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Water Gym Master
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- Seen Feb 22, 2015
Well, this is my first time here in RMT. I was never aware of competitive battles 'til now, and I've decided to create a team and begin battling in the big way.
After reading a lot in Smogon, Serebii, Bulbapedia and here of course, I've created a team and I'd like to you to rate it and comment. Its my first team and I'm open to all comments and good advices.
Strategy: I originally tried to create an offensive team since is the game style I like the most. But by adding Blissey and Forretress I might have created a mixed team...
Pokemon: I just wanted to specify that I wouldn't mind to change some of the members, but since I am a Water-Type lover I'd like to keep a Water lead, or a Water sweeper :)
In-depth look
After reading a lot in Smogon, Serebii, Bulbapedia and here of course, I've created a team and I'd like to you to rate it and comment. Its my first team and I'm open to all comments and good advices.
Strategy: I originally tried to create an offensive team since is the game style I like the most. But by adding Blissey and Forretress I might have created a mixed team...
Pokemon: I just wanted to specify that I wouldn't mind to change some of the members, but since I am a Water-Type lover I'd like to keep a Water lead, or a Water sweeper :)
In-depth look
*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Starmie / Non Choice Attacker
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves: Surf
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Comments: Starmie's good type coverage makes it a respectable sweeper. Surf is emphasized for STAB because it is required to get some specific kills. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are used to hit the Pokémon that resist Water. Natural Cure is a great ability on an offensive Pokémon and means that Starmie doesn't unduly fear paralysis or random burns or freezes. Psychic can be used in place to OHKO Heracross, as well as being Starmie's strongest option against Tentacruel and Kingdra. Life Orb is the recommended item choice, as Starmie can offset the recoil with Recover. It doesn't have the highest of Special Attack stats, so the boost is greatly appreciated even if Recover is absent. Because of its great coverage and high Speed, Starmie makes for a great cleaner in the late game. A set utilizing Rapid Spin in the last slot over Recover makes for an effective anti-lead. Starmie's typing means it naturally resists many of the attacks used by other common leads, such as Infernape's STAB attacks, Azelf's Psychic and Fire Blast, and Metagross' Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Rapid Spin is a great boon to a leading set as it allows Starmie to inflict that 1 HP damage required to kill Focus Sashers after having attacked them. This makes Starmie particularly effective in dealing with suicide leads that choose to Stealth Rock on the first turn, such as Infernape, Aerodactyl, and Azelf.
*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Blissey / Wish-Bliss
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Calm
Moves: Wish
Protect
Softboiled
Seismic Toss
EV's: 24 HP / 252 Def / 232 SpD
Comments: With her massive base 255 HP and 135 Special Defense stats, Blissey is the best special wall in the game. She can freely switch into any special move, heal off the damage, and then either stall the opponent out with Toxic or slowly whittle it down with an attacking move. Wish allows Blissey to heal both herself and her teammates, as the healing is delayed by one turn. By passing Wishes around your team, you prolong its ability to fight and make it harder for your opponent to take it down. Protect can be used to scout out your opponent's move. Seismic Toss is the main attack as it can hit every type of Pokémon except Ghost-types for a constant 100 damage. Toxic rounds out the set, allowing Blissey to stall out any potential attackers with a rotation between Wish and Protect. The EVs are designed to maximize Blissey's defenses and to reach a Leftovers number plus one. Due to Blissey's massive HP stat, investing in her individual defensive stats would increase her overall bulk more than investing in her HP stat.
*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Salamence / New Mixmence
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Naive
Moves: Draco Meteor
Earthquake
Flamethrower
Dragon Claw/Outrage
EV's: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Comments: This set has the ability of deal raw damage both physically and specially. One will notice that this set does lack recovery and has to deal with the possibility of being stuck on Outrage, but the use of both Draco Meteor and Outrage is enough to place immediate pressure on just about every offensive team. Obviously, Draco Meteor and Outrage both provide Salamence with solid STAB, although Dragon Claw is an excellent option over Outrage should Salamence be your late game sweeper. Dragon Claw is strong enough to pick off weakened Pokemon while also 2HKOing Blissey after Stealth Rock. Earthquake is required to hit Steel-types, such as Heatran, for super effective damage, while Flamethrower takes care of foes like Scizor and Skarmory. The given EVs ensure that Salamence hits as hard as possible with Draco Meteor and will, at the worst, tie with other base 100s. 16 Attack EVs are recommended as they will allow Salamence to 2HKO Blissey with a combination of Draco Meteor and Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. Life Orb is a must to allow Salamence to hit as hard as possible. A Naive nature is recommended as Intimidate allows Salamence to serve as a good check to physical threats like Swords Dance Lucario.
