So, I haven't played Shoddy Battle in a while but I was bored one day and decided to start playing again. Most of my teams have been primarily offensive but I was dissatisfied with their consistency. I'm an aggro player at heart so I don't want to go with pure stall - I want to find a balance.
Team Preview
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The Lead
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Defense / 216 Speed
~Taunt
~Stealth Rock
~Earthquake
~U-Turn
Why Gliscor?
I chose Gliscor as my lead for several reasons.
Stealth Rock is an important move, wearing down opponents and dealing hefty damage to threats such as Gyarados and Salamence on the switch.
Taunt shuts down slower opposing leads such as Swampert and Metagross and even Roserade, which cannot outspeed Gliscor and hit it with Sleep Powder without Choice Scarf. Gliscor even outspeeds lead Dragon Dance Gyarados. Taunt is great late-game, and with Gliscor's bulk, it can prevent Status and set up for a long time.
U-Turn is a fantastic move for any lead, allowing Gliscor to break Focus Sashes and switch to the appropriate counter after Stealth Rock or Taunt has been set up. Having these three moves makes Gliscor a great lead, and its weaknesses are covered by Suicune (Water/Ice) and Latias (Water) while it has resistances and immunities to Ground and Electric and its resistance to Fighting are appreciated by Lucario, Suicune, and Porygon2.
Earthquake is a basic STAB attack move; not much to say there.
The Status Absorber
Suicune @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Defense / 6 Speed
~Surf
~Calm Mind
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
Why Suicune?
Suicune covers Gliscor's weaknesses well, and not only is it tough to bring down thanks to its typing, stats, and its healing move Rest, but it can be a serious threat, too, after multiple Calm Minds. Suicune serves as a set up sweeper, Status Absorber, and general physical wall.
The Best and Cutest Pokemon Evar
Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Defense / 40 Special Attack
~Thunderbolt
~Ice Beam
~Recover
~Toxic
Why Poygon2?
Trace allows Porygon2 to switch into Gyarados and Salamence and Intimidate them. Trace allows Porygon2 to switch into Heatran and Jolteon and, hell, even Vaporeon, and negate their STAB attacks. It's also naturally bulky, so even when it isn't stealing defensive abilities, it's hard to take down. With Recover, only a supremely powerful attack can crush Porygon 2. Toxic allows me to wear down other Pokemon while Recovering off the damage. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are a great attack combination and allow Porygon2 to actually defeat the Pokemon it defends my team from.
The Physical Sweeper
Lucario @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 6 HP
~Close Combat
~Extremespeed
~Crunch
~Swords Dance
Why Lucario?
I had to make a decision between Lucario and Scizor.
Scizor has an amazing priority attack, STAB U-turn, and Pursuit, which is occasionally amazing but often untouched.
Lucario has a decent priority attack, STAB Close Combat, and Crunch. It also has higher base speed at the cost of (In my opinion) much worse typing (Being weak to fire, fighting, and ground instead of just fire.)
In the end, I decided to go with Lucario because I wanted a strong, reliable STAB Fighting move to take care of Tyranitar. Also, I didn't want too many Choicers, and Lucario is my preferred Swords Dancer.
The Special Sweeper
Latias @ Life Orb
Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed / 6 HP
~Draco Meteor
~Surf
~Grass Knot
~Recover
Why Latias
Latias has good synergy with 5/6 of my team, being able to resist weaknesses all over the board. Rotom and Latias share weaknesses, unfortunately, but with Lucario on board carrying Close Combat and Rotom being Scarfed and able to outspeed other Ghosts, I don't feel too uncomfortable with that. I chose a Modest nature over Timid because I've always felt unsatisfied with Latias's damage output (Even with Life Orb) and because honestly, the situations where I'll need Timid are few and far between (And I've never had the luck to win speed ties anyway.) Overall I felt the extra power would be more beneficial than the extra speed. I chose GK over TBolt because I have enough Electricity already and wanted to be able to deal with unsuspecting Ice packing Swamperts.
The Revenge Killer
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed
~Thunderbolt
~Shadow Ball
~Overheat
~Trick
Why Rotom-H?
Rotom H has key immunities to Fighting and Ground as well as Normal, making it an excellent switch in. Overheat gives me a check to Scizor, while Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball are solid STAB moves. Trick is fantastic for crippling Pokemon such as Blissey, severely limiting their versatility and utility roles while scoring some Leftovers for my Rotom.
Rotom's primary role is as a revenge killer but with Trick to steal Leftovers and it's typing and ability, it can function defensively as well.
