Team Vance-Pop (Platinum)

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The Team

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Sadly, I can't full credit for this team; Anti helped me develop it, and together, we tested this team and tried to center it around one guy; Flygon. Ever since Anti admitted that Flygon was really good now that it got Outrage. After racking up some damage calculations, we decided that Adamant was the preferred nature since it guaranteed a 2HKO on every bulky water as well as really hammering Cresselia, and making the 2HKO almost guaranteed thanks to U-Turn. As for the rest of the team, it all melted together in order to counter specific threats while retaining bulk and offense. The Infernape was my idea, and it's been saving me most of the matches since it's so unexpected. Heatran came to us in a pinch when we needed a Scizor check, and luckily for us, it fit like magic in the team. Dusknoir was good and all, but it added to our already massive Tyranitar weakness. After many tears shed, Dusknoir left us, and in came Scizor. It also takes out Cresselia and Starmie, two asses to our team. Dragonitee is the newest member of the team, but it seems to fit in well since it offers a Ground immunity as well as a Fighting resistance, plus a wall breaker. Porygon2 is your standard Gyarados/Salamence counter =]...Enough talk, I present to you: Vance-Pop's Platinum Team!!!​

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Timid
252 SpA/252 Spe/6 HP
-Fire Blast
-HP Ice
-Earth Power
-Stealth Rock​

Heatran was a god-send to us, really. We were having Scizor, Lucario, and Heracross problems. When we thought Dusknoir wouldn't suffice, Heatran hit us like a truck! It saves room to set up Stealth Rock, as well as revenge kill the aforementioned threats. Unfortunately, Dugtrio is all too common lately, and really hammers this guy with STAB EQ if it predictions a Stealth Rock. Fire Blast is better than Overheat, though Anti swears by the latter. Heatran can actually do damage in late game, so Fire Blast is generally superior in my opinion. Standard Scarftran is standard.​

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Flygon @ Choice Band
Adamant
252 Att/252 Spe/6 HP
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Fire Punch
-U-Turn​

Yeah, you can keep on hating, because Flygon's still celebrating! This guy is like a Garchomp mini, except it's immune/resistant to all forms of entry hazards and immune to Thunder Wave, making it one of the most powerful stall breakers in the game. Outrage and Earthquake together 2HKO most of the metagame, with Outrage 2HKOing all bulky waters if Stealth Rock is present (even still, it does an assload to them anyways, only Suicune handles it without being 2HKO'd according to not SR and Leftovers recovery). Fire Punch 2HKOs Bronzong and can do the same to Shed Shell Skarmory only if Stealth Rock is factored in. U-Turn is excellent for scouting, and helps ease prediction as well as hitting Cress moderately hard. Overall, I've had excellent success with Flygon, and he's failed me rarely. I don't see the need for a mixed set, as his Attack is decent enough to hit a lot of things hard.​

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Dragonite @ Life Orb
Rash
114 Att/200 SpA/196
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Superpower
-Roost​

The newest and perhaps most debatable member of Team Vance-Pop. Draco Meteor + Fire Blast + Superpower is unresisted, and hits a lot of key Pokemon for super effective damage, namely Tyranitar, Scizor, Celebi, and Salamence. Dragonite is here to help take out Blissey, Skarmory, and Tyranitar, three guys this team really hates. Roost over something like Outrage because Dragonite is actually pretty bulky. Unfortunately, he's 4x weak to Ice, as Flygon also shares this trait. Considering if perhaps MixMence is a better option in this slot, but then again, we'll lose the OHKO on things such as Heatran, Tyranitar, and Blissey. A fantastic wall breaker, and fantastic Heatran switch in =D.​

Infernape @ Life Orb
Timid
252 SpA/252 Spe/6 HP
-Nasty Plot
-Focus Blast
-Flamethrower
-Grass Knot​

The best Infernape in the long run. As of late, I've been experimenting with Focus Blast Infernape, and it's a massive late game threat. After a boost, nothing wants to take Focus Blast. Things like Salamence, Vaporeon, and Suicune are OHKO'd provided Stealth Rock is in play. It also does a good chunk to Gyarados, though Grass Knot OHKO's that provided Stealth Rock is in play. Focus Blast OHKO's Blissey after a mere single boost, so that's pretty awesome. Flamethrower over Fire Blast to have some reliable move that still hurts like hell. Grass Knot was chosen over HP Ice mainly for Gyarados, who can still live Focus Blast due to it's often overlooked Base 100 SpD. This guy's position on the team is unnegotiable, that's for sure.​

