I recently made this team when I was bored one day. I was bored with using suicide and weather leads. It was time to try something new. At first, I'm not sure if it would work, but it seems to be fine for the time being. Nevertheless, I think it could be better, so here it is:
MAIN OBJECTIVE: Defensive switch-ins for offensive purposes.
CHANGES ARE IN RED.
LEAD:
Scizor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Brick Break
Scizor is extremely uncommon as a lead, but it really does work quite well. At first glance this looks like a regular BP Scizor, but I've modified it for my purposes.
248 HP is used for obvious reasons. Attack is maxed out to do as much damage as possible with Bullet Punch. Speed isn't really needed, since Scizor has both a priority move and a Sash.
On turn one, you either SD up or attack, depending on the opposing lead. An unboosted Bullet Punch 2HKO's both lead-Azelf and lead-Aerodactyl. It also pwns the less common Ninjask leads. Meanwhile, lead-Tar will take a lot of damage from either of the attacks. Scizor also takes no damage from Sandstorm, which helps it use its Sash. On the other hand, Swords Dance allows for longer-lasting sweeping and support. After 1 SD, Bullet Punch terrorizes most of the metagame. Baton Pass is there to pass the Swords Dance boosts to a teammate (like Mamoswine). Since Scizor is rather slow, the Sash allows it to survive a potential-KO attack before letting in a teammate unscathed.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Fire: Heatran switches in to get a Flash Fire boost. Dragonite also shrugs off these attacks with ease.
Fighting: Dragonite shrugs these off too.
Ground: Azelf and Dragonite are both immune to these attacks.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Swampert and other Bulky Pokemon: Sceptile owns Swampert with the threat of a OHKO with Grass Knot and resists both STAB's. Sceptile's SubSeeding also allows it to stall out many high-HP walls.
Gyarados: After 1 SD and Intimidate, Scizor's Bullet Punch 3HKO's DD Gyarados that don't pack Leftovers. This is usually good enough, as the turn sequence usually goes like this:
Bullet Punch, DD
Bullet Punch, Waterfall (Scizor survives with 1 HP)
Bullet Punch (KO)
If not, though, it will still dent it enough so that Mamoswine's Ice Shard can finish it. Sceptile's Leech Seed can also help you stall it out by sapping its HP.
SUPPORT:
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP/44 Spe/216 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Dragon Claw
Dragonite serves as the cleric and defensive-MVP of this team. It also works excellently with Mamoswine and Heatran. Most of this team hates status, so Heal Bell is a huge asset. It is so fun to watch as the opponent's Will-o-wisp finally hits Dragonite, only to be erased on the very next turn. This bulky dragon rarely gets OHKO'd by anything. It shrugs off Ice Beams well with Roost. Thunder Wave is great for crippling both blindingly-fast sweepers and walls.
I modified the Smogon version of the SupportNite a little bit for my own purposes. Careful nature and Dragon Claw is used in place of Calm and Dragon Pulse since Dragonite has higher Attack than SpA. It also allows it to benefit from Scizor's SD passes if necessary.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ice: Roost greatly decreases the power of these moves. Heatran is a great switch-in too, since it only takes 0.25x damage from Ice Beam. Scizor takes little damage from them too.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Bulky waters: Sceptile again, see above for reason.
Salamence and Flygon: Send in Heatran to take the attack. Mamoswine is also a good switch-in as long as they don't use Fire Blast, as Mamo threatens a OHKO with Ice Shard.
Sceptile @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
0 HP IV's
EVs: 200 Def/252 Spe/56 SpA
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Grass Knot
Sceptile serves as an excellent check to the counters of its teammates. When sent out against something like Swampert, it is almost guaranteed to take at least one foe with it. Sub on the first turn while your opponent switches, and Leech Seed the switch-in. HP Fire is great for taking out Grass-types immune to Leech Seed, as well as U-Turn Scizor.
The HP IV is set to 0 so that the minimum amount of HP is used in the creation of the Substitutes. Between Leftovers and Leech Seed, Sceptile often regains upward of 20% of its health every turn, which almost completely compensates for the 25% lost in making the Substitute.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ice: Heatran is a great switch-in too, since it only takes 0.25x damage from Ice Beam. Scizor takes little damage from them too.
Fire: Heatran and Dragonite.
U-Turn: Um, hide behind a Sub?
Status attacks:
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Time: Generally, Sceptile can take down any one particular Pokemon with it. As a result, its main counter is really just time and endurance.
Anything faster than Sceptile: Send in something that resists the attacks that you anticipate will be used.
