Missing That Little Something?

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    So I've been using this team for a bit and I seem to still have trouble with some Pokémon like Blissey and I don't know if it's just that I'm misplaying all over the place or if there is really something wrong with my team. I'd say my win-lose streak is generally 50-50, so I'd just like to get some peoples' opinions before I go hit the books once more.

    The team is for XY OU, with item clause, and I cannot have legendaries on my team (reason being is that I need this team to also be legal in the club at my school and they do not allow legendaries, in addition to all the standard OU clauses).


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    Franziska
    Mawile @ Mawilite
    Intimidate
    252 Hp, 252 Attack, 4 Sp.Defense
    Adamant
    - Sucker Punch
    - Play Rough
    - Iron Head
    - Stockpile

    This is the Pokémon my team is essentially built around. I give her Stockpile as a way to boost her Sp. Defense. The rest is pretty standard.

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    Gumshoe
    Galvantula @ Focus Sash
    Compoundeyes
    252 Sp.Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Sp.Defense
    Modest
    - Sticky Web
    - Thunder
    - Bug Buzz
    - Thunder Wave

    My Sticky Web setter--I wanted to be able to give Mawile a better Speed without being a straight up Trick Room team. Galvantula is very fast, hits pretty hard, and Thunder Wave works well with Mawile and Togekiss.

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    Judge
    Swampert @ Leftovers
    Torrent
    252 HP, 252 Defense, 4 Sp.Defense
    Adamant
    - Earthquake
    - Waterfall
    - Avalanche
    - Curse

    Swampert helps me switch into a lot of different attacks because of his bulk, and he also packs a punch. I like the coverage Avalanche gives, but not so much the -4 priority.

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    Marlon Rimes
    Hitmontop @ Life Orb
    Technician
    252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
    Jolly
    - Rapid Spin
    - Fake Out
    - Mach Punch
    - Pursuit

    My team does not like floating rocks. I've switched between using Hitmontop and Excadrill as my team's spinner, but I really like the damage and speed that is dished out by Hitmontop, and also his Fighting-type coverage.

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    Viola
    Chandelure @ Choice Specs
    Infiltrator
    252 HP, 252 Sp.Attack, 4 Sp.Defense
    Modest
    - Flamethrower
    - Shadow Ball
    - Energy Ball
    - Dark Pulse

    I used to run a Delphox (yes I meant to type Delphox) in this slot, and although she helped very well as a support Pokémon, I felt like I wasn't dishing out the right amount of firepower. I've been playing around with this Chandelure (with Infiltrator because I do not enjoy Substitutes). I use Specs and not Scarf because of my team's Sticky Web usage. I don't really like the drawback of being locked into one attack, but I can't really think of any other alternate items for her.

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    Pearls
    Togekiss @ Sitrus Berry
    Serene Grace
    252 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 4 Sp. Defense
    Bold
    - Thunder Wave
    - Air Slash
    - Dazzling Gleam
    - Roost

    This adorable egg has been very helpful for my team. Dazzling Gleam gives her a nice 100 Accuracy attack, and works nicely against Dragons. The rest of the set is fairly self-explanatory.



    And that is my team; I appreciate any and all feedback!
     
    Stockpile is a waste of a move slot for Mawile because it lacks recovery outside of the unreliable Pain Split. Mawile needs all 4 of its move slots: 3 for attacking and the last one for setup (the preferred ones are Swords Dance to make Mawile stronger or Substitute to shield Mawile from status and to ease prediction):
    -Play Rough
    -Sucker Punch
    -Iron Head/Fire Fang/Knock Off/Focus Punch
    -Swords Dance/Substitute
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 132 HP/252 Atk/124 Spe
    Item: Mawilite
    Ability: Intimidate

    Togekiss already packs Thunder Wave and Sticky Web already slows down grounded Pokemon, so there's no need for Galvantula itself to use Thunder Wave. Galvantula can also deal with the fliers and Levitators immune to Sticky Web with its STAB moves:
    -Sticky Web
    -Thunder
    -Bug Buzz
    -Volt Switch/Hidden Power (Ice/Fire)/Energy Ball/Giga Drain
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
    Item: Focus Sash
    Ability: Compound Eyes

