Momentum controlling volt-turn team

[thenextred]

In this strange, weather less metagame controlled by powerful priority and a selection of dominant attackers in agislash, azumaril and talonflame, it can be difficult to find a way to win without the use of these powerhouses. After some deliberation, I decided that a volt-turn team that can retain the momentum and keep other teams on their toes would be the best bet to counter those monsters and get myself wins. The team runs using prediction and momentum to wear down opposing teams by forcing them to constantly switch while getting hit by volt switches and u-turns until the are broken enough for one of my pokes (usually greninja or manectric) to clean up a broken opponent


At a glance

Team Building Process

I started right off with mega Manectric for one simple reason. He is the fastest, second hardest hitting volt-switcher in the game. he can change his moves and has great coverage and a great ability in intimidate

To compliment Manectric, I chose perhaps the two hardest hitting u-turners outside of genesect. Both get a stab boost from it and are solid hitters on their own

Next were hazards. because it was a momentum team i didn't want to be wasting turns using stealth rock so i went with a specially defensive espeon to bounce hazards and statuses back to their senders and hold my control of the game

Next up I enlisted prankster tornadus to taunt stall-mons and to hit hard with acrobatics, in addition to being another u turn user

last came goodra, as a leech seed and spore absorber, in addition to being an unstoppable special wall with max Special Defense and an assault vest.

Early Changes:
I changed espeon to a screener along with providing wish support in order to provide more support for the teams multiple switches and lack of recovery

Goodra's ev's were moved from SpD to SpA in order to give him far better wall breaking abilities while the assault vest kept his SpD at obnoxious levels.

Next Changes

I exchanged tornadus for rotom-w to give my team some much needed additional physical bulk while retaining a very nice ground immunity. he also gives the team a more passive physical check with will-o-wisp

The last change saw xatu replace espeon as the teams magic bouncer. Access to u-turn, in addition to the ability to spread paralysis, which rotom and scizor both appreaciate gave him much more funtionality momentumwise than espeon


The Team

Simba the Manectric
Intimidate @Manectite
252 SpA/252 Spe/4 SpD
Timid nature

-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power Ice
-Overheat

perhaps my favorite mega, this guy does not receive enough love. Volt Switch is the main attack, dealing damage and forcing switches, while thunderbolt provides a more powerful stab for the end of games. HP ice OHKOs gliscor, and just barely comes short with landorus and garchomp. Overheat is used over flamethrower to guarentee the OHKO on Excadrill and bulky lucario, and with volt switch the SpA drop isn't to big a deal.

Bullet Ant the Scizor
Technician Choice Band
252 Atk/252 Hp/4 SpD
Adamant Nature

-U-Turn
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower
-Knock Off

Along with greninja, scizor is one of the only pokemon that can do any real damage with u-turn, which is why i use him. Choice band makes him hit ridiculously hard. Bullet punch gives priority late game cleaning, and a check to fairy types, while superpower hits steel switches for enormous damage. Knock off, with its huge boost in gen 6, has become a staple on any team, and, although it isn't used often, my team is no exception and there really aren't many better users of it than a choice banded scizor.

Naruto the Greninja
Protean (no item)
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Jolly Nature

-U-turn
-Acrobatics
-Waterfall
-Shadow Sneak

I absolutely love physical greninja. Despite a slightly underwhelming attack stat of 95, it is only 8 points lower than his special attack and is made up for by the suprise factor and the fact that he gets stab on every attack. The lack of an item lets him switch into knock offs, while returning fire with acrobatics. Waterfall covers fire and rock, primarily Heatran, which it can OHKO. Shadow sneak gives priority and, with some prediction, and immunity to a previously super effective fighting move. (particularly useful against Conkeldurr). U-turn used by greninja can do some significant damage, and is vital to the flow of the team.

Marshmellow the Goodra
Sap sipper @Assault Vest
252 HP/252 SpA/4 Def
Modest Nature

-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Ice Beam
-Earthquake

I'm pretty sure assault vest was invented for Goodra. With an uninvested SpD of 336, assault vest pushes that to ridiculous levels while his ev investment can turn him into a beast of a tank. Plus the fact that he can only use attacking moves isn't a big deal considering he has no recovery and his support movepool isn't that great. Anyway, moveset. Draco Meteor with max evs and a modest nature is an absolute nuke, picking off any weakened pokemon in his way. Fire blast provides coverage for steel resists and some fairies, but usually I dont leave goodra in looking at a fairy switch anyway. Ice beam provides a second option for opposing dragons when i don't want the SpA drop right away, while earthquake gives goodra a way to 2HKO special heatran, which the team can struggle with, and is boosted by Sap Sipper when coming into a leech seed or spore.

