L'Oreal: Because You're Worth It (1800+)

[Srn]

Intro
How are y'all doin, my name is Srn and this is my first 6th gen RMT. This team aims to get a sweep off with mega ampharos and its teammates are there to make sure it goes through. This team is sorta volt-turny and offensive, but there's some bulk behind it as well. Its just pretty balanced overall, and I think that's the best way to support Ampharos. Also, it says something about the team when a complete scrub like me can break 1800. Oh, and pretend houndoom is where farfetch'd showed up on the poll, no idea how that got there XD Without further ado, lets get in-depth and look at each of these guys.

The Team

BIRD (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 216 Spd / 252 Atk / 40 HP
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp

This guy alone checks so many things, it's incredible. It's like he was made for a choice band, and boy does he do his job well. His job, incidentally, is to act as both a revenge killer and a wallbreaker, and he's amazingly good at both. But the reason I chose him is because he can do all this while destroying grass types, which wall mega ampharos. Brave Bird is obvious, you need that powerful priority that does 87% min to 4/0 genesect. Flare Blitz is the next STAB move of choice, unless you want to roll with flame charge. It's there for obvious reasons, nailing those silly SD Balloon excadrill outside of sand. U-turn is a bit of a rare move, but it works extremely effectively for keeping the momentum against threats like tyranitar, heatran, and rotom-w. Will-o-Wisp, honestly, is just there for those cheeky switch ins thinking they got nothing on this guy. There isn't much else to put in there, but hey, I'm open to suggestions for his 4th moveslot. The ev spread is pretty simple: 252 in attack as even though its banded, 81 base attack is underwhelming. Same reasoning for choosing adamant. I chose 216 because 208 allows my brave bird to always go before mega pinsir's quick attack. I've used him, and he's an absolute monster. I ended up putting another 8 evs just to double speed creep other people doing this. Hey, no matter how much hp you put, it's not gonna make much of a difference on our fiery friend here.

>SD+KS (Aegislash) @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Iron Head

Note nickname. Note very well, that in my opinion, the worst set out there is SD+KS, and I'm sure the smart ones out there will agree. Unlike SD+KS, this set takes advantage of the aegislash's ability as an offensive pivot and uses it to lure bulky grounds and waters that may give ampharos trouble. Shadow Ball is the crux of this set as it allows me to smack almost any given bulky ground for over 60%. Sometimes I can even finish them off with shadow sneak after prior damage, leaving the opponent with no answer to this monster. Shadow Sneak offers my team another form of priority, which is always welcome as my team is a bit slow. Sacred Sword is there for mandatory coverage, but I don't end up using it often. Iron head is there to kill fairies which will give my ampharos trouble as it attempts to sweep.

Rawr (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 98 Spd / 156 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Lando-T is back, and better than ever, with new threats to check and new moves to abuse. He forms the infamous (read: retardedly annoying) rotom-w/lando-t core that fends off physical attackers with ease. I honestly don't know why I put 98 speed, please, someone remind me why I might have chosen this spread :P. Other than that, max attack to do damage and the rest into hp to take hits, pretty simple. An adamant nature helps with the punching holes part, this guy's earthquake is nothing to scoff at. Stealth rock is there so I can have SOME hazards, though they're getting less useful with the buff to defog. U-turn is there to grab momentum, this guy can threaten out quite a few things. It's also there to run from the things that threaten it. Knock off, a move in its arsenal that got hugely buffed, was chosen over stone edge mainly to lure and destroy trevenant. It works very well at just being more "utility" instead of "power" which I'm not exactly going for. Knock Off is just a great move overall that really pressures the opponent into a guessing game to choose who cares about its item less. This guy is a reliable answer to many physical threats and can knock off the switch-in's item too, great fit to this overall.

Maytag (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 232 Spd / 188 HP / 88 Def
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Ah, the most versatile and annoying pokemon this tier has to offer these days. Say hello to rotom-w, checks to ten million different things that I won't bother to list, most notably talonflame and azumarill. Yeah, I really don't know what this ev spread is about. I whipped it up a while back and now I have absolutely no idea what it's there for, help me out on this one. The set needs basically no explanation, you have all seen it and know what it does. Chesto-Rest is an option, but I really like the standard set and passive recovery that I get, though a second life sounds really tempting. This guy synergizes well with talonflame and lando-t, forming the "volt" of our little "volt-turn" core we have going on here.

