i got bored so here's an rmt

[Anti]

I decided to RMT a squad I recently made which has done pretty well for me in a small sample, which I unfortunately cannot rectify with the Aegislash test happening now. This team is not for the Aegislash metagame. Anyway, I put a fair amount of effort into the building process and everything has worked out pretty nicely, but there are a few slots in particular I want to pay closer attention to and maybe switch up. I'll go into detail now.

Altaria (F) @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Roost

Mega Altaria was the Pokemon I decided to try out. I wanted to run the DDer because I wanted to build around a sweeping threat, and I like that the Speed boost gives it an easier time pushing momentum than the slower special attacker, especially against offense. It was really as simple as that. It can set up on plenty of Pokemon and actually hits quite hard.

I chose Natural Cure over Cloud Nine for Scald mostly, but given my issues with Charizard Y, I will probably end up changing this shortly. I chose Frustration over Return not for Ditto or some paranoid reason like that but rather because, well, angry birds!

I decided to max out its Speed for a few reasons. First, it allows Altaria to revenge kill Breloom, Mega Heracross, Heatran, and especially Bisharp before a DD. Second, it gives Altaria the ability to outpace ScarfTran, Mega Manectric, and Mega Lopunny after a DD. I just didn't think bulk would really be worth it or accomplish much.

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

Keldeo was the next Pokemon I added. Thinking about battle situations, I knew Altaria would be drawing in Ferrothorn and Scizor a lot. Keldeo would allow me to keep momentum against those Pokemon and pressure teams with high-powered Scalds. Keldeo can also lure poorly-played Ferrothorn that stay in once they see no Leftovers recovery banking on a Scald spam. Altaria also appreciates burns on Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur that will eventually open up an opportunity to overpower them.

I chose Choice Specs because I was feeling like the metagame has adapted to SubMind Keldeo's lack of power. Also, I already have a set-up sweeper, so a hole-puncher made a lot more sense in this slot. I opted for Icy Wind as the coverage move since I'm actually pretty weak to Dragon-types, Altaria in particular, and luring them early game or just having a weapon against them at all was very appealing. Hydro Pump is really nice as a cleaning move as well and makes overpowering soft checks like Slowbro, Chesnaught, and Mega Venusaur much easier, especially if they get burned.

Victini @ Choice Band
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Brick Break
- U-turn

I liked the Altaria + Keldeo offensive core, but I wanted to round out some of its flaws. The biggest one was that Mega Metagross could come in and get free momentum against both Pokemon. I also didn't like my match-up against the Grass/Poison defensive Pokemon, Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. I also didn't like that, while it didn't necessarily wall my core, any Clefable variant could force Altaria and Keldeo out in numerous circumtances. Enter Victini. Victini provides even more immediate power, plus some momentum from U-turn, to round out the offensive core and address all of the problems stated above. It further completes the obliteration of Altaria counters Ferrothorn and Scizor as well.

The Band set is self-explanatory enough. V-create is ridiculous, though you do have to be careful not to cost yourself games granting free set-ups. I chose Brick Break over Zen Headbutt to get a free kill on Heatran, but my team honestly doesn't struggle that much with it, so I will probably go to Zen Headbutt to help with my notable problems with Charizard X and Altaria.

I went for maximum Speed with a Jolly Nature mostly to Speed tie with Mega Gardevoir and also to ensure that I would always have a chance to revenge kill Manaphy and Charizard Y. You can miss the power of Adamant a bit, but I've been okay with the tradeoff so far.

Excadrill (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Excadrill was the next choice, but I am not sure how much I am digging three choice-locked attackers. I added this to further help with Mega Metagross (thanks for not banning that x_x) and providing something resembling a Fairy check when tag-teaming with Victini. It can tag-team Altaria with Celebi's Thunder Wave. I really don't like Scarf Spin, but in practice, I only clear hazards in long games and when I need Victini offensively and/or defensively, and I like having that match-to-match flexibility. Also, it is nice to pair with Keldeo to take Choice-locked Volt Switches or at least force my opponent to guess/predict what I'm going to do. Individually, this Pokemon is not very good though.

I have actually begun to consider Sand Rush on this Pokemon should I keep it. I don't have too many issues with Rotom-W, but SD Sand Rush Excadrill murders me. Mold Breaker also tells my opponent that I'm probably Scarfed ("Excadrill breaks the mold!") which isn't the best.

Jolly and maximum Speed is necessary to always outpace +1 DD Altaria, Gyarados, and Dragonite. It's my failsafe, so I have to be sure that it can consistently do its job.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Giga Drain
- Recover

With those core four Pokemon, I used the last two slots to get a Stealth Rocker, a Keldeo check, and status absorption. Celebi excels in all of these areas. Paralysis is especially nice and helps with the Zards who I am quite a bit weak to. It also serves as a soft check of sorts to Clefable and especially Mega Slowbro so that you can BS past them. This is pure support. I would have thought about NastyPass in conjunction with Keldeo, but it seemed to specific and my biggest priority was the power of Stealth Rock.

I went with a very physically bulky spread for a few reasons. First, I was very concerned about my matchup with Lopunny, Altaria, Azumarill, and Metagross, and having another failsafe against them sounded good to me. It also vastly improves my match-up against Rain since it can take on Kabutops for me and paralyze anything, and special defense only really helps agains the rare Omastar.

Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 204 SpD / 60 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Roost

The final Pokemon I added was Gliscor. I wanted it to serve as a secondary Knock Off absorber, a Heatran Lava Plume absorber (this sounds trivial but every team needs this!), and as a way to punish slow balances that rely too much on resistances. While Altaria and even Keldeo are potent sweeping threats in their own right, Gliscor provides another twist on it. Perhaps most importantly, it helps with Landorus-T, who is actually a big pain for the other five Pokemon.

In terms of the set, I've actually considered a few things here. I love SD Gliscor, but I actually wonder if the old Toxic staller would be a better fit. If I do keep it as SD, I would also wonder about Facade or even a Rock move over Knock, as I am actually pretty disgustingly Talonflame weak and having something for that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.


That's all. Open to any and all suggestions.