This here is a team that I've been working on slowly for the past week or two since I started playing Gen 6. I've been pretty much checked out of being actually good at competitive battling since Gen 3, so I figured I'd give it another shot by keeping up with the trends from the beginning this generation. As such, I'm playing pre-Pokebank so as to slowly learn about all the relevant threats this generation as added, and then hopefully by the time Bank is released I'll be ready to absorb more knowledge. ONTO THE TEAM.
When I first started this team, the goal was to sweep with Mega-Kangaskan. At this point in it's life, it is clearly nothing like that since Kanga didn't even make the current roster. I wish I had an evolution to show you, but here we are.
The goal at this point is to weaken the opponents team sufficiently with everyone else to allow either Talonflame or Blastoise to take down the rest. My battles end up quite long, so I suppose it turns out that it's rather stallish. I'm fairly certain I've reached a very strong team at this point, which could potentially decimate in the hands of a better player. The biggest problem I've faced is that my team tends to lose a lot of it's overall effectiveness after losing one member. Let's move on!
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Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Brave Bird
Crobat is generally my lead, though since everyone and their brother knows what Crobat is there for, I usually end up U-turning out before Taunting many leads. It is the most recent, and therefore most changeable, member of the team. This slot has been filled by countless Pokemon; started with Noivern, moved on to Klefki, then Goodra, and then Crobat. I do like having a pivot-type pokemon in this position, though often I wish it was a slower one to allow Blastoise or Talonflame to come in unharmed. With the amount of dual-screens I've experienced Infiltrator has definitely come in handy more than once.
Crobat's EV spread is exceptionally basic, I would love some suggestions here as to what I need to outspeed certain threads to potentially maximize my bulk.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 224 HP / 32 SDef
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Skarmory is here to wall physical threats. Shocking, right? I really don't have that much to say, this is just a standard Skarmory doing standard Skarmory things. EV spread is also standard. I know this isn't very helpful, but there's really not that much to say since I dropped this onto my team straight off a gen-5 analysis.
Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 80 SDef / 252 HP / 176 Def
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
- Protect
Yellow Florges is so ugly, I wish they had the other colors available. Anyway! This is a Florges of my own creation, though it is probably pretty much standard. Any time a special attacker comes in, I switch in Florges. If status has been spread around my team too much, I Aromatherapy, otherwise I almost always Wish. If the special attacker stays in, I Moonblast/Protect as necessary, if it switches out, I switch to an appropriate response which then receives the dealing from Wish. Wish support in general is very appreciated by Blastoise in particular, as it lacks any recovery, and Crobat also likes taking Wishes since it lacks Roost.
The biggest problem I have with Florges is it's inability to really do anything significant back. Honestly, my battles are almost always long enough that their special attackers get Toxic'd by Crobat or Zapdos somewhere along the way, at which point Florges can outstall them. However, early on, she really only causes switches without doing anything.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 236 Def / 248 HP / 24 Spd
Impish Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Toxic
Another physically defensive to back up Skarmory. Zapdos also provides more long-term Toxic support, as Crobat is often one of the first Pokemon to go down as it has the least utility in the long run against most teams. I briefly toyed with HP Flying, but HP Ice is far more useful against the Gliscor and Dragons that I often bring Zapdos in against. I often have trouble doing much with Zapdos beyond Toxic-ing a threat and stalling it out with Roost, but it is often effective, so I don't really have any complaints.
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
And here is one half of the main core of my team. This is basically the standard Talonflame, I think? This pokemon is an utter beast, and can easily take out a weakened team singlehandedly. I'm often unable to set up a Swords Dance, but I also don't really need to much of the time. I've considered Tailwind over Roost, but my team is very big on longevity over speed, so Tailwind has limited use whereas Roost keeps Talonflame on the field in the event I can't spin away rocks.
Max speed is to outspeed common priority users that would use Sucker Punch/Aqua Jet against a boosted Talonflame, though I'm sure that I could invest significantly less than full for the same goal, so if someone could help me out there that'd be primo. I'm really probably looking for what I'd need to outspeed Azumarrill/Mega-Kanga, though if you can think of any other threatening priority let me know!
Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Water Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
And here is the second half of that core. Talonflame and Blastoise alone take care of many of each other's issues. This is a relatively standard Megastoise I believe. The coverage is
unresisted, I believe, with the exception of Azumarrill, which Zapdos can usually take care of. Rapid Spin is necessary to get rid of rocks, since half my team is weak to them. If Blastoise is spinning away Spikes as well as Rocks, I try very hard to get him in on a wish from Florges, as his bulk is good but not stellar. Keeping Blastoise alive is pivotal to my success against many teams, so the wish support is mandatory.
I have been considering switching Blastoise over to a bulkier spread so as to help with keeping it alive, though I very much like the immediate power present with 252 Sp Atk. Thoughts?
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That pretty much sums everything up. As I said before, my team's goal is really to slowly wear down my opponent in preparation for Megastoise and/or Talonflame to being up the rear.
I do have issues with a few Pokemon.
When I first started this team, the goal was to sweep with Mega-Kangaskan. At this point in it's life, it is clearly nothing like that since Kanga didn't even make the current roster. I wish I had an evolution to show you, but here we are.