Soul Sista (Latias) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 112 Spd / 252 SAtk / 144 HP
Modest Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Healing Wish
- Surf
- Defog
Sad to say it, but my soul sista is the weakest link on this team. The ev spread could probably be better, again, help me out on this one. She's only here to defog and give the team some much needed special bulk, she doesn't do much else. Dragon Pulse is there for damage, surf for coverage, and defog for obvious reasons. Healing wish replaced thunderbolt as it wasn't doing much, and it provides me a way to heal my talonflame back up when its taken too much recoil, which is always nice. I'm open to better pokemon than latias, I'm sure they're out there, but it should be able to remove hazards and have some special bulk.

L'Oreal (Ampharos) @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Agility
Ah, the MVP, Star of the Show, Win condition #1, and the most beautiful beast to walk this earth. Say hello to mega ampharos. This set is BT's, so I will give him credit for that. Without further ado, let's get into this guy. Nickname is cool, and the item is sorta obvious. When this guy mega evolves, he hits 165 base special attack, and with max investment and a modest nature, this guy packs a punch. He can't take out everything in one hit, but the general rule is weaken/kill bulky grass types (damn you mega venusaur), weaken/kill bulky grounds (only hippowdon here), and break sashes and kill scarfers. If you do all this, mega ampharos will sweep teams with a brush of its hair. Thunderbolt and Dragon pulse are there for obvious STAB options. I was running hidden power ice, but damn, the hp nerf really sucks, so I decided to rely on focus miss. Though annoying, I don't have to worry about excadrill or ferrothorn anymore, which were really annoying early on. After one agility, he sits at 418 speed, which is quite fast considering he only has 45 base speed in his mega form. To put this in perspective, it's faster than neutral gorebyss after a shell smash, quite an outstanding feat. Of course, while it does outspeed practically the entire unboosted metagame, anything with a speed boost (chioce scarf, chlorophyll, etc.) will outspeed even after an agility, so watch out for poop like scarf lando-t. Mold breaker is a really cool ability as it allows you to KO dragonite without worrying about multiscale and kill thundurus-t through volt absorb, always welcome. Other than that, this guy gets the job done, and gets it done fast. Mess around with him, and he will sweep your A$$ in a heartbeat.
What to change
Latias: She can probably be swapped out for something better, but I just don't know what.
EV spreads on Rotom-w and Lando-T: Give em a decent amount of speed, but I do need help with this one.

Quick match I had while laddering to demonstrate mega amphy's power:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pokebankoubeta-66345861

Conclusion
This team is really cool, it has a meta aspect but it centers around something completely different, and almost never seen. This team isn't that hard to play, but you have to keep in mind what to weaken, what you can handle, how to weaken the walls, and how to cushion the opposing offense. As long as you keep these in mind before you just click volt switch/U-turn, you should be in good shape with this team. Also, shoutouts to my man Tehy, he let me go when I was laddering and I was 6-0. It was a good fight, but obviously his stall team won. If you're not too busy, go ahead and rate, comment, steal, whatever. Rip this team apart guys. ​

 

[tcr]

Hey man, this is a pretty cool team! Mega Ampharos, like other megas, outside Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Gengar, is pretty underrated! Super Saiyan jokes aside, its a pretty formidable threat to unprepared teams. Probably the biggest thing i can see being a problem is the annoying SpD Tyranitar set, as it can come in on Talonflame or Latias, and set up rocks or just trap in Latias' case, however its easily played around. Pretty solid team overall, like, for realseses.

A couple things however, namely EV Spreads. As you've pointed out, most of yours you dont even remember, and i cant for the life of me figure out what 232 spe on Rotom outspeeds notably. It might be excadrill (doubtful) but you landorus to pivot off it. As such, I would suggest running 252 HP/ 248 Def/ 8 Spe Bold to give it as much physical bulk as possible. Offering a really slow volt switch gives you far better momentum. Usually people run around that speed to outspeed mamoswine, but whats the point? This gives you a nice backbone to your team and insurance against physical threats. I would also recommend trying the ChestoResto Set as pain split is honestly a garbage move. This gives you nice utility as well, allowing you to absorb a toxic or a burn for a friend and eventually resting off it. Rest is also not completely fucked like it was last generation, another plus.

Running 164 Spe on Talonflame outspeeds base 100s like Mega Kang, which i think might benefit you more, but you're right. Its not like the HP evs do much :$ However, Mega Pinsir isnt that prevalent of a threat anyway, and with the newly bulky Rotom-W and Landorus-therian pivoting around, it shouldnt be a problem. Better run those based 88 HP evs if you can, I say.

