INTRODUCTION
The team that I am about to present has been one of my more successful teams as of date. Overall it has been extremely enjoyable to use, surprisingly managed to beat most of the threats in today's metagame, and was very well built. This team's main theme is to be based around the very effective and deadly strategy of abusing toxic spikes, which in today's metagame can be easy to abuse since the most prominent steel types have taken a "fall of grace" so to speak and now many teams consist of a simple fire/water/grass core. The abuse of toxic spikes come at a pretty underrated threat in today's metagame, as many of the pokemon in the common cores such as Celebi, Vaporeon, and Suicune are practically crippled just by switching into toxic spikes. This team is also based around one of my favorite anime series of all time, Bleach. Each of the pokemon on the team will be named after a character from the anime as well as the RMT basically being themed around the it. With the right support, abusing toxic spikes is one of the most effective strategies out there right now.
I have seen a few different teams that have been based around abusing Toxic Spikes, but so far it is a strategy that really hasn't been recognized due to the metagame previously being ruled by steel types. Now I feel that this strategy will take to the stage as Toxic Spikes is beginning to gain more viability today because of the aforementioned fire/water/grass cores that have been popping up all over the place due to Salamence being banned. I haven't really laddered with this team much up until now because I have yet to work out the few kinks and bugs that I think are still prominent in it. I have tested this team pretty extensively, it isn't defeated very easily and has only lost to the occasional hax ridden match.
Since this team has much of the right synergy and support to function correctly, it has turned out to work extremely well in testing. Many of the pokemon that can give this team trouble are played around for the most part. Since the banning of Salamence has occurred and practically a new metagame resulting for this, I really had to think about the new and uprising threats such as Heatran and Shaymin that have taken the limelight today.
After a first draft of this team was completed, I just had to modify the team so that it checked many of the threats in the overused metagame. Therefore, I will go on to state how I built this team and how I started to check threats that I hadn't realized were there before.
At first, when I decided that I needed a new team to adapt to the new threats in the metagame, I was thinking to myself what are the biggest threats that have resulted from the Salamence ban. The first thing that came to mind was that with Heatran being 37% in usage, in suspect as of June, it was definitely going to be a threat to contend with. Then I thought about Infernape and Shaymin giving the metagame a whole new look. I had then decided that I would use Calm Mind Jirachi, as even in a metagame in which Heatran roams on almost every team, Calm Mind Jirachi could still check major threats such as Gyarados and Suicune. Then I had realized that Toxic Spikes greatly benefits Calm Mind Jirachi since it allows to it stall out many pokemon. Finally it came upon me that a lot more of the metagame is effected by Toxic Spikes, so this strategy turned out to be perfect.
During a discussion with my friend, Fried Rhys, on how I should abuse toxic spikes in this team, he helped me make a rough draft of this team. I started to build the team with the common core of Tyranitar / Vaporeon / Gliscor, then I noticed some of the holes that were very prominent in those three pokemon, including Anti Lead Machamp and Offensive Suicune, to an extent. To fix my problem with Anti-Lead Machamp, a very common lead today, I added Rest Talk Gyarados over Vaporeon. Gyarados, with the particular rest talk set is able to switch into stealth rocks five times and it also checks Heatran and Infernape, bar Swords Dance Infernapes with Stone Edge, and is able to phaze and abuse entry hazards as well. The only bad thing about this is that I lose a very good check to Gyarados, besides Jirachi, and I also lose a bit of synergy; however the offensive synergy between Tyranitar and Gyarados, and Gyarados and Jirachi made up for it. Now I noticed since I had a lot of entry hazards as the primary strategy for this team I would need a spin blocker, and what better spin blocker is there besides Rotom? I decided that this Rotom would be a substitute charge beam Rotom because it is an excellent spin blocker, can abuse toxic spikes, and further break stall which is very helpful. I had noticed that I lacked something very important, an actual pokemon that can lay up Toxic Spikes. I thought about using Forry in the mix however I realized that Roserade would fit much better as for this team, having Toxic Spikes up right from the beginning of the match, in most cases was much better than midgame setup. After I put Roserade on this team I noticed I lacked a few crucial elements in this team, Stealth Rocks which was very important to check the new threat, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and a good switch in to Tyranitar. Fitting in this role very nicely was Swampert over the original Gliscor due to the fact that Swampert supports Roserade in some leads that it has trouble getting Toxic Spikes up against such as Jirachi and Infernape. After adding Swampert the team was Roserade / Swampert / Tyranitar / Rotom / Gyarados / Jirachi.