The goal at this point is to weaken the opponents team sufficiently with everyone else to allow either Talonflame or Blastoise to take down the rest. My battles end up quite long, so I suppose it turns out that it's rather stallish. I'm fairly certain I've reached a very strong team at this point, which could potentially decimate in the hands of a better player. The biggest problem I've faced is that my team tends to lose a lot of it's overall effectiveness after losing one member. Let's move on!
--------------
Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Brave Bird
Crobat is generally my lead, though since everyone and their brother knows what Crobat is there for, I usually end up U-turning out before Taunting many leads. It is the most recent, and therefore most changeable, member of the team. This slot has been filled by countless Pokemon; started with Noivern, moved on to Klefki, then Goodra, and then Crobat. I do like having a pivot-type pokemon in this position, though often I wish it was a slower one to allow Blastoise or Talonflame to come in unharmed. With the amount of dual-screens I've experienced Infiltrator has definitely come in handy more than once.
Crobat's EV spread is exceptionally basic, I would love some suggestions here as to what I need to outspeed certain threads to potentially maximize my bulk.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 224 HP / 32 SDef
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Skarmory is here to wall physical threats. Shocking, right? I really don't have that much to say, this is just a standard Skarmory doing standard Skarmory things. EV spread is also standard. I know this isn't very helpful, but there's really not that much to say since I dropped this onto my team straight off a gen-5 analysis.
Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 80 SDef / 252 HP / 176 Def
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
- Protect
Yellow Florges is so ugly, I wish they had the other colors available. Anyway! This is a Florges of my own creation, though it is probably pretty much standard. Any time a special attacker comes in, I switch in Florges. If status has been spread around my team too much, I Aromatherapy, otherwise I almost always Wish. If the special attacker stays in, I Moonblast/Protect as necessary, if it switches out, I switch to an appropriate response which then receives the dealing from Wish. Wish support in general is very appreciated by Blastoise in particular, as it lacks any recovery, and Crobat also likes taking Wishes since it lacks Roost.
The biggest problem I have with Florges is it's inability to really do anything significant back. Honestly, my battles are almost always long enough that their special attackers get Toxic'd by Crobat or Zapdos somewhere along the way, at which point Florges can outstall them. However, early on, she really only causes switches without doing anything.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 236 Def / 248 HP / 24 Spd
Impish Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Toxic
Another physically defensive to back up Skarmory. Zapdos also provides more long-term Toxic support, as Crobat is often one of the first Pokemon to go down as it has the least utility in the long run against most teams. I briefly toyed with HP Flying, but HP Ice is far more useful against the Gliscor and Dragons that I often bring Zapdos in against. I often have trouble doing much with Zapdos beyond Toxic-ing a threat and stalling it out with Roost, but it is often effective, so I don't really have any complaints.
Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
And here is one half of the main core of my team. This is basically the standard Talonflame, I think? This pokemon is an utter beast, and can easily take out a weakened team singlehandedly. I'm often unable to set up a Swords Dance, but I also don't really need to much of the time. I've considered Tailwind over Roost, but my team is very big on longevity over speed, so Tailwind has limited use whereas Roost keeps Talonflame on the field in the event I can't spin away rocks.
Max speed is to outspeed common priority users that would use Sucker Punch/Aqua Jet against a boosted Talonflame, though I'm sure that I could invest significantly less than full for the same goal, so if someone could help me out there that'd be primo. I'm really probably looking for what I'd need to outspeed Azumarrill/Mega-Kanga, though if you can think of any other threatening priority let me know!
Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Water Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
And here is the second half of that core. Talonflame and Blastoise alone take care of many of each other's issues. This is a relatively standard Megastoise I believe. The coverage is
unresisted, I believe, with the exception of Azumarrill, which Zapdos can usually take care of. Rapid Spin is necessary to get rid of rocks, since half my team is weak to them. If Blastoise is spinning away Spikes as well as Rocks, I try very hard to get him in on a wish from Florges, as his bulk is good but not stellar. Keeping Blastoise alive is pivotal to my success against many teams, so the wish support is mandatory.
I have been considering switching Blastoise over to a bulkier spread so as to help with keeping it alive, though I very much like the immediate power present with 252 Sp Atk. Thoughts?
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That pretty much sums everything up. As I said before, my team's goal is really to slowly wear down my opponent in preparation for Megastoise and/or Talonflame to being up the rear.
I do have issues with a few Pokemon.
- Mega Gengar is really unstoppable unless Blastoise is at full health, at which point I can take it out with a Dark Pulse... as long as it stays in.
- I hate Klefki... Zapdos can come in to avoid Paralysis, but then do basically nothing to it as it hides behind a Light Screen. I'll usually bring in Talonflame to bite the bullet on paralysis and them just use Florges to get rid of it later.
- Ferrothorn is killer; while it can't really do much to many of my pokemon, Talonflame is really the only thing that can touch it.
- Rotom-W (and Rotom-H, when it shows up) is walled completely by Florges, and I can win against it 1v1 (especially since Pain Split isn't available yet). However, beyond that, I really don't have an answer to it.
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