Lastly, I think running Offensive Defog Latios would be better for your team. The extra power allows you the ability to break through special walls and help Ampharos sweep better, similar to the Rayquaza+Salamence core in 4th generation ubers. It also gives you greater offensive prescence. Healing wish isnt really needed, as I personally tend to use it on Hyper Offense teams, after everything has broken down enough to allow a sweeper to, well, sweep. However your team is bulky offense, so Healing Wish isnt all that beneficial. I hope I helped your team, it was an excellent read and everything, and I admire your use of Mega Ampharos. Good luck in your laddering endeavors!

TL;DR
164 Spe Talonflame
ChestoResto Rotom-w
Latias--->Offensive Defog Latios

sets

Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/ 248 Def/ 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp

Latios @ Life Orb/Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Surf
- Psyshock

 

[Srn]

Hey man, this is a pretty cool team! Mega Ampharos, like other megas, outside Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Gengar, is pretty underrated! Super Saiyan jokes aside, its a pretty formidable threat to unprepared teams. Probably the biggest thing i can see being a problem is the annoying SpD Tyranitar set, as it can come in on Talonflame or Latias, and set up rocks or just trap in Latias' case, however its easily played around. Pretty solid team overall, like, for realseses.

A couple things however, namely EV Spreads. As you've pointed out, most of yours you dont even remember, and i cant for the life of me figure out what 232 spe on Rotom outspeeds notably. It might be excadrill (doubtful) but you landorus to pivot off it. As such, I would suggest running 252 HP/ 248 Def/ 8 Spe Bold to give it as much physical bulk as possible. Offering a really slow volt switch gives you far better momentum. Usually people run around that speed to outspeed mamoswine, but whats the point? This gives you a nice backbone to your team and insurance against physical threats. I would also recommend trying the ChestoResto Set as pain split is honestly a garbage move. This gives you nice utility as well, allowing you to absorb a toxic or a burn for a friend and eventually resting off it. Rest is also not completely fucked like it was last generation, another plus.

Running 164 Spe on Talonflame outspeeds base 100s like Mega Kang, which i think might benefit you more, but you're right. Its not like the HP evs do much :$ However, Mega Pinsir isnt that prevalent of a threat anyway, and with the newly bulky Rotom-W and Landorus-therian pivoting around, it shouldnt be a problem. Better run those based 88 HP evs if you can, I say.

Lastly, I think running Offensive Defog Latios would be better for your team. The extra power allows you the ability to break through special walls and help Ampharos sweep better, similar to the Rayquaza+Salamence core in 4th generation ubers. It also gives you greater offensive prescence. Healing wish isnt really needed, as I personally tend to use it on Hyper Offense teams, after everything has broken down enough to allow a sweeper to, well, sweep. However your team is bulky offense, so Healing Wish isnt all that beneficial. I hope I helped your team, it was an excellent read and everything, and I admire your use of Mega Ampharos. Good luck in your laddering endeavors!

TL;DR
164 Spe Talonflame
ChestoResto Rotom-w
Latias--->Offensive Defog Latios

sets

Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/ 248 Def/ 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-o-Wisp

Latios @ Life Orb/Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Surf
- Psyshock

You know whats the best part about this rate? I was running the same damn set on latios (ebelt) except thunderbolt instead of psyshock, no joke. There is a reason I replaced latios and that's because I need something to take special hits. Latios was tried, but it was not working out good enough. Glad to see we think alike tho. Latios without life orb doesn't have the firepower to really consider imo, and I don't like life orb latios in general: It doesn't hit like specs and isn't fast either. I usually find myself going hit-and-run on this guy, so I don't think latios is the answer here. It's good in theory, but latias works better overall
About 164 speed evs on talonflame, 216 is what I just like best, allowing my own talonflame to psuedo-check other talonflame itself. And, while it may not be everywhere, mega pinsir is a DAMN HUGE THREAT. I've swept and been swept by that monstrous bug, and going unprepared against it is very dumb. Not to mention hp evs don't help cuz im not going bulk up or anything
And while I don't appreciate pain split's unreliability, it's a huge pain for stall teams. They are at a disadvantage instead for being at high health, and I really enjoy rotom-w just being more annoying like that.
But, I have never even tried chesto-rest rotom-w and I am willing to give it a go, seems way more reliable than pain split.
I also have focus blast on ampharos for things like sp. def ttar, combined with lando-t and talonflame spamming u-turn it was never really a problem for me...
Thanks for your thorough rate, I really appreciate it! I don't see much decent raters around these days!

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Hey there, I got the request, so I'm here to rate your team.