At first I had debated whether or not to use a Choice Scarfed Tyranitar or a more Specially Defensive Tyranitar. Choiced Scarf Tyranitar gave me at least once choiced revenge killer, albeit being a bit slow, and could check huge threats such as Gengar, Azelf, Rotom, Infernape, Heatran, and many more. When Scarfed Tyranitar was very popular when Latias was still overused, I had always enjoyed using it because it was a very easy fix to special sweepers and gave me nice sandstorm support, which happens to fit very nicely on this team.
The main playstyle of this team is mainly "stall based balance" or semi-stall which is really my favorite style of play and has served me well in many of my matches. You need to be able to predict decently to beat some major threats, as well as use a nice balance of stall in your team which I always liked. This is mostly a slow paced team, with two phazers, a set up sweeper, a slow special sponge, and a spin blocker / revenge killer. The entry hazards that are being utilized help this team immensely when setting up for an end game sweep with Calm Mind Jirachi, especially when its checks like Heatran are gone. This is the reason why I enjoy stall elements in normal teams, because they seem to just work very well.
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- Team fully supports Jirachi for making sweeping as easy as possible.
- Uses a playstyle of "stall based balance" or "semi-stall."
- Handles most of the threats in the Mence-less metagame.
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Change Log
~ Choice Scarfed Rotom > Substitute Charge Beam Rotom
~ Specially Defensive Tyranitar > Choice Scarfed Tyranitar
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In Depth
Roserade**Byakuya
Focus Sash |
Timid (+ Spe, - Atk)
4HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Natural Cure
- Sleep Powder
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Byakuya is the one of the heads of the noble familes in the Soul Society. His character may seem very humble and serene on the outside, but inside he is at war with his inner thoughts and feelings. Roserade leads off the team very successfully and her appearance looks similar to that of Byadkuya's, always seeming to be deeply conflicted and very quiet. On this team, I don't view Roserade as a suicide lead whatsoever. I usually can get up at least one layer of toxic spikes, which is usually all that is needed, and precede to bring in Swampert to lay up Stealth Rocks or Tyranitar to get the sandstorm started. Roserade provides this team with some nice resistances such as electric; however since its defense is pretty pitiful it usually can't abuse those to the fullest. Obviously, my main routine is just to sleep the opposing lead right off the bat and try to get as many layers of toxic spikes as I can early in the game. I usually try to stash this Roserade for later in the game, whether it be at full health or at a one hit point it is usually nice for midgame sleeping or just firing off a powerful leaf storm. Roserade at only one hit point makes for useful fodder since I can send it in on stealth rocks and scout of what the opponent may switch in. Most of the time, Roserade ensures one layer of Toxic Spikes which is really nice for late game and allows Jirachi to set up much easier. The EV's on the spread are really self explanatory, maximum speed which lets Roserade hit 306 speed, outrunning a lot of other common leads like Heatran and Metagross, despite the fact that most carry lum berry. Hidden Power Ice is really what I run on my Roserade nowadays, since most Heatran carry shuca berry there is no point wearing down Roserade to try and beat that. Forry and Scizor are handled easily by the rest of the team so Hidden Power Fire wasn't needed. Hidden Power Ice OHKOs Gliscor and Dragonite since most won't expect it they try to stay in and taunt or extreemespeed respectively. Sleep Powder is a staple of this set allowing Roserade to most likely cripple something the first turn of the game, and it has great late game use if Roserade happens to last that long. Leaf Storm is just for STAB and hitting Taunting leads like Azelf very hard.
