Hello I'm new to Smogon forums and I'm currently attempting to build a team for ORAS Battlespot singles,
I have had unsuccessful teams in the past, I have a core so far but need help/suggesting for a supporting cast:
Talonflame @ Liechi berry
Ability: Gale wings
Level 50
EV's: 44Hp/252Att/212Spe
-Swords dance
-Brave bird
-Flare blitz
-Natural gift
Offensive Talonflame designed to be flexible, my idea is to come in on something that can't hurt Talonflame and then
use swords dance, then either take on checks that switch in by surprise with natural gift like Rotom-W or Rhyperior
Or use a STAB attack, alternatively if health is lowered the Liechi berry also raises attack for one last ditch attack.
Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough skin
Level 50
EV's: 4Hp/252Att/252Spe
Nature: Jolly
-Earthquake
-Outrage
-Dual chop
-Poison Jab
Choice band is used to maximize damage output, garchomp can take electric and rock attacks aimed at Talonflame and
deal with threats to Aegislash like Heatran, Bisharp and Mega Lopunny's fake out. poison jab is needed for teams with Azumarill
and more rarely Togekiss, with some luck it may poison targets granting some residual damage to make KO's easier.
Aegislash @ Weakness policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level 50
Ev's 252Hp/4Def/252SpA
Nature: Quiet
-King's shield
-Shadow ball
-Shadow sneak
-Sacred sword
A basic aegislash set, can easily come in on ice or rock type moves used against Talonflame and garchomp and hopefully hit back hard
with aegislash timing is everything, I may also try to bring aegislash in on weaker non-stab supereffective moves aimed at possible teamates.
Any ideas for possible teammates or a mega evolution to help this team is welcomed, or if anyone sees any problems with my team so far
feel free to critique them. I know I need ways to deal with status, a good mega to support this team, and probably counters to specific
threats I may not be aware of. Thanks to my responders in advance!
Liechi Talon is fun. I think the first set I ever ran on Talon bar in game ofc. Still, it is extremely hard to set up with something that uses so much that makes it take recoil and isn't even bulky to start. More bulk would be good I think. Spe doesn't really have to be so high. Right now you're above neutral Spe Mence, but the only thing you'd do vs that besides switch is a priority Brave Bird. idk what amount of Spe is good to run, since it's hard to judge how much Talon gets out of defensive evs with the recoil it eats. Still,
i'd consider none and then put everything in HP(possibly some in a defense to be a little stronger on that side.) Even uninvested Talon outspeeds max base 80s, mainly good for Mamo to hit with NG Grass if it's not in BB range.
Garchomp looks good, except there isn't really any point to Dual Chop. It's pretty weak, and not even perfectly accurate. Sub breaking might seem appealing(and it is lol,) but Dual Chop doesn't really do a good job of that. Even non bulky Breloom has a chance to live it from full(62.5%% to ohko, good but far from a sure thing,) and forget about breaking subs from stuff like Gliscor and Whimsicott. Some things whose potential subs you could break, Thund, Rotom-H, etc., you really don't wanna be locked into Dual Chop against. With that in mind
I think a rock move is best. Which one is largely team dependent. If your team is kind of slow and there's no para support Rock Tomb is good. If you do have para support Rock Slide becomes a more appealing option, tho it's good anyways for a possible flinch and better accuracy then Stone Edge. Stone Edge is strongest by quite a bit, and even has a higher crit rate, but 80 accuracy can be bad.
Aegi is very standard. Only small thing would be 4 SpD instead of 4 Def for Download, but if 4 Def lowers any significant chance to be ohkod or 2hkod by something then might as well keep it. P2 is the only common Downloader, and often is a bulkier set with Foul Play anyways.
One thing I see is a problem with Suicune. NG Grass from Talon at +2 only ohkos, same with CB Outrage. Both Talon and Chomp get hit very hard, tho they live any unboosted hit from 0 SpA Cune. Still, Rocky Helmet has gone up in popularity, and that makes them even worse. Aegi is really just set up fodder for cms, and Sacred Sword doesn't do nearly enough even before a burn.
I like to run a grass mon on every team, mainly to switc in on Spre from Loom. They also have to be able to take any other hit in the event it predicts and uses another move. There are some good grass types for beating Cune, and they also hurt
Rotom-W a lot which seems important.
Hippowdon is also very dangerous for you, which is another reason to run something like
Whimsicott or
Amoongus(kinda a weird mon in bss, but I like it. I use physically bulky EVs, albeit with a Calm nature and 248 Def for HP Ice IV drop. Troubles Chomp and Lando-T, and has a good chance to avoid an ohko from even +4 SpA Cune's Ice Beam, then wipes boosts with Clear Smog.) Whimsicott can switch in on Cune using Rest or CM and Encore it. It can do the same to Hipppo, Encoring Stealth Rock, EQ, or Slack Off. As its main niche Encore is pretty predictable, but it can at the very least force a switch, and often that won't be a good idea for the oppe eithr. There's also mind games where they predict you predicting them...and it can do pretty well vs Thund due to outspeeding if you run a lot of Spe(I don't think there's much point to mostly bulk instead since Whimsi still dies pretty quick, and is often behind a sub anyways.)
Kang is always pretty tough for you. In particular it beats both of the grass mons mentioned(you could also try Serperior, but you have to be a little more careful with Cune's Ice Beam.) Chomp actually has a low chance to ohko even not bulky ones with Outrage from full, and +2 BB from Talon isn't ever enough vs bulky ones that are full-and you obviously can't set SD on them. Aegi ohkos most variants and even bulky ones half the time at +2, but WP is expected so they'll likely play around that by softening you up for a potential EQ beforehand, if you're not in range of it already.
So some stuff to deal with Kang and Cune better. There's always more if you look hard enough, but I think those are two of the main things. Ice coverage is nice, especially for Chomp. CB kills Aegi, Spe ties, sash, and Scarf beat your Chomp, ands pretty much all of them beat Talon. Thund is dangerous, and so is Mence I think. Rotom-H is worth looking out for too, especially if you keep Dual Chop or use Fire Fang on Chomp.