Just got my team finished:)I've been really going on a catching spree in AS lately to prepare for this tournament... but in all honesty, I think I only have half my team more or less built at the moment. How's everybody else here doing?
That really sucks. He would definitely work well under trick room!! But if you really want that max speed IV, I can help you. I can either edit your Mewtwo or give you a new one.My team is ready. I did have to settle for less than perfect IVs (mewtwo having a 17 in speed really hurts) but everything should be good enough to do well.
Nice question, I suppose yes, but I "suppose"..Do Fairy Aura and abilities that show on entry keep their effects if you start with that Pokemon in a back position?
My team is ready. I did have to settle for less than perfect IVs (mewtwo having a 17 in speed really hurts) but everything should be good enough to do well.
17 in speed means you can't outspeed Darkrai pre-mega, but evolving into the Y mega means you get Insomnia anyway so you just have to tank a Dark Pulse before taking it out with Aura Sphere... Other than that you don't miss out on anything except Mewtwo-Y mirror matches (be careful as they can carry Shadow Ball). If this was regular Ubers with all the non-legends allowed then 17 speed wouldn't cut it, but since the other legendaries speed stats are no where near Mewtwo then you can get away with itI'm happy with the Mewtwo. Mewtwo Y is pretty dang fast even without max speed (I caught it one my X cartridge before I started playing on cartridge again, and its pretty much flawless in all other stats).
Yup, that's pretty much it. I ev'd my mewtwo to hit 396 speed, outspeeding normal Mewtwo after Megaevolving. Before evolving it outspeeds neutral arceus. It's mainly on the team for Darkrai, but its also got a fast taunt to shut down Xerneas, Ray, Cresselai, and Arceus from setting up turn 1.17 in speed means you can't outspeed Darkrai pre-mega, but evolving into the Y mega means you get Insomnia anyway so you just have to tank a Dark Pulse before taking it out with Aura Sphere... Other than that you don't miss out on anything except Mewtwo-Y mirror matches (be careful as they can carry Shadow Ball). If this was regular Ubers with all the non-legends allowed then 17 speed wouldn't cut it, but since the other legendaries speed stats are no where near Mewtwo then you can get away with it
You realize this is rotation right? Whirlwind/Roar, Defog are not that useful and Keldeo with HP flying, what is that for? Finally, there is no reason I can see not to use a Mega Ray or Mewtwo on every teamAll right! I've theorymon'd and put together the first draft of my team for this competition (with a little help from some very nice people on the Wifi forum). Unfortunately, the servers are down, so I can't test it, but if anyone spots any holes I may have missed, help would be greatly appreciated. Again, this is all theorymon at this point.
Deoxys-Speed @ Light Clay
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Taunt
-Psyshock / Magic Coat
Bread-and-butter lead and anti-lead. I'm not sure how many other people will also be using this, but I'd use Magic Coat if it's popular and Psyshock if it isn't.
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Psyshock
-Trick
Here we go, the centerpiece of the team. I was theorymonning TrickScarf Latios earlier in the thread, as a way to lock boosters (namely GeoXern, DD Mega Ray, and EKiller Arceus) into their setup moves. I'm running both Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse because switching is difficult in Rotations, and if I don't manage to get rid of the Scarf I won't want Latios to be sitting permanently at -6.
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
-Shadow Force
-Dragon Claw
-Will-o-Wisp
-Defog
My counter to Physical attackers not named Mega Ray (and PDon, but not sure how popular that'll be). I'm running Defog to get rid of enemy screens. Not sure about the two attacking moves, though; any suggestions?
Keldeo @ Lum Berry
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Hydro Pump / Calm Mind
-HP Flying / Calm Mind
-Scald
-Secret Sword
Lum Berry Keldeo because Darkrai is terrible and needs to pay for its sins...
Darkrai @ Focus Sash
Nature: Naive
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Dark Void
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse
-Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
...which is why I'm using it myself. I know that Sleep + Setup doesn't work in Rotations; think of this as Sleep OR Setup. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't.