Roserade fits the description of Byakuya mainly in appearance as Byakuya is very quiet and serene as Roserade appears to be; however both of these characters are ready to fight whenever the time is right, which is why Roserade fits this description very nicely. Roserade's resistances are really nice in this metagame. Electric and Water resistances are just about the best any pokemon could ask for, despite the fact that Roserade doesn't get to take advantage of them much, it is still nice to have an extra resistances to those common attacking types in the team.
As previously stated, Roserade has excellent synergy with most of the team. Roserade works nicely with Swampert and Gyarados because it resists the types that each other are weak to and vice versa making switching in much easier for the members on my team. During team building, Roserade was the second choice because I knew that Calm Mind Jirachi would have to have a pokemon to abuse Toxic Spikes and Roserade was clearly the best choice for these reasons.
This is how Roserade pairs up with the top 10 leads as of July 2010, blue means that the lead is no problem, orange means that the lead is somewhat of a problem for roserade, and red means that roserade loses to that lead a lot of the time.
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Swampert**Chad
Leftovers |
Relaxed (+ Def, -Spe)
6Atk / 252HP / 252Def
Torrent
- Stealth Rocks
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Roar
Chad, the character in Bleach that seems to be misunderstood because of his appearance. Most of the kids at the school are afraid of him because of his appearnce, towering over the other kids. Contrary to popular belief, Chad is one of the humble characters on Bleach and won't fight unless his freinds are in need. Swampert fits this description because he is the support role of the team, as is Chad in the series. Swampert is my main check to Tyranitar which can be a definite threat to this team if it is a Dragon Dancing or Choice Banded set. Swampert gives me an amazing electric immune which helps out a lot against threats like Jolteon and Zapados which are always a pain to deal with. Swampert is also the support pokemon on this team as it sets up stealth rocks and beats annoying threats such as Flygon and Dragon Dance Dragonite. Swampert is the first phazer on this team and probably the one that is most commonly phazing because pokemon such as Ninjask can be easily set up on and phazed by Swampert in the early game lead matchup. Swampert is a really nice counter to Dragon Dance Dragonite, which is one of the biggest threats in the Mence-less metagame, as it does the same in switching into most Flygon whose constant U-turning is always a problem. Also, Swampert compliments Roserade amazingly in the lead matchup being able to take many leads which Roserade can't, such as Infernape, Jirachi, and Metagross.
Stealth Rock is there for obvious reasons and helps me check major threats such as Dragonite and Gyarados. Earthquake is Swampert's main STAB move being able to hit most of the pokemon in the metagame for respectable damage such as Starmie and Metagross. Swampert usually isn't set up bait for very many pokemon in the metagame due to its amazing move, roar. Roar allows me to shuffle the opponents around and therefore further abuse toxic spikes, and also scout the opponent's switch in to an extent.
Swampert can stop some major threats that beat Jirachi as well, including Tyranitar and Heatran. Earthquake will soften up or KO both of them so that Jirachi has a much easier time sweeping with Toxic Spikes support later in the match. Swampert is seen in this team, as it is in most teams, as the supporting role, which is what Chad usually does in the Bleach series, meaning that the roles in both of their teams fit perfectly together.
