Team Power Play

[Flashrider57]

Hello, I'm Flashrider57, and this is my first RMT. I'm a bit new to 5th Gen, so after a hiatus from Pokemon, I decided to get back into competitive battling. I was pretty good at both OU and UU in 4th Gen (especially my favorite 4th Gen UU team, which was pretty beast...), so it took quite a while to get used to the new fifth gen. However, I was able to grasp the main ideas after using a couple teams, and I decided to make a truly competitive team, which I now present to you.

The team is based around SubPunch Conkeldurr, a Pokemon that ends up surprising a lot of people who haven't faced it before. It's supported offensively by a CM+Roar Latias, Banded Azumarill, and Scarfed Hydreigon, which has proven to be very useful. The team is held together by a defensive glue of Porygon2 and Celebi, who are able to check a surprising amount of OU Pokemon.

Team Building Process:

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After a lot of testing, I decided to build my team around a set that I have been interested in but never got the chance to use: SubPunch Conkeldurr. It seemed interesting enough, and I hadn't seen many people use it, so I gave it a shot.

Next, I needed a Pokemon to support Conkeldurr, and it made sense to use a Calm Minder to complement Conkeldurr's physical dominance. Virizion worked well for me in the past, and it matches up well with Conkeldurr, so I included it on my team.

Hydreigon seemed an interesting choice for my team, seeing how it could kill faster opponents that caused problems for my other members, and its power would allow me to eliminate Lati@s and the other dragons, so I chose a Choice Scarf version to use on my team.

A defensive "glue" is essential for any offensive team, and mine's no different, so I looked for potential members. Porygon2 had caused me problems in the past, and its analysis said that it could take hits from multiple Pokemon. Deciding that it was a no-brainer, Porygon2 joined my ranks.

I realized that if my team was to succeed, it needed some serious support, including Dual Screens and entry hazards. Plus, I had a problem with Fighting-types, since Virizion can't handle them forever. Xatu seemed the perfect choice for this role, thanks to his access to both screens and Magic Bounce, and I was left with only one more spot to fill!

Now here came the tricky part for building my team. I needed another attacker (preferably a physical one to balance it out), but I needed a check to attackers commonly found on Sandstorm teams, specifically Excadrill, Landorus, and Terrakion. I couldn't really think of anything that would have worked at first, so I began to think how much easier it was to make a team during my time in 4th Gen UU. Suddenly, it hit me: CB Azumarill. Not only did it fill the requirements that I listed, but it fulfilled the role of a true bulky attacker, which I really needed but didn't think about. And finally my team was finished.

After some constructive commenting, I did some testing with a couple of Pokemon. Eventually, I decided to switch out Xatu for a CM+Roar Latias, which had proven effective during my testing. However, I then decided that Virizion was the weak link of my team, and I started looking for replacements. I realized that I needed a solid check to Rain teams and Fighting-types, as well as a cleric and a good defensive partner to Porygon2. Celebi fit this description, so I tried her out over Virizion. I soon decided that she was a good choice for my team.

http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/e/eb/380.png

THE TEAM:

Azumarill@Choice Band
Huge Power
Adamant Nature
232 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD
-Aqua Jet
-Waterfall
-Superpower
-Ice Punch

Azumarill has surprised me in many ways, but what is most shocking is how essential he has become to my team. He functions as my team's bulky physical attacker, check to common Sandstorm sweepers, and my lead. And yes, you read that last bit correctly. He absolutely destroys many Pokemon that people like to lead with, such as Choiced Politoed, Tyranitar, and DD Dragonite (the last of which I don't understand why people lead with it...), and its ability to switch into many attacks makes it much easier for it to defeat opponents. I don't really see any reason to change this spot on my team.

Hydreigon@Choice Scarf
Levitate
Timid Nature
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Focus Blast
-U-Turn

Hydreigon is my team's revenge-killer, and he serves his role brilliantly. Whenever one of my team members goes down, chances are that Hydreigon can kill the culprit. He's also pretty good at taking down Dragon-types that my team has trouble with, specifically Lati@s, and U-Turn is very useful for regaining momentum at times. If I'm in a pinch, he serves as my offensive "panic button", in case I need for him to switch in and kill something IMMEDIATELY. There are a couple times when I feel that he's a liability, usually because of his typing, and I wish I had a Dragonite instead. However, I am still glad that he has helped out my team regardless, and I am willing to overlook his shortcomings in favor of his benefits to my team.