So here's the team. I'm pretty rusty and I've never been a very good team builder so I could use some advice! I am not particularly set on any one Pokemon other than Porygon2. I really, really like Porygon2. But all suggestions are warmly welcomed! Thanks :)
Team Preview
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lead
Gliscor @ Leftovers
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Defense / 216 Speed
~Taunt
~Stealth Rock
~Earthquake
~U-Turn
Why Gliscor?
I chose Gliscor as my lead for several reasons.
Stealth Rock is an important move, wearing down opponents and dealing hefty damage to threats such as Gyarados and Salamence on the switch.
Taunt shuts down slower opposing leads such as Swampert and Metagross and even Roserade, which cannot outspeed Gliscor and hit it with Sleep Powder without Choice Scarf. Gliscor even outspeeds lead Dragon Dance Gyarados. Taunt is great late-game, and with Gliscor's bulk, it can prevent Status and set up for a long time.
U-Turn is a fantastic move for any lead, allowing Gliscor to break Focus Sashes and switch to the appropriate counter after Stealth Rock or Taunt has been set up. Having these three moves makes Gliscor a great lead, and its weaknesses are covered by Suicune (Water/Ice) and Latias (Water) while it has resistances and immunities to Ground and Electric and its resistance to Fighting are appreciated by Lucario, Suicune, and Porygon2.
Earthquake is a basic STAB attack move; not much to say there.
The Status Absorber
Suicune @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Defense / 6 Speed
~Surf
~Calm Mind
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
Why Suicune?
Suicune covers Gliscor's weaknesses well, and not only is it tough to bring down thanks to its typing, stats, and its healing move Rest, but it can be a serious threat, too, after multiple Calm Minds. Suicune serves as a set up sweeper, Status Absorber, and general physical wall.
The Best and Cutest Pokemon Evar
Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Defense / 40 Special Attack
~Thunderbolt
~Ice Beam
~Recover
~Toxic
Why Poygon2?
Trace allows Porygon2 to switch into Gyarados and Salamence and Intimidate them. Trace allows Porygon2 to switch into Heatran and Jolteon and, hell, even Vaporeon, and negate their STAB attacks. It's also naturally bulky, so even when it isn't stealing defensive abilities, it's hard to take down. With Recover, only a supremely powerful attack can crush Porygon 2. Toxic allows me to wear down other Pokemon while Recovering off the damage. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are a great attack combination and allow Porygon2 to actually defeat the Pokemon it defends my team from.
The Physical Sweeper
Lucario @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 6 HP
~Close Combat
~Extremespeed
~Crunch
~Swords Dance
Why Lucario?
I had to make a decision between Lucario and Scizor.
Scizor has an amazing priority attack, STAB U-turn, and Pursuit, which is occasionally amazing but often untouched.
Lucario has a decent priority attack, STAB Close Combat, and Crunch. It also has higher base speed at the cost of (In my opinion) much worse typing (Being weak to fire, fighting, and ground instead of just fire.)
In the end, I decided to go with Lucario because I wanted a strong, reliable STAB Fighting move to take care of Tyranitar. Also, I didn't want too many Choicers, and Lucario is my preferred Swords Dancer.
The Special Sweeper
Latias @ Life Orb
Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed / 6 HP
~Draco Meteor
~Surf
~Grass Knot
~Recover
Why Latias
Latias has good synergy with 5/6 of my team, being able to resist weaknesses all over the board. Rotom and Latias share weaknesses, unfortunately, but with Lucario on board carrying Close Combat and Rotom being Scarfed and able to outspeed other Ghosts, I don't feel too uncomfortable with that. I chose a Modest nature over Timid because I've always felt unsatisfied with Latias's damage output (Even with Life Orb) and because honestly, the situations where I'll need Timid are few and far between (And I've never had the luck to win speed ties anyway.) Overall I felt the extra power would be more beneficial than the extra speed. I chose GK over TBolt because I have enough Electricity already and wanted to be able to deal with unsuspecting Ice packing Swamperts.
The Revenge Killer
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed
~Thunderbolt
~Shadow Ball
~Overheat
~Trick
Why Rotom-H?
Rotom H has key immunities to Fighting and Ground as well as Normal, making it an excellent switch in. Overheat gives me a check to Scizor, while Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball are solid STAB moves. Trick is fantastic for crippling Pokemon such as Blissey, severely limiting their versatility and utility roles while scoring some Leftovers for my Rotom.
Rotom's primary role is as a revenge killer but with Trick to steal Leftovers and it's typing and ability, it can function defensively as well.
So here's the team. I'm pretty rusty and I've never been a very good team builder so I could use some advice! I am not particularly set on any one Pokemon other than Porygon2. I really, really like Porygon2. But all suggestions are warmly welcomed! Thanks :)