Heatran @ Life Orb
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 12 SDef / 248 Spe
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Flash Cannon
-Roar
This was going to be DD Mega Rayquaza... until I realized it would make 5/6 of my team weak to Fairy, practically guaranteeing that I would be swept by GeoXern. And that's generally not a good thing. So instead, Heatran! Heatran can either Flash Cannon it to KO with a bit of prior damage, or just Roar it out to reset Geomancy. The 12 SDef EVs are to survive an unboosted Focus Blast (or a +2 Focus Blast through Light Screen).
Other options
Rayquaza @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Ascent
-Earthquake
-Extreme Speed
What I don't like about this team is that it has a lot of counters but no real wincon beyond Darkrai, so a possible option is DD Mega Rayquaza. Creativity? What's that? :P
Lugia @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: Defensive
-Whirlwind
-Toxic
-Roost
-Aeroblast
Lugia could work... if I could just figure out how to RNG Dream Radar.
Mewtwo could also potentially work as a Mega.
Whirlwind/Roar is an extra measure against setup sweepers, and Defog removes enemy screens as well as hazards (Screens are very powerful in Rotations). You're probably right about HP Flying though; I'll likely replace that with Calm Mind.You realize this is rotation right? Whirlwind/Roar, Defog are not that useful and Keldeo with HP flying, what is that for?
Like earlier in the thread Roar and Whirlwind was discussed and was decided against for good reason, it is very unreliable and once one poke dies useless move slot, I also don't think Keldeo is very good considering Mega Ray will be on every team almostWhirlwind/Roar is an extra measure against setup sweepers, and Defog removes enemy screens as well as hazards (Screens are very powerful in Rotations). You're probably right about HP Flying though; I'll likely replace that with Calm Mind.
Lots of cool pokes there :) However, I think the team has one major problem. The time is 03:00 here, so this is gonna be messy, but whatever.All right! I've theorymon'd and put together the first draft of my team for this competition (with a little help from some very nice people on the Wifi forum). Unfortunately, the servers are down, so I can't test it, but if anyone spots any holes I may have missed, help would be greatly appreciated. Again, this is all theorymon at this point.
Deoxys-Speed @ Light Clay
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Taunt
-Psyshock / Magic Coat
Bread-and-butter lead and anti-lead. I'm not sure how many other people will also be using this, but I'd use Magic Coat if it's popular and Psyshock if it isn't.
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Psyshock
-Trick
Here we go, the centerpiece of the team. I was theorymonning TrickScarf Latios earlier in the thread, as a way to lock boosters (namely GeoXern, DD Mega Ray, and EKiller Arceus) into their setup moves. I'm running both Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse because switching is difficult in Rotations, and if I don't manage to get rid of the Scarf I won't want Latios to be sitting permanently at -6.
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
-Shadow Force
-Dragon Claw
-Will-o-Wisp
-Defog
My counter to Physical attackers not named Mega Ray (and PDon, but not sure how popular that'll be). I'm running Defog to get rid of enemy screens. Not sure about the two attacking moves, though; any suggestions?
Keldeo @ Lum Berry
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Hydro Pump / Calm Mind
-HP Flying / Calm Mind
-Scald
-Secret Sword
Lum Berry Keldeo because Darkrai is terrible and needs to pay for its sins...
Darkrai @ Focus Sash
Nature: Naive
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Dark Void
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse
-Thunderbolt / Ice Beam
...which is why I'm using it myself. I know that Sleep + Setup doesn't work in Rotations; think of this as Sleep OR Setup. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't.
Heatran @ Life Orb
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 12 SDef / 248 Spe
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Flash Cannon
-Roar
This was going to be DD Mega Rayquaza... until I realized it would make 5/6 of my team weak to Fairy, practically guaranteeing that I would be swept by GeoXern. And that's generally not a good thing. So instead, Heatran! Heatran can either Flash Cannon it to KO with a bit of prior damage, or just Roar it out to reset Geomancy. The 12 SDef EVs are to survive an unboosted Focus Blast (or a +2 Focus Blast through Light Screen).
Other options
Rayquaza @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Ascent
-Earthquake
-Extreme Speed
What I don't like about this team is that it has a lot of counters but no real wincon beyond Darkrai, so a possible option is DD Mega Rayquaza. Creativity? What's that? :P
Lugia @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: Defensive
-Whirlwind
-Toxic
-Roost
-Aeroblast
Lugia could work... if I could just figure out how to RNG Dream Radar.
