So i've wanted to build teams around Emboar and Abomasnow for a while and an old Heatah Fajita vid actually had a team with both on them, so I tried to get the template for that team and I've been tweaking it for a while trying to get it to play right.
The Team:
Emboar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Sucker Punch
The main reason for the team. Hits like a truck, access to priority, immune to Will-o-Wisp, resists Knock Off thanks to being part Fighting, and has the perfect movepool to deal with the fatter and slower stall stars. The biggest letdown is Emboar's speed which is enough to outpace some more defensive mons but is otherwise abyssmal. This brought up a few questions during team building with options for speed control in Tailwind, Trick Room, Sticky Web and Paralysis.
Abomasnow (M) @ Abomasite
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 240 HP / 4 Atk / 232 SpA / 32 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Giga Drain
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Hidden Power [Fire]
The heralded hail inducer. It pairs up pretty well in terms of coverage with Emboar, being able to deal with the bulky Ground and Water types Emboar can't break through. Besides Giga Drain and Blizzard nothing is concrete on this. Ice Shard has just been useful enough in testing to be listed here.
The last slot however is in rotation. HP Fire is listed because you're able to hit Scizors on the switch or with just a little prediction. Earthquake is another option for Heatran or Magnezone. The last is Rock Slide to hit birds neutral to Ice or Fire types (e.g. Talonflame in both cases).
The EVs listed are just something i'm tinkering with, giving Abomasnow some bulk by sacrificing its already terrible speed.
Bisharp (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
Bisharp is my more precise attacker. Whereas Emboar and Abomasnow just pick a move and hope it hits hard, Bisharp is more surgical, requiring a little more prediction. Originally the set I ran was Dread Plate with Pursuit, but Giga Drain on Abomasnow meant i didn't have to worry about Unaware Quagsire.
Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Standard TankChomp. It's needed considering how Talonflame just beats the other 3 with STAB. Not much to say really.
Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Here's where the speed control comes in. After everything has been sufficiently weakened and any Electric-immune mons have been taken care of, Thundurus can come in and clean thanks to high speed and Bolt-Beam coverage. Conversely, Thundurus can come in immediately, spread paralysis then let everyone else clean up.
Latias @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish
Ok, the slot that's given me the most trouble. Hazard control is needed because both Thundurus and Abomasnow are weak to rocks, not to mention only Thundurus is immune to Spikes. Speaking of, a second ground immunity is good on this kind of offensive team, seeing as how 2 of my main damage dealers are weak to Ground. Another sturdy water resist was also needed because Abomasnow isn't exactly walling anything. Also able to eat a hit from Mega-Medi and scout if needed. Access to Healing Wish to give one of my mons a second chance. Even with basically no investment, Draco and Psyshock hit certain things well.
The issue with Latias is this: it's trying to do too many things at once without really excelling at any of them. Other mons which could take this slot include Mew (lacks the resistences Latias has, but better suited to setting up Trick Room), Cresselia (no hazard control but is better suited for support in general), Starmie (lacks bulk, but is faster), Celebi (typing is kind of an issue, and no hazard control, but key resistances, cleric abilities and Trick Room) and Jirachi (typing redundancies and lack of hazard control in exchange for more team support). Choosing any of these over Latias is possible, but requires the team to be shuffled around a little.
All in all this is a really fun team, and any constructive criticism is welcome.