ATTACKERS:
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spe/252 SpA
Rash nature (+SpA, -SpD)
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Ice]
ScarfTran is my revenge killer and Fire/Ice-absorber. It loves to come in on an opposing Fire Punch/Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Will-o-wisp to boost its Flamethrower to nosebleed levels. After a Flash Fire boost, Flamethrower dents even those that resist it.
This moveset allows for great type coverage, but requires good prediction to use. When against something like Scizor, I often use Earth Power instead of Flamethrower in anticipation of a Heatran switchin. Afterwards, I am free to spam Flamethrower around the next time I switch in. HP Ice is great for dealing with Dragons. Explosion for a boom on the way out.
Heatran and Dragonite create a great defensive combo. Dragonite covers Heatran's weaknesses, and vice-versa. As such, the two are often used in tandem.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ground: Azelf and Dragonite are immune to it.
Water: Sceptile and Dragonite shrug it off easily.
Fighting: Dragonite again.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Opposing Heatran: Good prediction with Earth Power and Flamethrower lets me come out on top.
Mamoswine @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 176 HP/116 Atk/196 Spe/20 SpD
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
Mamoswine is a great switch-in on an anticipated Thunderbolt or T-Wave or Dragon-type. As it switches out, it uses Stealth Rock for team support. Then it proceeds to start doing some damage. Ice Shard and EQ are a great STAB tandem, while Stone Edge hurts those Gyarados that come in. A great recipient of Scizor's SD boosts.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Water: Sceptile and Dragonite shrug it off easily.
Fighting: Dragonite again.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Gyarados: See above section in Scizor's description.Bulky waters: Sceptile.
Azelf @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 36 Atk/220 Spe/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Explosion
Azelf is a great special sweeper. With a Ground-type immunity, it is often quite easy to switch it in, especially with Heatran on the team. HP Ground allows it to OHKO Heatran. Meanwhile, Flamethrower and Shadow Ball provide good type coverage. Expert Belt allows you to bluff Choice Specs before you surprise them with another attack.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
U-turn: Send in Heatran or Dragonite to take almost no damage.
Pursuit: Well, there's really nothing it can do except for stay in and fight.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Heatran: Either my Heatran or HP Ground
Dragons: Mamoswine
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So, what do you think? Rate, hate, steal! :naughty:
AT A GLANCE:
MAIN OBJECTIVE: Defensive switch-ins for offensive purposes.
CHANGES ARE IN RED.
LEAD:
Scizor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Brick Break
Scizor is extremely uncommon as a lead, but it really does work quite well. At first glance this looks like a regular BP Scizor, but I've modified it for my purposes.
248 HP is used for obvious reasons. Attack is maxed out to do as much damage as possible with Bullet Punch. Speed isn't really needed, since Scizor has both a priority move and a Sash.
On turn one, you either SD up or attack, depending on the opposing lead. An unboosted Bullet Punch 2HKO's both lead-Azelf and lead-Aerodactyl. It also pwns the less common Ninjask leads. Meanwhile, lead-Tar will take a lot of damage from either of the attacks. Scizor also takes no damage from Sandstorm, which helps it use its Sash. On the other hand, Swords Dance allows for longer-lasting sweeping and support. After 1 SD, Bullet Punch terrorizes most of the metagame. Baton Pass is there to pass the Swords Dance boosts to a teammate (like Mamoswine). Since Scizor is rather slow, the Sash allows it to survive a potential-KO attack before letting in a teammate unscathed.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Fire: Heatran switches in to get a Flash Fire boost. Dragonite also shrugs off these attacks with ease.
Fighting: Dragonite shrugs these off too.
Ground: Azelf and Dragonite are both immune to these attacks.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Swampert and other Bulky Pokemon: Sceptile owns Swampert with the threat of a OHKO with Grass Knot and resists both STAB's. Sceptile's SubSeeding also allows it to stall out many high-HP walls.
Gyarados: After 1 SD and Intimidate, Scizor's Bullet Punch 3HKO's DD Gyarados that don't pack Leftovers. This is usually good enough, as the turn sequence usually goes like this:
Bullet Punch, DD
Bullet Punch, Waterfall (Scizor survives with 1 HP)
Bullet Punch (KO)
If not, though, it will still dent it enough so that Mamoswine's Ice Shard can finish it. Sceptile's Leech Seed can also help you stall it out by sapping its HP.
