Back in Black (GEN IV)

[Diarkia124]

So I've decided to get back into competitive battling. It's been a while since my last team was rated, so can you guys help me here?

Glance​

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In-Depth

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Punch
- Trick
To start this team off, I have Jirachi in the lead. Now depending on the Pokemon, I can Trick other leads in order to lock them into Stealth Rock or Spikes and give Jirachi a free turn to set up itself. Then I can swap out or attack with some Serene Grace hax to wittle down the team. It's purpose has been served and it now gives way to the rest of its teammates.

Gengar (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar is one of my more offensive Pokemon. If I switch in at the right time, I'll Substitute while my opponent switches. It gives me a turn to either attack or heal off with Pain Split (if Gengar is hurt). Shadow Ball and Focus Blast is excellent coverage with at least neutral damage to all.

Shaymin @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SAtk / 80 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rest
- Seed Flare
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
[strike]When you need a change, think Speedy Oil Change and Tune-Up[/strike]. Shaymin is one of my more defensive Pokemon, but he can still pack a punch. I switch him in to tank a hit and force an opponent to switch. Seed Flare is a powerful move with the STAB bonus. Hidden Power is to hurt Gliscor, the bane of my existance these days. Earth Power is to hit Lucario or even the oncoming Heatran. Rest and Natural Cure is so I can fully heal this guy.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Illuminate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
Well, this Starmie is a bit unorthodox. It has a Rapid Spin set (with some replacement for more powerful moves) with the Life Orb stats. Now, it can Rapid Spin to take off all of the Spikes and Rocks. However, if I can predict correctly, this can bait out Rotom-W, which is doomed by a Hydro Pump. Thunderbolt is for coverage and Recover is to shrug off some damage.

Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
Revenge killing for the team comes in Tyranitar. After a KO of my Pokemon, I send this guy in to attack. If the opposing Pokemon is weak to Dark Types, that will lead them right into Pursuit. Crunch is for the more powerful STAB move. Earthquake is pretty strong as well and Stone Edge is to hit those immune to it.

Lucario (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- ExtremeSpeed
- Crunch
Closing things out (beardless that is) is my Lucario. If I got someone locked into a Pursuit, Lucario has one free Swords Dance. This guy has helped me out a lot. Close Combat is needed for that necessary priority, Close Combat for that STAB, and Crunch for ghosts. The rest of the team is designed to wittle down the other team, and this guy just finishes him off. FINISH IT!!!!!!!!

 

[2sly4u]

Hi Diarkia, nice team.

First and foremost, I would get rid of Thunder Wave of Gyarados in favor of Roar. Most of your team is already very fast, so Paralyzing something really isn't that beneficial. Roar, on the other hand, prevents opposing Sweepers from setting up on you and pairs extremely well with Sleep Talk, since this allows you to bypass the negative priority. A few more EVs in Special Defense wouldn't hurt either, seeing as he's your only true defensive pokemon and his Defense is already helped out some by Intimidate.

I also think a Rest Shaymin is more useful to your team than the current set you have. One of Shaymin's biggest assets is Natural Cure, as paired with Rest he can fully replenish his health. In addition, Shaymin (especially with the EVs you're running) has a lot of HP, meaning Leech Seed doesn't heal it as much as on other pokemon. You also are only running one hazard, so you don't benefit much from the constant switching Leech Seed causes. This also lets you run Earth Power over Protect, which gives you a better offensive presence. This is less important, but I'd also consider running HP Ice over HP Fire on Shaymin. This means you're forced out by Scizor, but for the most part Gen IV players know Shaymin tend to run HP Fire so they don't switch in anyways. HP Ice, on the other hand, lets you surprise and kill Gliscor, who walls your end game sweeper all day.

Nice team, and good luck!

 

[broodjekebab]

Maybe u-turn would be good on your leading Jirachi. HP Ice could be better for Shaymin, yeah. Also, I would do either Roar or Taunt on Gyarados. The latter prevents incoming Rhotom to will-o-wisp or trick you, so you can freely maul them with Ttar.

 

[Mulligan]

I am seconding 2sly4u's suggestion of Hidden Power Ice > Hidden Power Fire on Shaymin as well as Earth Power > Protect. Stall teams commonly carry Specially Defensive Heatran who walls your current Shaymin set. Although you have Lucario, Gyarados, and Gengar, they really only have to Roar once to deal serious damage to you mid to late game because you have no way to prevent hazards from going up(Spikers don't care if you Trick them your Scarf either). The biggest reason for HP Ice on Shaymin though(even bigger than Gliscor IMO), is that Mixed Dragonite will wreck you, currently and it is the best offensive switch-in to your current Shaymin. They switch in and can easily drop a Draco Meteor, to which your best resist is a Jirachi with an offensive EV spread, so it can't take multiple Meteors. MixNite commonly carries Roost to heal LO recoil and Leech Seed damage as well. Even Mixed Flygon can put a hurt on you, though there are less opportunities for Flygon to switch into your team.

I honestly think a simple Dragon Dance Gyarados would fit better for this type of team since it is more offensively inclined. A simple Adamant Gyarados with Dragon Dance/Taunt/Waterfall/Bounce and an EV spread of 60 HP/252 Atk/196 Spe should suffice. I say that because, again, you have no way of stopping stall teams from getting multiple layers of Spikes/Toxic Spikes on you. Even more than that though, +1 DD Gyara with an offensive spread and Taunt absolutely murders stall once their Rotom-W is gone(it's why stall almost HAS to run Scarf Rotom-W or Gyara wrecks them). If you don't want to do this though, then go with 2sly4u's suggestion of Roar > Thunder Wave

Speaking of Rotom-W, this team may have a problem against the common Scarf version, but I really can't think of anything you could do to deal with it since....every 4th gen team struggles against Rotom-W(Tyranitar is NOT a good switch in as they will have Hydro Pump). The only thing you could try is Life Orb Starmie over Gyarados since you would keep Rotom-W from switching in due to your own Hydro Pump and you get an offensive spinner to keep hazards off the field. I would honestly deviate from the standard set and go with Rapid Spin/Recover/Hydro Pump/Thunderbolt or Psychic. Starmie, like Gengar, can also draw Choiced Pursuit trappers, giving your Lucario more opportunities to set up and sweep.

Hope I helped and good luck.

 

[Diarkia124]

As far as the Shaymin edit, I have put that in and it's working wonders for me. As for Starmie, it used to be on my team (replaced by Gyarados) but I think I will re-instate it on my team since Gyarados hasn't been pulling as much weight as I would like. Not to mention that Starmie would even the Physical/Special split.