"image removed"
Forretress / Phisically Deffensive
Item: Shed Shell/Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Relaxed
Moves: Spikes
Earthquake/Explosion
Stealth Rock
Gyro Ball
EV's: 252 HP / 112 Atk / 144 Def
Comments: The general idea is to switch in when Forretress is not threatened and take the opportunity to support the team with entry hazards or Rapid Spin enemy hazards away. With its massive Defense stat, huge list of resistances, and the general abundance of resisted attacks being used with Choice items in today's metagame, there should be plenty of opportunities to execute this strategy. Forretress has a variety of attacking options available to it. Gyro Ball takes advantage of its abysmal Speed to provide it with a powerful STAB attack that deals solid damage to fast attackers, such as Gengar, Latias, and Dragon Dance Salamence and Tyranitar. Earthquake is a good option for its coverage on grounded Steel-types like Metagross, Lucario, and Jirachi. In addition, Forretress can use Earthquake to land OHKOs on many of its counters as they switch into it, specifically Magnezone, Heatran, and Infernape. As Forretress has a tendency to become setup fodder for many sweepers that aren't threatened by its other attacks, Explosion is a fine choice on this set to immediately end a powerful, potentially game-ending sweep from your opponent. On an offensive team, it can be used to eliminate a defensive check against one of your sweepers. Because of the abundance of Steels in the metagame, Magnezone has become increasingly popular and it often runs Hidden Power Fire, which will OHKO this Forretress set easily. For this reason, Shed Shell is the preferred item for the set, as it will allow you to escape Magnet Pull and continue to set up hazards later. In addition to providing a large amount of physical bulk for switching into physical threats, the given EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone and Heatran with Earthquake and Stealth Rock damage as they switch in.
"image removed"
Heracross / Choice Scarf
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant
Moves: Megahorn
Stone Edge
Close Combat
Night Slash
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Comments: Heracross's greatest flaw as a sweeper is probably its rather lackluster Speed stat. Therefore, Heracross will welcome Choice Scarf as an item, boosting its Speed and enabling him to outpace many would-be counters. The downside of this is that Heracross loses out on the potent attacking power of a Choice Band set, and to compensate for the loss in power, Scarf Heracross has to play a slightly different game style: revenge-killing troublesome Pokémon or using its resistances and decent defensive stats to come in when possible and ward off your opponents lest they feel the power of Heracross's iron fists. Standard Tyranitar, Latias, Starmie, non-ExtremeSpeed Lucario and Mamoswine are all outrun and OHKOed, and Heracross's sheer power and type coverage allows Heracross to cover many more. Heracross has its famous dual 120 Base Power STABs, Close Combat and Megahorn, coming off an Attack stat of 383 or 349, depending on nature, which together cover all types except Flying, Ghost, and Poison. The last two moveslots are reserved for coverage. Stone Edge is necessary to hit Flying-type switch-ins, such as Salamence and Gyarados, and Night Slash is a decent option against Ghosts (and is Heracross's best attacking option against the Rotom formes). An Adamant nature is recommended here because Heracross will require all the power it can get in order to do some permanent damage, while still outrunning the key base 130 Pokémon.
"image removed"
Roserade / Spikes
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Calm
Moves: ToxicSpikes
Grass Knot
Hidden Power (Fire)
Stun Spore
EV's: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Comments: Roserade's fantastic support option of setting up Spikes, along with its good base 105 Special Defense stat makes it a pseudo-tank that can set up entry hazards while handling common Rapid Spinners. Grass Knot and Hidden Power Fire take on most Rapid Spinners; Blastoise, Claydol, Donphan, and Starmie are dealt with by Grass Knot, and Forretress without any Special Defense EVs are OHKOed by a quick Hidden Power Fire. Stun Spore enables you to prevent Pokemon like Heatran, Infernape, and Salamence from setting up on you with no strings attached. The EVs are certainly not the standard Roserade EVs, but they have a relatively simple purpose. The HP and SpD EVs provide great special bulk, letting Roserade take most special hits with ease and Rest off the damage. The Speed EVs outpace the common 36 Speed EVs base 100s like Celebi and Zapdos, as well as outpacing Jolly Tyranitar.