Latias@Leftovers
Levitate
Timid Nature
252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
-Calm Mind
-Dragon Pulse
-Roar
-Recover

Latias is overshadowed by Latios in most regards, but I've discovered how effective her Calm Mind set can be, and I'm surprised at how easily she can take out opponents. On my team, she functions as my main special sweeper and phazer. I've chosen Roar over Hidden Power Fire because she deals with stat-boosters and Substitute users that would otherwise cause problems for my team. While testing her, both my opponent and myself were surprised at how easily she could take even Super Effective hits after a couple of Calm Minds. Overall, I'm pleased I chose to test her out and place her on my team, and I'm looking forward to future battles with her.

Conkeldurr@Leftovers
Guts
Adamant Nature
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
-Substitute
-Focus Punch
-Mach Punch
-Payback

Here's the star of the show. SubPunch Conkeldurr isn't that common, but I've learned from my time with him that he is quite devastating, especially if you know how to use him. Since Substitute helps to scout out the opponent while providing some protection, Conkeldurr can defeat more opponents with his power. A Focus Punch off of him destroys so many opponents, while Payback is chosen to defeat Ghost-types and Psychic-types. Unfortunately, he needs quite a bit of support, but thankfully the other members of my team provide enough of it for him to successfully attack and defeat enemies. I am glad I built my team around him, and he is here to stay.

Porygon2@Eviolite
Trace
Bold Nature
252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
-Discharge
-Ice Beam
-Toxic
-Recover

Porygon2 is so freaking bulky that it's not even funny. Seriously, Porygon2 has taken so many hits and survived, and he serves as one of the best checks to the majority of the OU metagame that I have ever seen. Not only does it serve my team as a bulky defender, but he's also my team's status spreader and, in a pinch, a backup special attacker. He can also stall opponents out if I need to, but I mainly use him to check troublesome opponents such as Heatran, Vaporeon, and Chandelure. Porygon2 is invaluable to my team, and I will not accept any substitutes for him.

Celebi@Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold Nature
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
-Heal Bell
-Giga Drain
-Psychic
-Recover

Celebi is an odd choice on my team, but she fulfills her role pretty well nevertheless. As my cleric, Fighting-type and rain check (no, not because I'm rained out...I know, horrible joke...), and occasional staller all rolled into one, she's helped me out in a couple dire situations while also helping the rest of my team sweep my opponent. Because I needed her to fill a number of roles, I decided to make a set custom-built to serve my needs. Heal Bell is essential on my team, as it would otherwise have trouble with status, especially Toxic, while Giga Drain allows me to hurt Water-types such as Politoed and restore some HP. Psychic destroys Fighting-type opponents such as Conkeldurr, Toxicroak, and Machamp, while also giving me a good way to hurt Tentacruel (Liquid Ooze makes Giga Drain a bad idea...). Finally, Recover gives Celebi a reliable healing move outside of Giga Drain, and the combination of Recover and Heal Bell allows me to stall out the opponent when I need to. I have considered putting Stealth Rock on this set, but I am usually able to go without entry hazards, so it isn't much of an issue. However, I would appreciate help on the EVs and nature, because I want Celebi to be able to check both Fighting-types and Rain more effectively.

Problems for my team (well, the ones I can remember...):

Mamoswine-Thankfully, it isn't really common, but it absolutely destroys my team. My only real check is Azumarill, but I have to be careful with switching it in...

Tentacruel-Ick...my team gives it multiple opportunities to switch in and set up Toxic Spikes. If I can eliminate it quickly, though, it's no big deal.

Entry Hazards- I can usually play around them, so they aren't really a big deal.

Well, that's my first RMT. Rate, hate, steal, whatever you like. If there's any problems that I missed, please point them out to me, and I'll see how I can correct it. Thanks!

 

[Flashrider57]

Bump. Don't be turned off by the name of the team...

 

[Aerrow]

Hey Flashrider, cool team you have here; pity it hasn't seen more attention as it looks like a fun team to play with! Anyhow, it looks like this team will have trouble with Reuniclus (both CM and TR), like you said, and it also seems like this team will have trouble dealing with rain teams, as most rain teams have multiple ways of outmaneuvering your two main checks to rain, Virizion and Hydreigon. To be honest it seems like Xatu is nothing more than dead weight on this team; so i suggest replacing it with something more useful - Calm Mind + Roar Latias. Not only will Latias help deal with Reuniclus courtesy of its high bulk, typing, and special defense, but it'll also give you another method to handle rain teams. I hope this has helped, and good luck!