Oracle the Xatu
Magic Bounce Leftovers
248 Hp/200 Def/60 Spe
Impish Nature

-U-turn
-Roost
-Thunder Wave
-Night Shade

My magic bouncers main job is to keep hazards off of my side of the field, not spend a lot of time on it, and xatu performs that task exceptionally with u-turn. Roost Provides him reliable recovery, night shade gives him a way to break most subs and do a bit of damage to opposing tanks or physical attackers. Thunder wave is a great utility move for the team, slowing down faster offensive switch-ins that come in on xatu really helps the effectiveness of Scizor, Goodra, and Rotom.

Rinse Cycle the Rotom-W
Levitate @Chesto Berry
252 Hp/160 Def/92 SpD/4 SpA
Calm Nature

-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Rest
-Will-O-Wisp

The Ev spread makes rotom a great bulky pivot, able to sponge hits and then either burn physical attackers or hit and run with volt switch. Hydro pump is used for super effective damage against the ground switches that he sees so often, while chesto-rest gives him a reboot late in games, which can frustrate players who have taken the entire game to try to wear Rotom down, something that is no easy task in the first place with all the switching that happens. In additon, after use, it makes rotom yet another sponger of the ever-present knock off.

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-89946173

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-89935444

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-89878459

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-89927859

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-90101569

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-90106401

threats (no order)

Choice scarfed excadrill and garchomp can both present some trouble for the team with their high power and ability to outspeed manectric

Volcarona, after a couple of quiver dances can pose serious threats. its threat has eased scince the addtion of xatu and his ability to paralyze volcarona so greninja can outspeed and tear it up with acrobatics

Jolteon- absorbs volt switches and is blindingly fast

Thunderous-t- another volt switch immunity that hits hard

Closing notes

I came a bit late to gen 6 because i was busy living in the past with B/W, and it took me a while to figure out playing without weather, but this team really is great to play with. As i got used to playing with prediction and with intelligence, my success rate with it has only improved. It is, without question, the funnest team i have built for gen 6.

thanks for reading and please post any comments or suggestions you have as I would be happy to hear them.

 

[RoyRenard]

Well, I have been playing with a Volt-Turn team myself for a while (my main team was Volt-Turn, until Genesect was banned, recently). Back in the day, I used to make some mistakes that I see you're also making.

• First of all: lacking Stealth Rock/entry hazards in general is a big NO in Volt-Turn teams, because momentum controlling causes your opponent to constantly switch Pokémon out and the passive damage that entry hazards rack up really helps to beat down the opposing team. Sure, you have Xatu, but the problem is that you're trying to use it as some sort of "Rapid Spinner and Hazard setter" at the same time by trying to anticipate your opponent's hazard setting, which is extremely unreliable. Xatu is not exactly a bulky Pokémon, so you can't count on it to always be there to keep hazards out, as your opponent can easily make a good prediction and attack instead of setting hazards/status. Also, the range of Pokémon that can set Stealth Rock is huge, and some of them are truly unpredictable, so, well... I'd stick to the traditional method and carry someone who can lay, at least, Stealth Rock. Landorus-T is great, as he can contribute to the Volt-Turn core, creates a double Intimidate core with M-Manectric and is also an outstanding answer to physical attackers in general, to which your team doesn't seem to be that solid against, bar Rotom-W.
  