First off I just want to say that I really like the idea of a Mega Ampharos sweeping with this Agility set, and I think you've executed the idea pretty nicely. I'd say that this team is generally a Volt-turn team, that aims to break down Ampharos' counters for a late game sweep. Talonflame has great synergy with Ampharos, and acts as your main revenge killer for the team, as well as grabbing momentum with U-turn. Rotom-W, as well as Talonflame checks a lot of dangerous threats this generation, and gains momentum for your team. Landorus-T is your Stealth Rock setter, and again gains momentum for your team with U-turn, as well as checking the majority of physical threats this generation. Latias supports your team with Defog and Healing Wish, for one of your sweepers to clean up late game once they've (I'm assuming) wall breaked mid game but are now too low on health to sweep late game. Finally, we have the full out attacking Aegislash set, which really opens up holes for your Ampharos to sweep (Ground types in particular are lured in nicely, which Ampharos needs weakened before attempting a sweep). Awesome.

However, I think I have spotted a few weaknesses for your team. Despite your efforts, I still think Grounds types in general are a problem for you. Garchomp can punch holes in your team really nicely, and the best you can do is send in Landorus-T and use Earthquake. Opposing Landorus-T are also really dangerous, as your only check is Rotom-W, which is the glue of this team, so it's probably going to be worn down through out the game by checking other dangerous threats for your team. Mamoswine again threatens everything bar Rotom-W, which I don't think is enough security against these common threats. Apart from Ground types, I'd say Dark types like Tyranitar and Weavile can also potentially cause you some problems. Tyranitar checks Talonflame, Ampharos, and Latias really nicely, while Weavile checks the previous 3, and Landorus-T.Apart from the previous two, Hydregion and Greninaja seem like it can give you problems as well.

So, here are my suggestions to help fix your team.

1) Replace Latias with Azumarill. I agree with you about Latias, I too think it's the weakest link for your team. Azumarill however does so much for your team. It's a solid switch in to Dark types like Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Greninja, and Azumarill also checks Ground types like Landorus-T and Garchomp really nicely.

2) Replace Aegislash with Scizor. Scizor I think in general really fits your team nicely, mainly because it's the king of Volt-turn. It has amazing synergy with Rotom-W, Landorus-T, and still has similar typing to Aegislash. Scizor also checks most of the Dark types I mentioned as weaknesses (Tyranitar, Weavile, etc), so it also fixes some of your team weaknesses.

(A few minor suggestions)

3) Change Rotom-W's EV spread. I honestly don't see any reason to run any speed, but since you asked for a spread with speed, I think a spread of
88 Spd / 168 Def / 252 HP Bold Nature is good for your team. 88 speed out speeds max speed Adamant Scizor, allowing you to Will-O-Wisp or Volt Switch before they can attack.

4) Change Talonflame's EV spread. 164 speed is the best benchmark I can give you, otherwise MegaKangaskan can become a problem.

Here are the sets

Hide

Azumarill @ Mystic Water
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Superpower


Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Well there's my rate. I hope I helped in some way, and good luck in the future with this team.

 

[Srn]

Thanks you so much for your thorough rate! I really do appreciate it!
I can see that azumarill can really patch up some of my weaknesses, I will definitely have to try him out. However, my team will get very weak to opposing rotom-w when I put him in, which is a bigger issue than grounds and darks imo. I usually u-turn straight out when the opponent has a tyranitar, and my ampharos has focus blast, so tyranitar was never really a problem for me. Weavile really threatens this team, but I've never seen one, so I dunno.

While I will definitely try to replace aegislash with scizor, keep in mind that I can't remove hazards anymore either with the set you suggested. I want to try out some type of bulky scizor with roost, defog, u-turn, and bullet punch instead.
And thank you so much for that rotom spread, that was just what I needed. That will give my rotom some much needed bulk.

And to y'all who're actually voting in the poll, farfetch'd was a joke >_> I don't need 60.5% of the votes to go into that...

 

[Zephyr101]

I tried out your team with the Azumarill instead of Agieslash and kept Rotom-W and switched Latias for Mew and the team has done so much better IMO, I would suggest trying these next sets as they help out a lot more mew is a great supporter and also keeps defog to remove hazards when needed plus Wil-O-Wisp to burn physical threats and it has U-turn to keep your Volt-Turn going and Iron Head is just there for coverage against fairies really.

Azumarill @ Mystic Water
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Play Rough

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- U-turn
- Iron Head

 

[Srn]

Bump

 

[BadPandaPancham]

Something to really consider: Your Latias is definitely playing more of a support roll, meaning Modest is much more terrible then Timid. You should switch it to Timid to be able to outspeed and become a second revenge killer, since it gets quite speedy, which may help with your weak-link problem.