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Tyranitar**Ichigo
Lum Berry |
Sassy (+SpD , - Spe)
252HP / 252SpD / 4Atk
Sandstream
- Rest
- Fire Blast
- Pursuit
- Payback
Ichigo, the main protagonist in Bleach, is originally a freshman in high school and wants to be a substitute soul reaper after discovering that he has supernatural powers. The way he acts towards his job doesn't make him a good fit for it at first; however he comes to realize the powers of being a Soul Reaper give him. Ichigo wields powers of darkness, which is mainly why he is related to Tyranitar in nature. This Tyranitar is perhaps the most important member of this team, being able to check huge threats such as Azelf, Starmie, Gengar, Jirachi, and even Heatran. Tyranitar also has the amazing ability, sandstream, which helps this team out in so many ways as well as Tyranitar itself. With sandstorm negating leftovers, stealth rock and toxic spikes being on the field, Tyranitar helps to stall out most pokemon, which is great for Jirachi to set up for a sweep mid or late game. Tyranitar takes out some big counters to Jirachi to this team, including Heatran, other high powered special attackers, that give Jirachi some major problems setting up. One of the biggest selling points to Tyranitar in my opinion is its ability to take out the ever annoying Jolteon, which a lot of my teams happen to be weak to. Even though Jolteon outspeeds Tyranitar, with Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rocks, and Sandstorm, Jolteon will be worn down very quickly.
Payback and Pursuit give Tyranitar that me a very reliable way of checking Gengar and Starmie. Although Heatran walls this set, it won't be doing enough damage that it would become a threat to Tyrantitar however revenging those threats proves to be challenging at times due to Gengar and Heatran possibly being behind a substitute.
The EVs on this set are very standard, 252 Special Defense EVs are for helping me survive Life Orbed Gengar's Focus Blast at full health. The attack EVs are just there to damage anything as much as possible since Specially Defensive Tyranitar is fairly weak as it is. The rest of the EVs are filler in Hp and it allows Tyranitar to take 4 seismic tosses from Blissey and allows me to take on Jirachi, Starmie, Jolteon, and Gengar nicely.
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Jirachi**Noba
Leftovers |
Bold (+Def , -SpA)
252HP / 220Def / 36Spe
Serene Grace
-Calm Mind
-Wish
-Psychic
-Thunderbolt
Wow, this Jirachi set is probably my favorite set since I have started playing competitive pokemon. It just sets up so easily on so many threats in the metagame that it is unbelievable. Jirachi is the prime abuser of Toxic Spikes on this team and it does an extremely good job at this role. Toxic Spikes and sandstorm, provided by Tyranitar, allows Jirachi to outstall many pokemon. Jirachi makes a really nice check to threats like Life Orb Gyarados, only taking ~72% from Life Orbed Earthquake and can easily OHKO back with Thunderbolt after Stealth Rocks. Wish Support really works nicely on this team as it allows Swampert to stay around longer, due to the fact that it has no access to reliable recovery. Noba is a very quiet and humbly character in the series, most of his characteristics are similar to that of Jirachi. Noba is very shy and hiding his face from most everyone, and he has the power to teleport himself to locations of others. He has the power to redirect physical and special based energies back at the enemy, which is what relates him to Jirachi.
Psychic and Thunderbolt have almost perfect coverage and the things that they don't hit, such as Tyranitar are easily taken out by the rest of the team. Wish is run over substitute because it allows Jirachi to act as a pseudo cleric, restoring the health of his team mates when they are in trouble; however Wish + Calm Mind Jirachi has become the standard Calm Mind Jirachi over the substitute set. One of the best parts about this Jirachi is that common status effects such as Toxic don't effect it. Paralysis doesn't really hurt this Jirachi that much and burn really doesn't make a difference whatsoever.
The EVs on this set are to give Jirachi maximum physical bulk so that it can set up on the special side easily. 252 HP EVs allow Jirachi to take 4 seismic tosses from Blissey meaning that this set can even set up and defeat the best special wall in the game, with toxic spikes support of course. The speed allows me to outrun Jolly Tyranitar and 184 Speed Gyarados, while the rest is invested in defense so that Jirachi can take hits such as +1 Life Orb Gyarados' earthquake. Jirachi's checks have a hard time with this Jirachi as they have no way to really 2HKO it meaning I can even set up on Gliscor and Swampert to an extent, and with one or two Calm Minds I can severly damage both for late game sweeping later in the match.