    As much as I like Swampert, it's fallen out of favor because of the power creep. Have you considered Azumarill? It hits harder than Swampert right off the bat. While it's a Fairy like Mawile, both Pokemon do not share the same weaknesses, though it shares a Poison weakness with Togekiss:
    -Waterfall
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Superpower/Knock Off
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 228 HP/252 Atk/28 Spe
    Item: Choice Band/Mystic Water/Splash Plate
    Ability: Huge Power

    or
    -Belly Drum
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Waterfall/Superpower
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
    Item: Sitrus Berry
    Ability: Huge Power

    or
    -Waterfall
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Knock Off
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 16 HP/252 Atk/240 SDef
    Item: Assault Vest
    Ability: Huge Power

    I'm afraid Excadrill does the Rapid Spinning duties better than Hitmontop. While Technitop seems tempting, its inferior Attack compared to fellow Technician users Breloom and Scizor make it a subpar option to use. Excadrill threatens spinblockers like Gengar and Aegislash with STAB Earthquake (Mold Breaker ignores Gengar's Levitate):
    -Earthquake
    -Iron Head
    -Rapid Spin
    -Rock Slide/Stealth Rock
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Leftovers/Air Balloon
    Ability: Mold Breaker

    or
    -Earthquake
    -Iron Head
    -Rock Slide
    -Rapid Spin
    Nature: Adamant/Jolly
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe (Choice Scarf) or 120 HP/136 Atk/252 SDef (Assault Vest; Adamant only)
    Item: Choice Scarf/Assault Vest
    Ability: Mold Breaker

    Dark Pulse is redundant with Chandelure's Ghost STAB. If you don't mind using Poke Transfer or breeding further, use Trick or Hidden Power (Ground) in the last slot:
    -Fire Blast
    -Shadow Ball
    -Energy Ball
    -Hidden Power (Ground/Fighting)/Trick
    Nature: Modest/Timid
    EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Choice Specs
    Ability: Flash Fire/Infiltrator

    Since I took Lefties off, you may want to give it to Togekiss. Use 248 HP on it, as 252 HP EVs make its HP divisible by 4, making it die to 4 Stealth Rock switch-ins.
     
    Last edited:
    Stockpile is a waste of a move slot for Mawile because it lacks recovery outside of the unreliable Pain Split. Mawile needs all 4 of its move slots: 3 for attacking and the last one for setup (the preferred ones are Swords Dance to make Mawile stronger or Substitute to shield Mawile from status and to ease prediction):
    -Play Rough
    -Sucker Punch
    -Iron Head/Fire Fang/Knock Off/Focus Punch
    -Swords Dance/Substitute
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 132 HP/252 Atk/124 Spe
    Item: Mawilite
    Ability: Intimidate
    I can definitely switch Stockpile for Swords Dance. Knock Off is amazing but I really like getting that STAB Iron Head.

    Togekiss already packs Thunder Wave and Sticky Web already slows down grounded Pokemon, so there's no need for Galvantula itself to use Thunder Wave. Galvantula can also deal with the fliers and Levitators immune to Sticky Web with its STAB moves:
    -Sticky Web
    -Thunder
    -Bug Buzz
    -Volt Switch/Hidden Power (Ice/Fire)/Energy Ball/Giga Drain
    Nature: Timid
    EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
    Item: Focus Sash
    Ability: Compound Eyes
    I'm honestly not sure why I didn't consider Volt Switch to begin with, thank you! I'd use Giga Drain but I can't IV breed in gen 5 for the life of me...

    As much as I like Swampert, it's fallen out of favor because of the power creep. Have you considered Azumarill? It hits harder than Swampert right off the bat. While it's a Fairy like Mawile, both Pokemon share the same weaknesses, though it shares a Poison weakness with Togekiss:
    -Waterfall
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Superpower/Knock Off
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 228 HP/252 Atk/28 Spe
    Item: Choice Band/Mystic Water/Splash Plate
    Ability: Huge Power

    or
    -Belly Drum
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Waterfall/Superpower
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
    Item: Sitrus Berry
    Ability: Huge Power

    or
    -Waterfall
    -Aqua Jet
    -Play Rough
    -Knock Off
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 16 HP/252 Atk/240 SDef
    Item: Assault Vest
    Ability: Huge Power
    I can definitely play around with Azumarill on my team. I'll probably go for the Assault Vest set since I'd like at least a somewhat bulky Pokémon on my team.