Notes: In some cases I left two option for a move-slot. In that case, its just by mere ignorance and I'd like your opinion about what move should be better.
Besides, I don't know if the order of the Pokemon is important in the team. I thought its not, so any advice concerning this issue would be welcome too.
The Team as a whole
With Starmie using Rapid Spin as both a lead and a good sweeper, Stealth Rock support is highly recommended, as a Pokémon that is intended for late-game sweeping should have the opponent as weakened as possible. Forretress would be the choice, who can also lay Toxic Spikes for early game damaging. A physical or mixed attacker is recommended to combat troublesome Pokémon such as Blissey and Snorlax. And here is when Salamence and Heracross enter. Running Life Orb Starmie with Rapid Spin as a lead gives a good chance of eliminating Stealth Rock early in the game, allowing Salamence to switch in with less risk later. Both Forretres and Starmie complement Salamence by covering its Ice-type weakness, with the latter also covering Salamence's Dragon-type weakness. Although Ghost-types can get in the way of pulling off a successful spin, both Starmie and Forretress have a way to weaken the most common ones you'll encounter. Bulky Waters, preferably those that also have access to an Electric move for Gyarados, work well alongside Heracross as they are the Pokémon that most commonly carry Ice Beam. Stealth Rock is a great help to Heracross too, as not only does it aid a supposed sweep, but also most Salamence and Gyarados will not enjoy taking repeated blows from Close Combat, even after Intimidate, on top of Stealth Rock damage. Concerning Blissey, she is the best special wall in the game. However, her physical Defense is lacking. Therefore, it is recommended to have a Pokémon on your team that can take repeated physical hits from the likes of Choice Band Tyranitar, Machamp, and Swords Dance Lucario. Forretress enjoys having Wishes passed to it, as it can now come back in several times to set up entry hazards or Rapid Spin away any entry hazards on its side. With Spikes on the field, the opponent will take more damage trying to get a physical attacker in to combat Blissey. Last but not least is Roserade. To maximize its potential, a team causing switches with both offensive and defensive approaches is viable. Using Pokemon like Blissey will force your opponent to constantly switch out his sweepers from Pokemon that wall them, and using Pokemon like Salamence will rack up Spikes damage from repeated switches to a counter. And concerning Roserade's weakneses, its team mates can easily cover them.
Well, I hope you liked my team, and I really look forward to read your comments! :) Thanks a lot!
Starmie / Non Choice Attacker
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Timid
Moves: Surf
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
EV's: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Comments: Starmie's good type coverage makes it a respectable sweeper. Surf is emphasized for STAB because it is required to get some specific kills. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are used to hit the Pokémon that resist Water. Natural Cure is a great ability on an offensive Pokémon and means that Starmie doesn't unduly fear paralysis or random burns or freezes. Psychic can be used in place to OHKO Heracross, as well as being Starmie's strongest option against Tentacruel and Kingdra. Life Orb is the recommended item choice, as Starmie can offset the recoil with Recover. It doesn't have the highest of Special Attack stats, so the boost is greatly appreciated even if Recover is absent. Because of its great coverage and high Speed, Starmie makes for a great cleaner in the late game. A set utilizing Rapid Spin in the last slot over Recover makes for an effective anti-lead. Starmie's typing means it naturally resists many of the attacks used by other common leads, such as Infernape's STAB attacks, Azelf's Psychic and Fire Blast, and Metagross' Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Rapid Spin is a great boon to a leading set as it allows Starmie to inflict that 1 HP damage required to kill Focus Sashers after having attacked them. This makes Starmie particularly effective in dealing with suicide leads that choose to Stealth Rock on the first turn, such as Infernape, Aerodactyl, and Azelf.