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Gyarados**Uryū
Leftovers |
Impish (+ Def , - SpA)
248HP / 144Def / 116SpD
Intimidate
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Waterfall
- Roar
Rest Talk Gyarados is a very important member of this team. First of all it has amazing offensive synergy with Tyranitar and Jirachi due to Jirachi passing wishes and getting rid of annoying stealth rock damage. Tyranitar removes many of Gyarados' counters, such as Rotom, very easily. Rest Talk Gyarados is my main check to huge threats like Heatran and Infernape which have rose a lot in usage after Salamence left the overused tier. Rest Talk Gyarados also acts as an amazing status absorber making it a very nice check to Breloom and Roserade in early game. Gyarados also gives me another excellent immune to ground which is why it has such great synergy with Jirachi, defensively and offensively. Another example of this synergy is the fact that Gyarados provides a nice fighting resist to the team, which helps against the annoying lead machamp, the first switch into that from Roserade everytme. Gyarados also performs and extremely important job of being my secondary phazer of this team, and like swampert, it is a very good way to both abuse toxic spikes and not let threats like substitute Gengar, Nasty Plot and Swords Dance Infernape set up.
Waterfall is the only attacking move on this set, but that is all that is really needed as it dents most of the pokemon that Gyarados is designed to check, such as Heatran. Rest is mainly used for status absorbing and starting the amazing Rest + Sleep Talk combination which allows Gyarados to phaze while it is sleeping or do good damage to threats like Lucario, which Gyarados checks perfectly. Rest and Gyarados' amazing ability, intimidate is what allows it to beat the annoying threat, Breloom because both of Breloom's STAB moves won't do that much to Gyarados. The same logic is applied to Machamp and even stone edge from Machamp won't 2HKO thanks to Intimidate. The EV spread for this Gyarados allows me to switch into stealth rocks 5 times as well as hitting a jump point in defense, which helps me majorly in checking threats such as Lucario.
The character that Gyarados is being related with in the Bleach series is Uryū. In the series, he is a decedent of arch hunters and has a grudge against all Soul Reapers, due Gyarados' pure expression in his sprite, I felt that this comparison was appropriate. Uryū comes to look at Ichigo differently as the series moves along and they start to become friends but the burning passion of rivalry still lives inside both of them. This is how Gyarados is compared to Tyranitar because both of them play a very important role on the team and work together to make this team successful.
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Rotom-H**Ulquiorra
Choice Scarf |
Timid (+Spe , -Atk)
4HP / 252SpA / 252Spe
Levitate
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-Wisp
- Trick
Ulquiorra, the coldest character of the whole series makes the final member of my team, Rotom-H. It is portrayed that Ulquiorra doesn't believe in human emotions or feelings and that he stays calm in most of the scary situations that occur in the show. He is highly perceptive, cunning, and not predictable at all. Rotom relates to this character because Ulquiorra is practically not human, and Rotom is a soul that has passed from the dead, therefore they relate almost perfectly. Rotom gives me more great resistances including another earth immune and an electric resist which is always really nice to this team. It also gives me my main check to Life Orbed Gyarados and Trick which is another weapon against opposing stall. The most important reason this Rotom is here however; is because it is the spin blocker on the team, which stops Foretress and Starmie from spinning away my Toxic Spikes. Life Orbed Rapid Spin Starmie may give me a bit of trouble but it is taken care of by Jirachi and Tyranitar, especially.
Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball are for STAB purposes and check Life Orbed Gyarados so that Jirachi has an easier time setting up. Shadow Ball hits Starmie and Gengar hard, if I feel like predicting and staying in. Will-o-Wisp if for crippling predicted Tyranitar and Machamp switchins as Dragon Dance Tyranitar can be troublesome if Swampert happens to be at low health. Unfortunately, Rotom doesn't really have a good way to recover hit points at all. Thankfully with Jirachi packing Wish, this can be made up for to an extent.
The EVs on this set are once again pretty standard. The Speed EVs are for allowing Rotom to outspeed big threats like Azelf, Starmie, and Gengar. The Special Attack EVs allow Rotom to do as much damage as it can with Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt. The rest of the EV's are just filler in HP although they don't really make that much of a difference.
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