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Scizor @ Choice Band
Adamant
24 HP/252 Att/234
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Superpower
-Pursuit

Swords Dance or no Swords Dance, 591 Attack hurts. U-Turn is great for scouting, although it's pretty bad when it locks Flygon in on U-Turn. Pursuit for things that feel like switching out, making it a decent Starmie/Gengar check. Bullet Punch is Bullet Punch, scoring KOs on fragile sweepers like Heracross, and also denting those Tyranitars and breaking apart the ever scary Sashers. Superpower kills Blissey, Tyranitar (again), and Snorlax and such. Scizor really is Mr. Utility, and a bastard in late game where many things are in Bullet Punch's kill range.

Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Bold
252 HP/216 Def/42 SpA
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Thunder Wave
-Recover​

As of late, this guy has been referred to as the best Gyarados counter in the game, so we thought "Why not use him?". Luckily for us, he served Anti and I well, handling Gyarados and Salamence better than any other tank I've known. Not only does he do his job extremely well, he's insanely fun to play around with, getting to come in on Jolteon's with near impunity, and get the jump on Heatran and paralyze the lava trash can. I decided Thunderbolt since it does upwards of 90% to Gyarados, and the extra power can mean something in a few scenarios, like against the rare but scary crits that occur often.

 

[Syaoran]

The only thing I'd change here is the HP Ice on Heatran.. I don't see how it can be that effective, as opposed to Explosion which usually scores a kill regardless. As for Dusknoir, it would be nice if you ran some calcs so we can see if it can OHKO Azelf and other pokes. Other than that, team is looking pretty good. Just beware of Suicune coz it can do a lot of damage to this team.

 

[Archer]

The only thing I'd change here is the HP Ice on Heatran.. I don't see how it can be that effective, as opposed to Explosion which usually scores a kill regardless. As for Dusknoir, it would be nice if you ran some calcs so we can see if it can OHKO Azelf and other pokes. Other than that, team is looking pretty good. Just beware of Suicune coz it can do a lot of damage to this team.

Um, it's not really going to make a difference, considering most Azelfs run a Focus Sash. There's only one SR weak on the team, anyway.

I really like this team, it just looks fun. I'm really worried about DDTar, though. After 1 DD, it outspeeds everything except for Heatran, which can be OHKOd by Earthquake. It looks like a big problem. I can't really see where I would slot in a counter, so I'll leave that to you.

 

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Porygon2 is the initial switch in. I don't know if it's OHKO'd by Stone Edge, but regardless, he Thunder Waves Tar and then goes to Flygon to resist the Stone Edge/etc... and just simply kill it with EQ. This is another reason I'm considering Scizor somewhere.

 

[otaku-dono]

Having a Heatran that isn't a lead, is choiced and has Stealth Rock is a tad... tedious, don't you think? It has to switch in, switch out and switch in again, and you may not even have the time to do so until late game where it's practically useless.

 

[.]

Having a Heatran that isn't a lead, is choiced and has Stealth Rock is a tad... tedious, don't you think? It has to switch in, switch out and switch in again, and you may not even have the time to do so until late game where it's practically useless.

Heatran can use Stealth Rock effectively with a Scarf. Common switch ins such as Vaporeon or Swampert pose no threat to this team honestly, as the rest of my team handle them more than decently.

 

[Aquilae]

Your team had trouble with Cress and Tar, I agree with your suggestion on Shoddy that Scizor should go over either Gyarados or Dusknoir. With regards to Lucario and Heracross, I wouldn't worry too much about Lucario coverage since Heatran beats it resisting BP and ES, Nape resists BP, Flygon can take an ES and EQ back for the OHKO. You probably should go Gengar, Rotom-H or Zapdos, the latter two being able to provide more Scizor insurance.

 

[Anti]

yea, me and Vance worked some stuff out on shoddy since Dusknoir is kind of blarg. It's mixed dragonite >>> gyarados and CB Scizor >>> Dusknoir. So far, it's been incredibly successful. Generally agreeing with Aquilae and yeah.

Good job Vance <3 You deserve the credit since I won't battle at all lol

 

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All changes have been made, Dusknoir added to the massive Choice Band Tyranitar weakness, and at least now, we have 2 reliable checks (Flygon and Scizor), as well as an "eh" check (Infernape). DDTar is problamatic, but Scizor can handle it.