SUPPORT:
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP/44 Spe/216 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Dragon Claw
Dragonite serves as the cleric and defensive-MVP of this team. It also works excellently with Mamoswine and Heatran. Most of this team hates status, so Heal Bell is a huge asset. It is so fun to watch as the opponent's Will-o-wisp finally hits Dragonite, only to be erased on the very next turn. This bulky dragon rarely gets OHKO'd by anything. It shrugs off Ice Beams well with Roost. Thunder Wave is great for crippling both blindingly-fast sweepers and walls.
I modified the Smogon version of the SupportNite a little bit for my own purposes. Careful nature and Dragon Claw is used in place of Calm and Dragon Pulse since Dragonite has higher Attack than SpA. It also allows it to benefit from Scizor's SD passes if necessary.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ice: Roost greatly decreases the power of these moves. Heatran is a great switch-in too, since it only takes 0.25x damage from Ice Beam. Scizor takes little damage from them too.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Bulky waters: Sceptile again, see above for reason.
Salamence and Flygon: Send in Heatran to take the attack. Mamoswine is also a good switch-in as long as they don't use Fire Blast, as Mamo threatens a OHKO with Ice Shard.
Sceptile @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
0 HP IV's
EVs: 200 Def/252 Spe/56 SpA
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Grass Knot
Sceptile serves as an excellent check to the counters of its teammates. When sent out against something like Swampert, it is almost guaranteed to take at least one foe with it. Sub on the first turn while your opponent switches, and Leech Seed the switch-in. HP Fire is great for taking out Grass-types immune to Leech Seed, as well as U-Turn Scizor.
The HP IV is set to 0 so that the minimum amount of HP is used in the creation of the Substitutes. Between Leftovers and Leech Seed, Sceptile often regains upward of 20% of its health every turn, which almost completely compensates for the 25% lost in making the Substitute.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ice: Heatran is a great switch-in too, since it only takes 0.25x damage from Ice Beam. Scizor takes little damage from them too.
Fire: Heatran and Dragonite.
U-Turn: Um, hide behind a Sub?
Status attacks:
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Time: Generally, Sceptile can take down any one particular Pokemon with it. As a result, its main counter is really just time and endurance.
Anything faster than Sceptile: Send in something that resists the attacks that you anticipate will be used.
ATTACKERS:
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spe/252 SpA
Rash nature (+SpA, -SpD)
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Ice]
ScarfTran is my revenge killer and Fire/Ice-absorber. It loves to come in on an opposing Fire Punch/Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Will-o-wisp to boost its Flamethrower to nosebleed levels. After a Flash Fire boost, Flamethrower dents even those that resist it.
This moveset allows for great type coverage, but requires good prediction to use. When against something like Scizor, I often use Earth Power instead of Flamethrower in anticipation of a Heatran switchin. Afterwards, I am free to spam Flamethrower around the next time I switch in. HP Ice is great for dealing with Dragons. Explosion for a boom on the way out.
Heatran and Dragonite create a great defensive combo. Dragonite covers Heatran's weaknesses, and vice-versa. As such, the two are often used in tandem.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Ground: Azelf and Dragonite are immune to it.
Water: Sceptile and Dragonite shrug it off easily.
Fighting: Dragonite again.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Opposing Heatran: Good prediction with Earth Power and Flamethrower lets me come out on top.
Mamoswine @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 176 HP/116 Atk/196 Spe/20 SpD
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
Mamoswine is a great switch-in on an anticipated Thunderbolt or T-Wave or Dragon-type. As it switches out, it uses Stealth Rock for team support. Then it proceeds to start doing some damage. Ice Shard and EQ are a great STAB tandem, while Stone Edge hurts those Gyarados that come in. A great recipient of Scizor's SD boosts.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
Water: Sceptile and Dragonite shrug it off easily.
Fighting: Dragonite again.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Gyarados: See above section in Scizor's description.Bulky waters: Sceptile.
Azelf @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 36 Atk/220 Spe/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spe, -SpD)
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Explosion
Azelf is a great special sweeper. With a Ground-type immunity, it is often quite easy to switch it in, especially with Heatran on the team. HP Ground allows it to OHKO Heatran. Meanwhile, Flamethrower and Shadow Ball provide good type coverage. Expert Belt allows you to bluff Choice Specs before you surprise them with another attack.
How to cover attacks that are commonly thrown at it:
U-turn: Send in Heatran or Dragonite to take almost no damage.
Pursuit: Well, there's really nothing it can do except for stay in and fight.
Pokemon that are commonly thrown at it:
Heatran: Either my Heatran or HP Ground
Dragons: Mamoswine
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So, what do you think? Rate, hate, steal! :naughty:
