Offense (Platinum RMT)

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Offense. ​

It seems like quite a simple concept to understand. 6 random sweepers relying on resistances make a team and go all out on the opponent, giving them no room for error. This is what I thought an "offensive team" was constructed upon, but after trial and error, it finally occured to me that a little balance is good. While Platinum's new changes may have created a more chaotic, more powerful metagame, many of the defensive components of it are quite capable at handling new sweepers and powerhouses. For me, my latest team had lost its zest, and when that happens, things have got to change. For starters, I wanted to center my team around a specific sweeper, like I do on nearly all my teams. After talking with ABYAY, I decided that if I were to center my team around someone, it had to be someone I really loved using. He didn't even have to think to know it was Tyranitar. I started yapping about CBTar, but he brought up a very good point, about Dragon Dance Tyranitar. He was right. If I was going to center an entire team around a single Pokemon, that Pokemon should be able to sweep on its own with a little team support. CBTar, as much as I love it, was slow and couldn't outrun many things. So there it was, the team was to be based off Tyranitar's Dragon Dancing variant. ​

The Team
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Clearly by viewing this team, you can see that it has a mix of defense and offense. A selected few are dedicated solely to breaking down walls that trouble the head honcho, Tyranitar, in his sweep. A few sets on these Pokemon are rarely seen, but they still manage to work in perfect tandem with each other. Enough dawdling, I now present you Offense.​

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def/ 52 SpA
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam​

Description: Swampert sets the up the ever important Stealth Rock, as well as dealing with many common threats. Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Metagross, and even Aerodactyl all watch in despair as their attacks fail to stop Swampert as he 2HKOs all of them easily. Earthquake does massive damage to Tyranitar and Metagross, and Surf can scare away Hippowdon, which is good since Tyranitar does not like the oversized hippopotamus one bit. Ice Beam was really there just to hit Salamence, Flygon, Dragonite, and to somewhat dent Celebi on the switch-in. I was contemplating Roar over Ice Beam, to mainly mess up Baton Pass chains, however, Ice Beam has proven useful in situations. Overall, a solid bulky water with an awesome array of resistances to boot. ​

Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def/ 6 Spe
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Will O Wisp
- Discharge
- Overheat​

Description: This guy is insanely fun to use. Reflect makes things like Tyranitar and Scizor cry as their attacks bounce right off his firey build. Discharge makes it so Heatran can't switch in constantly grabbing Flash Fire boosts. Overheat kills Scizor, the one true threat to Dragon Dance Tyranitar. Tyranitar also enjoys having its opponents burned behind Reflect, letting it set up more Dragon Dances. I might turn this into a Dual Screen user, that way Tyranitar boosts both of its defensive capabilities, however, Will O Wisp is great for completely crippling an enemy for an entire length of a match. ​

Dragonite @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 112 Atk / 200 SpA / 196 Spe
Rash nature (+SpA, -SpD)
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Roost​

Description: I originally had Choice Specs Lucario here to break down walls, but I found it didn't hit quite hard enough to solve this team's fear of walls. The main reason I'm using Dragonite over MixMence is Superpower, plus, it has better Special Defense and Inner Focus for those possible Yanmega (rare, but Dragonite can destroy them with Fire Blast). The moveset is self explanatory; Draco Meteor destroys pretty much everything that doesn't resist it, while Fire Blast cleans up the Steel types that resist it (notably Scizor). Superpower OHKOs Blissey, Heatran, and Tyranitar with Stealth Rock, so that's enough for me to choose it over MixMence. Roost has been more useful for me than Thunderbolt, since it helps me overcome Stealth Rock damage and switch-ins to Surfs and Fire Blasts. Draco Meteor also hits all Water-types harder than Thunderbolt (besides Empoleon and Gyarados). Both of them are dealed with anyway.​

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 92 SpD / 6 Spe
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Surf
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
-Roar / Knock Off​

Description: The newest and most debatable team member for sure. I kind of like Empoleon since it has 12 beautiful resistances, albeit its common weaknesses that plague it. Its resistance to Dragon moves and Water moves are what appealed it to me the most honestly. STAB Surf hurts things thanks to Empoleon's respectable Special Attack, while Grass Knot is a universal move that hits most bulky waters that attempt to wall it. Ice Beam is for Mence and Dragonite, who may run successful mixed sets against this team. Roar is because I absolutely hate being 6-0'd by Baton Pass teams, although Knock Off is great for shattering a wall like Blissey's chances to cause my team grief. Empoleon's pretty solid overall, but sometimes it doesn't take hits as well as I would like it to. ​

Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 24 Atk / 252 SpA/ 232 Spe
Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- Grass Knot
-HP Ice​

Description: While my team can usually take a beating, there are some threats that are massively powerful, so powerful even my defenses crumble in their might. This is where Infernape comes in to revenge kill them with its incredible movepool. Close Combat destroys Tyranitar, notably Dragon Dance Tyranitar, as well as hurting Blissey and being an all around excellent STAB move. Infernape also outspeed Agility Empoleon, so I can beat it with its sub broken. Overheat demolishes everything, even Zapdos can't switch in due to SR and Overheat stripping a massive chunk off its life. Overheat helps with Celebi, Steels, and potentially be used to take out Scizor, since Infernape handles it decently. Grass Knot since my team has Swampert and Hippowdon troubles, Tyranitar mostly. HP Ice is for the ever so common Dragons; Salamence, Flygon, and Dragonite. Infernape is, without a doubt, the glue of this team. ​

Tyranitar @ Life Orb
Ability: Sandstream
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
-Earthquake​

Description: On nearly all of my teams, Choice Band Tyranitar was a staple for many reasons; bulk, power, and Pursuit. This time around, however, I wanted to take a more offensive approach, an approach to Tyranitar that will let it sweep on its own. Dragon Dance was the perfect concoction for a superb late-game sweeper. STAB Stone Edge and Crunch 2HKO pretty much every wall I encounter, and while Hippowdon and Donphan are problamatic, other members of my team can handle them relatively easily. I use Earthquake mainly because I despise Metagross and Jirachi, since both of them aren't OHKOed by Crunch, which is a major problem. Taunt was once a staple on this guy, but since Stone Edge 2HKOs Skarmory (57% minimum), Forretress (53% minimum), and even does a good deal to Tangrowth (50% minimum). Many things that are supposed to handle Tyranitar like Gengar are suprised to see it Dragon Dance in their face and completely annihilate the rest of their team.
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Credits
- ABYAY for team construction
- Arkeis for the sprite​