*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Blissey / Wish-Bliss
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Calm
Moves: Wish
Protect
Softboiled
Seismic Toss
EV's: 24 HP / 252 Def / 232 SpD
Comments: With her massive base 255 HP and 135 Special Defense stats, Blissey is the best special wall in the game. She can freely switch into any special move, heal off the damage, and then either stall the opponent out with Toxic or slowly whittle it down with an attacking move. Wish allows Blissey to heal both herself and her teammates, as the healing is delayed by one turn. By passing Wishes around your team, you prolong its ability to fight and make it harder for your opponent to take it down. Protect can be used to scout out your opponent's move. Seismic Toss is the main attack as it can hit every type of Pokémon except Ghost-types for a constant 100 damage. Toxic rounds out the set, allowing Blissey to stall out any potential attackers with a rotation between Wish and Protect. The EVs are designed to maximize Blissey's defenses and to reach a Leftovers number plus one. Due to Blissey's massive HP stat, investing in her individual defensive stats would increase her overall bulk more than investing in her HP stat.
*pokemonelite2000 image removed*
Salamence / New Mixmence
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Naive
Moves: Draco Meteor
Earthquake
Flamethrower
Dragon Claw/Outrage
EV's: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Comments: This set has the ability of deal raw damage both physically and specially. One will notice that this set does lack recovery and has to deal with the possibility of being stuck on Outrage, but the use of both Draco Meteor and Outrage is enough to place immediate pressure on just about every offensive team. Obviously, Draco Meteor and Outrage both provide Salamence with solid STAB, although Dragon Claw is an excellent option over Outrage should Salamence be your late game sweeper. Dragon Claw is strong enough to pick off weakened Pokemon while also 2HKOing Blissey after Stealth Rock. Earthquake is required to hit Steel-types, such as Heatran, for super effective damage, while Flamethrower takes care of foes like Scizor and Skarmory. The given EVs ensure that Salamence hits as hard as possible with Draco Meteor and will, at the worst, tie with other base 100s. 16 Attack EVs are recommended as they will allow Salamence to 2HKO Blissey with a combination of Draco Meteor and Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. Life Orb is a must to allow Salamence to hit as hard as possible. A Naive nature is recommended as Intimidate allows Salamence to serve as a good check to physical threats like Swords Dance Lucario.
"image removed"
Forretress / Phisically Deffensive
Item: Shed Shell/Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Relaxed
Moves: Spikes
Earthquake/Explosion
Stealth Rock
Gyro Ball
EV's: 252 HP / 112 Atk / 144 Def
Comments: The general idea is to switch in when Forretress is not threatened and take the opportunity to support the team with entry hazards or Rapid Spin enemy hazards away. With its massive Defense stat, huge list of resistances, and the general abundance of resisted attacks being used with Choice items in today's metagame, there should be plenty of opportunities to execute this strategy. Forretress has a variety of attacking options available to it. Gyro Ball takes advantage of its abysmal Speed to provide it with a powerful STAB attack that deals solid damage to fast attackers, such as Gengar, Latias, and Dragon Dance Salamence and Tyranitar. Earthquake is a good option for its coverage on grounded Steel-types like Metagross, Lucario, and Jirachi. In addition, Forretress can use Earthquake to land OHKOs on many of its counters as they switch into it, specifically Magnezone, Heatran, and Infernape. As Forretress has a tendency to become setup fodder for many sweepers that aren't threatened by its other attacks, Explosion is a fine choice on this set to immediately end a powerful, potentially game-ending sweep from your opponent. On an offensive team, it can be used to eliminate a defensive check against one of your sweepers. Because of the abundance of Steels in the metagame, Magnezone has become increasingly popular and it often runs Hidden Power Fire, which will OHKO this Forretress set easily. For this reason, Shed Shell is the preferred item for the set, as it will allow you to escape Magnet Pull and continue to set up hazards later. In addition to providing a large amount of physical bulk for switching into physical threats, the given EV spread allows Forretress to OHKO 4 HP / 0 Defense Magnezone and Heatran with Earthquake and Stealth Rock damage as they switch in.
