gec
pharos
A Giant Enemy Crab production (made in England).
(May be tl:dr)
Here we go.
I've been working on this team for about 10 months. Yes, that's right. 10 MONTHS.Total Games: 172
Games Won: 157
Games Lost: 15
Victory %: 91%
I created this trap team in August 2007, since I was intrigued by the number of improvements the method of trapping received since the days of R/S/E:
-The now physical Pursuit, making Pokemon like Tyranitar and Sneasel (Now Weavile) even more deadly.
-The evolution of Magneton (sure, Magneton has more Speed but I like my sweepers bulky, hence why I like Magnezone a lot more.
-Dark moves altogether becoming Physical. This means that (as I said earlier) Pokemon that couldn't use Pursuit quite effectively in the past now become some of the deadliest Pokemon ever. Also, it makes up for Physical HP Bug that Dugtrio lost (as does Stone Edge over Rock Slide).
So I decided to make myself a trap team. The concept was simple. Normally, in a match, what would the opponent do if I brought in a counter to one of their Pokemon? Switch, right? Now what if I was to remove the option of switching; killing off each one of my opponent's Pokemon mercilessly. You see, by bringing the correct trapper in on any opposing Pokemon, I've effectively removed that Pokemon and given the advantage to myself.
OK. Introduction over. Now to the trappers themselves:
[Magnezone]-[Dugtrio]-[Weavile]
Their Weaknesses: http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/6051/weaknessesuv1.jpg
The original task I set for myself was to find 3 other Pokemon for the team that supported them by:
-Resisting shared weaknesses between my trappers (which there were quite a few of).
-Getting my trappers a safe way to switch in due to their frailty, sans Magnezone.
-Taking out threats that these 3 couldn't take themselves.
-Setting up some form of residual damage, to stop random sashers from ruining the trapping fun (trust me, this happened a lot).
While this wasn't particularly easy, I told myself I could build upon it whenever I wanted. This is why my three other members have changed quite a bit since the first version of this team. The team used to be Weavile/Dugtrio/Magnezone/Gliscor/Cresselia/Starmie. Ever since then I've managed to cover all threats I ever faced, which brought my record to something I find quite spectacular.
Anyways, onto the stars themselves:
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Sassy - 252 HP/252 Sp.Def/6 Def [0 Speed IV]
-Yawn
-U-Turn
-Grass Knot
-Stealth Rock
While Uxie may not be an anti-lead per se, I find it the best lead I have ever used for this Trap team. Ever. Why? Because it's so effective. It does so many things as a lead that I need. It supports my team entirely because it's wicked.
Yawn is to act like a pseudo-phazing move, forcing out any Pokemon stupid enough to stat-up in front of Uxie. I use Grass Knot because I have quite a big Mamoswine issue. Also, nothing on my team could hit Swampert good enough so Uxie does the job nicely. U-turn works amazingly well in conjunction with the lowest speed possible, granting Uxie to take a hit BEFORE passing to one of my trappers. Stealth Rock to stop those annoying Sashers.
The EVs are geared in Sp.Def since Gliscor already is the Physical Wall, and I use Uxie to counter threats which would normally hit it on the Special side (Mixape, Mixpert).
Role in assisting this team:
-Phazing move.
-Slow U-Turn grants my Trappers to get in safely.
-Residual Damage.
-Ties up loose ends.
Bold - 188 HP/252 Def/68 Sp.Def
-Wish
-Baton Pass
-Surf
-Hidden Power [Electric]
Support #2. Vaporeon is a staple to this team. It covers a lot of Weaknesses to this team extremely well. I takes Ice attacks and Fire attacks which are a huge threat to my team (Due to Weavile, Dugtrio and Gliscor). I use him over Starmie because Starmie provided less support, so was essentially dead weight.
Subsitute + Baton Pass work well to get some insurance for my trappers. This combo also ensures that if my trappers can only 2HKO something, they don't get hurt at all. Baton Pass also essentially works as a pseudo-U turn, getting in my trappers safely even without a Substitute. Surf is self explanitory and Hidden Power [Electric] is to make up for Uxie not carrying Thunderbolt. Vaporeon counters Gyarados effectively due to this.
Role is assisting team:
-Passes Bulky Substitutes to grant insurance.
-Pseudo-U turn
-Takes down another problem Pokemon, Gyarados.
-Counters Mixape nicely.
Relaxed - 252 HP/252 Def/6 Att [0 Speed IV]
-Aerial Ace
-U-Turn
-Roost
-Earthquake
And finally, #3. Gliscor is an amazing Physical tank and a much needed supporter of this team. Heracross can potentially beat my team to pulp, as can that annoying SDLuke that is quite abundant. Gliscor is an amazing counter to both as well as so many other Pokemon. Yache Berry is to survive an Ice attack from a Weavile or Mamoswine since they both give me some trouble.
Aerial Ace and Earthquake are for STAB, standard and to take down what Gliscor is here to counter. Roost again is standard for recovery and finally, U-Turn is to get in my trappers effectively.
Role is assisting team:
-Much needed Physical Tank
-Slow U-Turn once again.
-Takes down 2 huge threats, Heracross and SDLuke
And finally, the stars of the show:
Modest - 172 HP/252 Sp.Att/84 Speed
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Substitute
-Magnet rise
First trapper. Takes out every Steel Pokemon which is wicked. Magnezone is a real improvement over Magneton from R/S/E. When I get better Defences, the Speed drop doesn't matter as much to me.
Magnezone hasn't changed at all from last August and it's a standard set really.
Jolly - 252 Att/252 Speed/6 HP
-Earthquake
-Aerial Ace
-Stone Edge
-Sucker Punch
Again, Standard premise. Dugtrio is so effective at what it does, it's not even funny. Many people call him cheap; only because they lose to it.
I use Jolly over Adamant because:
-I use Jolly for Infernape, which is also taken care of by Vaporeon but I like insurance.
-To stop a Sub-less Raikou.
I've been considering replacing Sucker Punch for something. I never really use it TBH.
Jolly - 252 Att/252 Speed/6 HP
-Ice Shard
-Brick Break
-Pursuit
-Night Slash
Finally, my last Trapper. And my favourite one ^^. When my opponent brings out anything Psychic/Ghost type, it's practically dead. A Swift Pursuit is what makes Weavile my favourite Trapper out of the lot.
I chose Ice Shard over Ice Punch because:
-I got swept once by a Yanmega. Ice Shard hits it nicely.
-ScarfChomp is a menace really.
The Rest is wicked. Standard premise again, k thx bi.
Now that is done, I'll give you the list of Pokemon which my trappers kill:
(I'll edit in a comprehensive threat list of the non-trappable Pokemon later)
A few points of concern:
-My lack of a good status absorber.
-Mamoswine and Weavile (Especially Weavile).
Thank you for reading. Please, RMT :).