I like the full offense and mixed Aegislash set which attracts Ground types out fairly well thinking they have the edge, but other pokemon fill Aegislash's spot better.

While I agree mostly with ShootingStarmie's edits, it leaves you at a disadvantage when it comes to Defensive walls. The only two pokemon you will have to use against Pokemon such as Gliscor are Rotom-W and Ampharos, and you know as well as I do that you don't want to send out Ampharos against a faster Ground type (assuming you haven't set up agility yet of course). This leaves only Rotom-W to deal with Gliscor, and that's if it hasn't subbed while you switched it in.

Mind you: Gliscor is only one of these threats. Later I'll compile a list of threats that could really mess with your team's heads. Hippowdon is just another threat to consider (which I see you gave mention to in the OP).

In the beginning, I said to change your Latias to timid, but this is if you are deciding to keep the weak link on your team. I would say change Latias/Azumarill (or Scizor, but preferably Azumarill) to Jellicent. Reasons why: #1. Mega Gengar is now banned. #2. It tanks Special Attacks while your Rotom-W is tanking physical hits. #3. Jellicent gets Scald/Wil-o-wisp, Ice Beam, and Shadow Ball, all special attacks giving you the edge on Gliscors, Hippowdons, and cripple Mega Venusaur switch-ins with Wil-O-Wisp to allow your team to widdle it's health down and stall (if needed). Scizor is a good pokemon to think about as it replaces your need for Aegislash with Technician Bullet Punch, U-Turn, Pursuit, and Superpower to counter/check mons such as (but not limited to) Gengar, Tyranitar, Alakazam, Sash-abusers (like Alakazam) due to Priority bullet punch, Belly-Drum Azumarill/most fairies in general, and other Pokemon that could threaten this team if a few key players get knocked out.

Jellicent set:

Hide

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body/Water Absorb (if you feel the need, though Cursed Body is more recommended)
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SDef (if preferred/needed: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef)
Bold Nature
- Ice Beam / Wil-O-Wisp
- Scald
- Shadow Ball / Wil-O-Wisp (most recommended slash, though Shadow Ball helps with Aegislashes)
- Recover

(slashed both depending on what you feel is more needed. EVs/Nature are so it's bulk extends to mostly SpDef but also include some Defense as well)

note: an Aegislash cannot OHKO this Jellicent with Shadow Sneak even on a crit, also cursed body could remove it's slight 2HKO chance. Leftovers negates this 2HKO chance as well, just as much as spamming recover until Cursed Body comes into effect

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 56+ Def Jellicent: 182-216 (45 - 53.4%) (note this doesn't count Leftovers Recovery)

 

[MZ]

After all of these replies, it seems that there is very little for me to say. However, as overused as this is, I find your Aegislash inferior to ones with King's Shield. Rotom is a good enough pivot. Now I really am not sure what sort of EV spread to run, but a King's Shield, Shadow Ball, Iron Head, and sacred sword is just... Better. You just don't need the shadow sneak. Is Talonflame not priority enough? Other than that, try using a defogger that doesn't kill itself. Empoleon and Mandibuzz are nice, but Empoleon adds some unfortunate weaknesses to your team. I know you've seen my RMT, so try my set with a possible change of toxic to something else. Good luck!

 

[Srn]

After all of these replies, it seems that there is very little for me to say. However, as overused as this is, I find your Aegislash inferior to ones with King's Shield. Rotom is a good enough pivot. Now I really am not sure what sort of EV spread to run, but a King's Shield, Shadow Ball, Iron Head, and sacred sword is just... Better. You just don't need the shadow sneak. Is Talonflame not priority enough? Other than that, try using a defogger that doesn't kill itself. Empoleon and Mandibuzz are nice, but Empoleon adds some unfortunate weaknesses to your team. I know you've seen my RMT, so try my set with a possible change of toxic to something else. Good luck!

Thanks for the rate, I really appreciate it!
As for aegislash, I never really find myself in a situation where aegislash should stay in. It functions as an offensive pivot, so you're not staying in for more than 2 turns anyway. Shadow Sneak is very VERY helpful, letting me grab the KO on even slightly weakened "would-be" checks such as rotom-w and gliscor, shadow sneak is incredibly important.
Of course, I've moved out aegislash and latias for azumarill and scizor, and those guys work much better with this team, so the rest of your rate is a little irrelevant :(
Nonetheless, thank you for putting the effort into rating my team!

 

[detroitwillfall]

ty for using defog latias, im currently using psycho shift, surf, wish, and defog. lovn the bulk support spread. use is interesting for sure. +2 on the team