"image removed"
Heracross / Choice Scarf
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant
Moves: Megahorn
Stone Edge
Close Combat
Night Slash
EV's: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Comments: Heracross's greatest flaw as a sweeper is probably its rather lackluster Speed stat. Therefore, Heracross will welcome Choice Scarf as an item, boosting its Speed and enabling him to outpace many would-be counters. The downside of this is that Heracross loses out on the potent attacking power of a Choice Band set, and to compensate for the loss in power, Scarf Heracross has to play a slightly different game style: revenge-killing troublesome Pokémon or using its resistances and decent defensive stats to come in when possible and ward off your opponents lest they feel the power of Heracross's iron fists. Standard Tyranitar, Latias, Starmie, non-ExtremeSpeed Lucario and Mamoswine are all outrun and OHKOed, and Heracross's sheer power and type coverage allows Heracross to cover many more. Heracross has its famous dual 120 Base Power STABs, Close Combat and Megahorn, coming off an Attack stat of 383 or 349, depending on nature, which together cover all types except Flying, Ghost, and Poison. The last two moveslots are reserved for coverage. Stone Edge is necessary to hit Flying-type switch-ins, such as Salamence and Gyarados, and Night Slash is a decent option against Ghosts (and is Heracross's best attacking option against the Rotom formes). An Adamant nature is recommended here because Heracross will require all the power it can get in order to do some permanent damage, while still outrunning the key base 130 Pokémon.
"image removed"
Roserade / Spikes
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Calm
Moves: ToxicSpikes
Grass Knot
Hidden Power (Fire)
Stun Spore
EV's: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Comments: Roserade's fantastic support option of setting up Spikes, along with its good base 105 Special Defense stat makes it a pseudo-tank that can set up entry hazards while handling common Rapid Spinners. Grass Knot and Hidden Power Fire take on most Rapid Spinners; Blastoise, Claydol, Donphan, and Starmie are dealt with by Grass Knot, and Forretress without any Special Defense EVs are OHKOed by a quick Hidden Power Fire. Stun Spore enables you to prevent Pokemon like Heatran, Infernape, and Salamence from setting up on you with no strings attached. The EVs are certainly not the standard Roserade EVs, but they have a relatively simple purpose. The HP and SpD EVs provide great special bulk, letting Roserade take most special hits with ease and Rest off the damage. The Speed EVs outpace the common 36 Speed EVs base 100s like Celebi and Zapdos, as well as outpacing Jolly Tyranitar.
Notes: In some cases I left two option for a move-slot. In that case, its just by mere ignorance and I'd like your opinion about what move should be better.
Besides, I don't know if the order of the Pokemon is important in the team. I thought its not, so any advice concerning this issue would be welcome too.
The Team as a whole
With Starmie using Rapid Spin as both a lead and a good sweeper, Stealth Rock support is highly recommended, as a Pokémon that is intended for late-game sweeping should have the opponent as weakened as possible. Forretress would be the choice, who can also lay Toxic Spikes for early game damaging. A physical or mixed attacker is recommended to combat troublesome Pokémon such as Blissey and Snorlax. And here is when Salamence and Heracross enter. Running Life Orb Starmie with Rapid Spin as a lead gives a good chance of eliminating Stealth Rock early in the game, allowing Salamence to switch in with less risk later. Both Forretres and Starmie complement Salamence by covering its Ice-type weakness, with the latter also covering Salamence's Dragon-type weakness. Although Ghost-types can get in the way of pulling off a successful spin, both Starmie and Forretress have a way to weaken the most common ones you'll encounter. Bulky Waters, preferably those that also have access to an Electric move for Gyarados, work well alongside Heracross as they are the Pokémon that most commonly carry Ice Beam. Stealth Rock is a great help to Heracross too, as not only does it aid a supposed sweep, but also most Salamence and Gyarados will not enjoy taking repeated blows from Close Combat, even after Intimidate, on top of Stealth Rock damage. Concerning Blissey, she is the best special wall in the game. However, her physical Defense is lacking. Therefore, it is recommended to have a Pokémon on your team that can take repeated physical hits from the likes of Choice Band Tyranitar, Machamp, and Swords Dance Lucario. Forretress enjoys having Wishes passed to it, as it can now come back in several times to set up entry hazards or Rapid Spin away any entry hazards on its side. With Spikes on the field, the opponent will take more damage trying to get a physical attacker in to combat Blissey. Last but not least is Roserade. To maximize its potential, a team causing switches with both offensive and defensive approaches is viable. Using Pokemon like Blissey will force your opponent to constantly switch out his sweepers from Pokemon that wall them, and using Pokemon like Salamence will rack up Spikes damage from repeated switches to a counter. And concerning Roserade's weakneses, its team mates can easily cover them.
Well, I hope you liked my team, and I really look forward to read your comments! :) Thanks a lot!
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