i changed the thread name hoo ha

[Zeffy]

Of all the teams that I've made this gen, this by far is my favourite. It utilizes the amazing synergy between Bisharp and Mega Venusaur. However, the team is still weak to a multitude of strategies like setup sweepers with a dedicated team and a competent baton pass team, among others.

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Pursuit

Standard Bisharp with Pursuit over Swords Dance. Landorus-T with no defense investment is ohko'd by +1 Sucker Punch, which is nice.

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis

I used to have Hidden Power Fire over Sleep Powder, but I ditched it because I have other means of dealing with Steel-types. I'm contemplating whether I should switch this to a Leech Seed set since I don't really invest in special attack. What do you think?

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Wish
- Heal Bell

A Wish passer and cleric, specifically to keep Bisharp healthy.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Flamethrower
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock

A bit of an unorthodox set but it's better than Lava Plume's 30% burn ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Also something I lead with most of the time, unless they have something like Landorus-T.

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind

I must confess, this set has been recently changed and I haven't played with it yet.

Zapdos @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 68 SAtk / 20 Spd
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

I felt the need of having a defogger because of Talonflame. Also helps against, opposing Talonflames, I guess? Also some sort of Mega Pinsir check, I suppose.

All help will be appreciated. As long as the Mega Venusaur + Bisharp core is conserved.

 

[srinator]

Standard bisharp set, o/

I agree with what you said with venu, turn it into a stall set and try to add in eq. cause eq venu is boss.

Standard sylv set.

You should have roar on heatran, should help against bp teams unless ofc espeon but still. also if you are going to keep wow, i would suggest fire blast over flamethrower, screw acc.

never seen a tailwind band set :O how does that help? is that like a final resort before dying?

all in all awesome team o/

 

[Anti]

The biggest problem here is that I don't see how this is breaking stall. Even as the metagame gets more creative than VenuTran/Chansey/Skarm/Quagsire/filler, I just don't see anything that isn't Bisharp that can deal damage to a well-built stall, and Bisharp is going to struggle with Skarmory and Quagsire. Pursuit is nice, but it's only a start.

So I guess that leads me to this: how does the Bisharp/Venusaur core operate? What does it accomplish? What does it impose on the opposition? I'm not saying it's bad or anything--it's more a question of what it actually does so I can make good recommendations, but the RMT really only states that you like their synergy and I'm curious what that is specifically.

This team seems to fair better against offense, though breakers like Landorus and fast Aegislash are troublesome. Then again, these are Pokemon that teams are generally weak to and you just have to put pressure on in-battle and play around, and you have decent reinforcement against Aegislash. More concerning is the massive Mega Tyranitar weakness, and he gets an easy set-up on Talonflame or Zapdos. Venusaur isn't hard to wear down into the 60% range where it's going to get mutilated by Stone Edge, if it hits. A lesser weakness is Psychic Tail Glow Manaphy, but then again, I don't see Manaphy on the upper ladder much at all, and that's because Manaphy sucks.

I guess my general suggestion, which I guess also takes the form of a question, is what is the strategy? I think the team needs a clearer vision of the strategy so that it can pressure opponents more. Heatran, Zapdos, and Sylveon are good Pokemon but the latter two especially just aren't putting much pressure on opponents and I think it might be helpful to focus each Pokemon more. It's not that balanced teams can't work, but they have to be very precisely executed both in team building and in battle. For example, you're running Pursuit Bisharp, which is going to get Lati@s, Aegislash, and Gengar in a lot of trouble. What on this team really takes advantage of that? I would think what is nice but not necessary--at a glance, Sylveon/Heatran (one or the other) and Zapdos--and define their roles more precisely.

It's not a bad team by any stretch, as it has plenty of threatening Pokemon with pretty fine synergy, and causes matches for certain brands of teams, including DeoSharp if you play against it well--Zapdos is definitely nice here--but I think there is untapped potential.

Anyway, good luck, and definitely watch for MegaTar. (And SD Sand Rush Exca, but everyone is weak to that lol.)

 

[PlatinumDude]

never seen a tailwind band set :O how does that help? is that like a final resort before dying?

Tailwind is pretty much standard on Banded Talonflame since its move pool is relatively shallow and it's something Talonflame uses to support the team before going down.

Back to the thread, I'd recommend physically defensive Sylveon, as it takes better advantage of its Fighting and Dark resistances (which are mostly physical in nature). EV spread in this case is Bold with 252 HP/216 Def/40 SDef. This gives Sylveon more physical bulk, while still being (slightly) specially bulky; it avoids the 2HKO from Landorus' Earth Power.