Mewtwo could also potentially work as a Mega.
Thanks for all the advice! I will admit that I don't have any experience at all with Rotations, so I did fully expect to make mistakes. I think I will replace Keldeo with Mewtwo since it checks Darkrai just as well, but can also do more outside of that.Lots of cool pokes there :) However, I think the team has one major problem. The time is 03:00 here, so this is gonna be messy, but whatever.
You have several cool tricks to stop some of the biggest threats. Lum Keldeo, Heatran, Giratina. Cool. Now, my question is: how are you gonna win battles?
Let me give an example: a lot of good players used Aegislash in Enter the dragon type earlier this year. The best players didn't. It certainly had potential to check some strong pokemon like Xerneas and Groudon (Wide guard), but was slow, relatively weak and very reliant on predictions and matchups. Thus, even though it could be a nightmare to face, it wouldn't be consistently good to use yourself over 30 battles.
Keldeo and heatran simply seems too weak, and in heatran's case, too slow as well. I don't think they'll contribute much outside their specific role, and this is rotations format... so your opponent can rotate out their pokemon at will. I'd recommend using pokemon with more general purpose. After all, any other pokemon can hold a lum berry to check darkrai. Mewtwo is faster and can taunt it, as well as having an offensive presence. These are just examples. And especially if you're planning on leading with deoxys, you should utilise those screens to set up with a strong pokemon like Xerneas or Arceus. You really need a win condition... Darkrai s a fantastic one in singles, but not in rotations, since it can't utilise the sleep turns to set up because of the rotation format (As you stated in your description). And it simply doesn't have the power nor the bulk (even with sash) to muscle through all the 600+ BST pokemon. However, if you for example can put the opponent's GeoXern check too sleep and proceed to set up Geomancy with Xerneas, it's GG rigth there.
I'd consider replacing Keldeo with something else (Maybe Lum Rayquaza is you already have it at hand), and implement a geomancy Xerneas instead of heatran. Also, have you considered scarf jirachi over Latios? It can still trickScarf, and (sort of) checks Xerneas, maybe even outspeeds some variants after geomancy. I haven't though it thorugh, just a random thought. Good luck, mate!
I'd probably pick Mega-ray of those two, as it provides you with several thing your team lack - a strong hitter, priority, a set-up sweeper, physical damage, etc. Mewtwo and Deoxys are also somewhat overlapping synergy-wise. Do note that Mewtwo can learn both screens and taunt itself, though. I played around with it earlier today, and it has a huge surprise element as well as offensive pressure (at least the opponent is forced to play as if it is offensive). Deoxys' speed is always good to have, though.Thanks for all the advice! I will admit that I don't have any experience at all with Rotations, so I did fully expect to make mistakes. I think I will replace Keldeo with Mewtwo since it checks Darkrai just as well, but can also do more outside of that.
The main thing stopping me from using GeoXern, Jirachi, and Arceus is, well, I actually don't have access to competitive ones. I caught Xerneas in X before I knew about SRing, and my Dream World Arceus from Gen V is Quiet with garbage IVs. But I totally get what you're saying, and I was actually thinking the same thing: I have ways to stop common win conditions, but no real ones of my own.
So maybe...
-Replace Nasty Plot with another coverage move on Darkrai
-Replace Keldeo and Heatran with Mewtwo and Rayquaza (The problem with this, of course, is that only one of them can Mega Evolve, so maybe non-Mega Mewtwo?)
So I know you never asked for help regarding your team, but I'd like to point out thatXernaes @ power herb sp. Attack/speed
Geomancy
Moonblast
Ice beam
Flash cannon
I'm not ready yet or I would, I will be ready tomorrow evening, thanks for the advice I will look at what to replace those moves withSo I know you never asked for help regarding your team, but I'd like to point out that
1) Xerneas can't learn Ice Beam
2) Moonblast hits harder than a super effective flash cannon, so it is more or less useless
Possible replacements could be focus blast, grass knot (weather titans), Thunder(-bolt) for Ho-oh, sleep talk - there are many possibilities :) Good luck!
Btw, are anyone interested in a few practice battles? I'm not ready yet, but will be in a few hours! :)