Calm Mind + Roar Latias

Latias @ Leftovers
Nature: Timid | Ability: Levitate
252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Roar

 

[Delko]

Hi Flashrider57

I notice a couple of things about your team. Firstly, you're going to have a hard time dealing with strong physical attackers. Terrakion, Excadrill, Conkeldurr will prove difficult to switch into. Although you can revenge kill the former 2 with Azumarril and Conkeldurr, you lack a solid switch-in. You also lack a Stealth Rock user and you shouldn't trust in Xatu for that.
You can fix the first problem by running Gliscor instead of Xatu, who is the least useful member on your team. Gliscor will provide you with a solid resist against physical sweepers while the Taunt + Sword Dance moveset also completely screws over stall. Ice Fang and Earthquake will work as the offensive moves. you can also try Protect over Taunt if you ever find yourself in need of the extra bit of Poison Heal recovery. An EV spread of 244 HP / 176 Def / 88 Spe will suffice.

If you take my Gliscor suggestion you can also replace Porygon2 with Forretress. Forretress will provide your team with entry hazards and spin support. A moveset of Spikes / Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Volt Switch is a pretty standard but solid one. You can replace one of your hazards for Gyro Ball though if you need a more solid offensive move. Volt Switch will give you switch advantage but it also 2HKO's Gyarados who could be a problem otherwise if you replace Porygon2. For EV's you could go for an easy Max HP / Max Def one although you can still tweak it a bit 'till it fits your liking.

The Latias suggested by Aerrow can work extremely well with the changes I suggested. A phazer with SR and Spikes support is helpful.

Hope these suggestions helped and good luck with the team.

 

[Flashrider57]

@Aerrow: CM+Roar Latias was actually the first thing that popped into my head when I considered possible sets...I've also discovered that my team has trouble with Baton Pass teams, which your suggested set should help with...I'll test it out!

@Delko: I'll try out Gliscor over Xatu (just saying, I didn't ever say Xatu was my least useful member on my team...if anything, I implied that Hydreigon was the weakest...). I have had problems now and then with Landorus, so that should be an extra bonus. However, I am VERY reluctant about the "Forretress over Porygon2" idea. To be honest, I haven't found Forretress (both Physically and Specially Defensive) to be very useful, as he usually ends up being dead weight on my team, while also being set-up bait for a number of Pokemon. Plus, Porygon2 has been VERY useful on my team, and he's actually checked Gyarados fairly well due to Trace. In fact, he basically holds the team together, while I honestly can't say the same for Forretress. I'll test out your suggestion nevertheless, but don't expect the Forretress idea to work too well.

EDIT: Latias is doing excellent, although I sometimes wish I had Xatu (ONLY because of Magic Bounce...). Now testing Forretress...

EDIT2: No to Forretress...I need Porygon2...also(with a bit of irony), I just got screwed over by a Gyarados (with Thunder Wave)...now I'll test out Gliscor...

 

[Flashrider57]

Here's a combination of a bump and update. A couple of things I've done:

-Stuck with "Team Power Play" as my team's name
-Replaced Xatu with CM+Roar Latias
-Replaced Virizion with a custom set Celebi

I would appreciate more rates, as well as some input on Celebi's EVs and Nature. Thanks!

 

[BKC]

This team would really benefit from entry hazard support. Your Latias works best with spikes on the field so that with a well-timed Roar, you can make its counters (Jirachi, Tyranitar, Scizor) take a ton of damage on the switch-in and then be immediately forced out to take even more damage when they switch back in. Since they won't be too eager to come right back after they've seen Roar, they'll often sacrifice a Pokemon so that they can get their counter in safely, and that's one less Pokemon standing in the way of your win. This adds up to an extremely easy late-game Latias sweep. Scarf Hydreigon also works well with hazard support, since it allows him to abuse U-turn to its fullest.

So, you need a hazard setter. The most reliable one in the game is Ferrothorn and I think he would work well over Celebi - since they both have grass typing, your synergy will remain mostly the same. The lack of a spin blocker may seem off-putting but spinners are very rare nowadays, and the most common one, Excadrill, is very hard to block against because of its powerful Earthquake that 2HKOs every ghost in the game. If the lack of a ghost really bothers you, try Jellicent over Azumarill - again, their similar typing means your synergy changes as little as possible. The sets are -

Ferrothorn
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
move 4: Power Whip
nature: Relaxed
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
---
Jellicent (optional)
- Scald / Surf
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe

Good luck with the team.