• Second: making your entire team carry U-Turn seems like a good idea in paper, but in practice, it really isn't that great. Many Pokémon (such as Xatu, in this case) aren't made to use U-Turn at all. It does a laughable amount of damage (unless it hits a Celebi or Malamar, lol) and the possible benefit of maintaining momentum is not really worth it. It's best to put those Pokémon's moveslots to better use. In general, for a Volt-Turn team to work well, you want 3 to 4 Volt-Turn users. 5 or 6 is overkill and will generally result in a lack of offensive prowess.
• Third: Volt-Turn teams work with the idea of wearing down your opponent's defenses via repeated hits and hazard damage, but once you face a wall or particularly bulky pivot, you will struggle A LOT to deal with it. I noticed that, when your opponent brought something like a Rotom-W you had to rely on Burn-stalling and engaging in a Rotom vs Rotom matchup in order to get past through it. You really need, at least, one set-up sweeper to put the nail in the coffin, clean up the opposing team you managed to weaken throughout the whole match and apply some pressure to your opponent's defenses. I used to have M-Lucario in my Volt-Turn team, which worked wonderfully, but since he is now banned, you can test how things work with different sweepers: from DD Dragonite, to SD Talonflame. Just remember to keep it safe from harm until its counters and checks have been eradicted.
• That set with Greninja doesn't look good at all. Even if you leave it without an item on purpose in order to mitigate Knock Off, Greninja's typing already resists it; however, I would say that M-Manectric can tank it much better with Intimidate, although neither M-Manectric or Greninja are supposed to come in on anything that is yet to hit (unless you're completely sure that they're gonna resist the attack) because both are extremely fragile and are just meant for revenge killing or scouting via their Volt-Turn move. Furthermore, Greninja has pretty terrible stats (apart from its Speed), so it needs as much power as possible. Sacrificing a Life Orb or an Expert Belt in order to get 110 BP on Acrobatics is not worth it at all. If you want a powerful STAB Flying attack, use Talonflame, whose Choice Band set, by the way, works pretty well in a Volt-Turn core, and its Brave Bird is able to OHKO or 2HKO most of the metagame. Otherwise, I would suggest a Life Orb Greninja with any other option but Acrobatics. Also, since you're already using an unorthodox physical set on him, you might want to try out Water Shuriken as a revenge killing option; you will pick off unsuspecting Pokémon that are weak to it (such as Talonflame).
• Goodra doesn't convince me as a non-VoltTurn member. Yeah, it's bulky on the special side, but it's very easy to wear him down and then it's easy prey for most physical attackers. Personally, I'd rather go for a set-up sweeper or a utility/support Pokémon. I used to have Mandibuzz as some sort of Special Wall that provided Defog support, tanked a lot of hits for the team and contributed with a variety of tools that go from Toxic, to Whirlwind and Foul Play. If you decide to go for a more offensive approach instead, you can try out Defoggers like Latios or Latias.

 

[thenextred]

thanks for your advice, let me respond

1- I have found i completley agree with bringing in a stealth rocker, so i've been experimenting with a few different options and it helps profusely. Definently a good idea.

2- I'm not sure im convinced on removing xatu's U-turn, as his moveset is so barren, other than psychic or psyschock there aren't many attacks to put in that spot. night shade is what is used for damage anyway, and his role isn't to bring down opposing threats, just to frustrate hazard setters, which u-turn lets him do just fine. Greninja and scizor both do great damage with u turn, and as such it doesn't weaken them at all, in particular with greninja being able to change moves at will.

3- bulky pivots like rotom really haven't been anything that even comes close to a problem. they commonly switch in on scizor, who does huge damage to them with either sper power or u-turn, allowing my rotom to come in, take the meaningless will-o-wisp, and keep all momentum in my favor.

4- regarding greninja, i would have to straight up disagree. I would agree that at first glance he doesn't appear overly threatening, but seriously the guy is perhaps the best poke on my team, bar none.

5- I am still luke warm on goodra. He has been the replaced pokemon while experimenting with hazard setters, but i still think that the grass immunity and general wall breaking ability is something that is hard to replace, but I do understand your point 100%. I've had a few others trying out his place on the team, and it really is the spot that i'm currently most uncertain on.

Thanks agian for the comment and advice. I appreciate it.

 

[RowDog]

To replace Goodra perhaps you could try a Garchomp set with Stealth Rock. With quite reasonable bulk even when uninvested, an annoying ability for the opponent in Rough Skin and some very strong hits in its STABs, I could see it complimenting the team well. As for the Grass type problems your answer to that should be in Xatu who can deflect all grass status and resists grass moves. For Garchomp you might want to experiment with maybe a SD, DD or Scarf set with SR sup. Hope this helps.

 

[thenextred]

RowDog: yeah good idea. I'll try that out. thanks