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  • 7 replies

Pentenshi

i am nothing and nothing is me

Age 24
Male
London
Seen June 10th, 2015
Posted June 10th, 2015
28 posts
8 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

Male
Iowa
Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted December 28th, 2020
6,658 posts
8.7 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!

Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 19 Hours Ago
15,643 posts
9.5 Years
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:
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 16 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Reflect Type
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump/Scald
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock/Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin


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:
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast/Sludge Wave
-Substitute
-Pain Split


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

Spoiler:
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt/Icy Wind/Will-o-Wisp


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
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."

skyburial

Orca Hype

Age 32
Male
Colorado
Seen April 17th, 2017
Posted March 15th, 2017
892 posts
8.6 Years
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.
Not quite.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Curse_%28move%29

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.
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
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PlatinumDude

Nyeh?

Age 29
Male
Canada
Seen July 31st, 2020
Posted May 30th, 2020
12,958 posts
12.7 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

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:
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 16 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Reflect Type
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump/Scald
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock/Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin


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:
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast/Sludge Wave
-Substitute
-Pain Split


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

Spoiler:
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt/Icy Wind/Will-o-Wisp


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
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

Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 19 Hours Ago
15,643 posts
9.5 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
You can just post the updated team in this thread. No need to make a new thread.
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."