    I'm afraid Excadrill does the Rapid Spinning duties better than Hitmontop. While Technitop seems tempting, its inferior Attack compared to fellow Technician users Breloom and Scizor make it a subpar option to use. Excadrill threatens spinblockers like Gengar and Aegislash with STAB Earthquake (Mold Breaker ignores Gengar's Levitate):
    -Earthquake
    -Iron Head
    -Rapid Spin
    -Rock Slide/Stealth Rock
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Leftovers/Air Balloon
    Ability: Mold Breaker

    or
    -Earthquake
    -Iron Head
    -Rock Slide
    -Rapid Spin
    Nature: Adamant/Jolly
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe (Choice Scarf) or 120 HP/136 Atk/252 SDef (Assault Vest; Adamant only)
    Item: Choice Scarf/Assault Vest
    Ability: Mold Breaker
    I can try using Excadrill more, I'm just mostly concerned with the lack of Fighting-type attacks my team will be faced with (I've tried Brick Break on Excadrill and it really falls flat).

    Dark Pulse is redundant with Chandelure's Ghost STAB. If you don't mind using Poke Transfer or breeding further, use Trick or Hidden Power (Ground) in the last slot:
    -Fire Blast
    -Shadow Ball
    -Energy Ball
    -Hidden Power (Ground/Fighting)/Trick
    Nature: Modest/Timid
    EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
    Item: Choice Specs
    Ability: Flash Fire/Infiltrator
    Transferring isn't much of an issue for me, but rather the IV breeding in gen 5 (Hoenn remakes seriously need tutors like in B2W2...). Would Psychic be a decent replacement until I can get one with Trick?

    Thank you very much for all of your suggestions!


    UPDATE: After some playtesting, I've come to know that now in addition to still being completely walled by Blissey, I tremble in fear whenever a Steel-type shows its face, since half of my team is now Fairy. I'd really like to keep Togekiss and Mawile, but is there any good physical Water-types that could replace Azumarill?
     
    Last edited:
    I can definitely switch Stockpile for Swords Dance. Knock Off is amazing but I really like getting that STAB Iron Head.


    I'm honestly not sure why I didn't consider Volt Switch to begin with, thank you! I'd use Giga Drain but I can't IV breed in gen 5 for the life of me...


    I can definitely play around with Azumarill on my team. I'll probably go for the Assault Vest set since I'd like at least a somewhat bulky Pokémon on my team.


    I can try using Excadrill more, I'm just mostly concerned with the lack of Fighting-type attacks my team will be faced with (I've tried Brick Break on Excadrill and it really falls flat).


    Transferring isn't much of an issue for me, but rather the IV breeding in gen 5 (Hoenn remakes seriously need tutors like in B2W2...). Would Psychic be a decent replacement until I can get one with Trick?

    Thank you very much for all of your suggestions!


    UPDATE: After some playtesting, I've come to know that now in addition to still being completely walled by Blissey, I tremble in fear whenever a Steel-type shows its face, since half of my team is now Fairy. I'd really like to keep Togekiss and Mawile, but is there any good physical Water-types that could replace Azumarill?
    Azumarill already smacks Blissey hard with Superpower, so I think you should keep it for now:
    252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 578-680 (88.6 - 104.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

    Mawile also tears off a large chunk off of Blissey (it's a guaranteed OHKO with Swords Dance, of course):
    252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 504-594 (77.3 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

    Gyarados is also a viable physical Water Pokemon to use:
    -Dragon Dance
    -Waterfall
    -Earthquake
    -Stone Edge/Ice Fang/Bounce
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Lum Berry

    or
    -Dragon Dance
    -Waterfall
    -Bounce
    -Taunt/Substitute
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 88 HP/192 Atk/4 Def/224 Spe
    Item: Leftovers
    Ability: Intimidate
     
    Azumarill already smacks Blissey hard with Superpower, so I think you should keep it for now:
    252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 578-680 (88.6 - 104.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

    Mawile also tears off a large chunk off of Blissey (it's a guaranteed OHKO with Swords Dance, of course):
    252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 504-594 (77.3 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

    Gyarados is also a viable physical Water Pokemon to use:
    -Dragon Dance
    -Waterfall
    -Earthquake
    -Stone Edge/Ice Fang/Bounce
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
    Item: Lum Berry

    or
    -Dragon Dance
    -Waterfall
    -Bounce
    -Taunt/Substitute
    Nature: Adamant
    EVs: 88 HP/192 Atk/4 Def/224 Spe
    Item: Leftovers
    Ability: Intimidate

    Thanks, all of your suggestions have been really helpful!
    I can try putting Superpower on Azumarill, and I can do some playtesting with Gyarados just in case.
     
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