Pirates Of Pokemon

[Oh Captain]

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ever post on Smogon. Although I am new here, I am no stranger to competitive battling, and have been playing on the smogon servers and PO servers since the beginning of Gen V, and even well before during Gen IV.

Pirates of the Poke-world

The theme of my team is Pirates.
Pirates have taken and taken all throughout history and continue to do so today, however on a much smaller scale. And this is what inspired me to make this team. With a meta game overflowing with Weather based teams and over powered weather abusers, one often finds themselves struggling with one certain type of weather. The main idea behind my team is to take over the match, and win regardless of the weather while not using any of my own, so in a sense I'm taking whatever you have and using it as much as i can.

I carry no spinner, no walls, and no weather. How crazy am I?
You don't need to answer that...
So onto the team building and thinking process.

Team:
Well I haven't seen many Volt-Turning based teams as much since BW2

I started with Scizor + Rotom-W : Because they are great for keeping momentum and cover eachothers weakness's well.
I then added Azelf : Because i needed Rocks and wanted to continue the pressure while being able to use SR effectively.
Next was both the Therians : Landorus T and Thundurus T were added because they both have monstrous attack stats in their own respects. And can both keep pace and abuse different forms of weather well.
Finally was Hydreigon : because I feel every team needs some form of dragon offense. Hydreigon can abuse certain weather aswell and he too can keep the pace. Switched out Landorus T, for Landorus Because of his superior speed stat allowing me to deal with Faster set up sweepers easier.


The Team in Depth:

Azelf @ Life orb/Red card
Rash - 252Speed 252Atk 6hp
Levitate

Taunt
Stealth Rocks
Psychic
U-turn

Well Azelf is usually my lead, however that really is subject to change depending on what how I feel. Azelf is great for this team as he packs a punch with Psychic, and can ruin common walls with Taunt, often allowing him to set up Rocks for my team a lot easier. U-turn is the crux of the set allowing me to keep momentum and keep the pace of the match fast enough so as to keep my opponent on their heels. Also an offensive pivot for the team as Psychic deals with the ever common Breloom, and the abundance of fighting types on the fly. I changed his scarf to Life orb for more power, however sometimes i dabble with Red card incase i make a mistake and allow something to set up, I just sac Azelf as he is the least crucial member of the team mid or late game.

Rotom-W @ ChoiceScarf
Modest -252Speed 252Spatk 6hp
Levitate

Trick
Hidden Power [Fire]
Hydro Pump
Volt Switch

Classic Rotom W with HP for for Scizors or Ferrothorns who come in on me.
Rotom is also great because he too can shut down pokemon via Trick and also keeps momentum extremely well with Volt switch. Hydro pump is a great stab and even better in rain. With the dominance of Tornadus T in ou Rotom is a great pokemon to carry for battling rain teams. He also makes an impact facing sand teams as well and is an all around solid pokemon. Also Checks Landorus extremely well who would otherwise be a problem for this team.

Scizor @ ChoiceBand
Adamant - 252Atk 220HP 36Speed
Technician

Bullet Punch
U-Turn
Super Power
Pursuit

The Second part of the "Volt-turn" duo, Scizor comes in as a power house once again. You've all seen and know what Scizor can do. There is nothing i need to explain about this set that hasn't been said before, but i will say this he serves as my only source of priority and also keeps key threats like Cloyster, Mamoswine, and Terrakion all in check and can KO any of them when needed. He is excellent for keeping momentum and makes a fine trapper for those choice locked Latios and such.

Hydreigon @ Expert belt
Mild 252Speed 252Spatk 4atk
Levitate

Draco Meteor
U-turn
Fire blast
Focus blast

Hydreigon is an excellent pokemon to have when facing sun teams, and even some rain teams. Dragon typing has a lot of benefits in those situations for sure, not to mention he has a wonderful move pool and access to some very high powered special attacks to go with his great special stats. U-turn again is the crux of this set allowing him to also keep the pressure on and keep my opponent guessing. Draco meteor is going to smash anything that doesn't resist it of isn't a blob. Fire blast is great for taking on sun teams, and Focus Blast is great for heatran and ferrothorn while in rain, provides great coverage as fighting is an excellent offensive type move. I'm running expert belt to bluff choice while also allowing my coverage to go to work for me and break common walls.

Thundurus T@ ChoiceScarf
Naive 252Speed 252spatk 4hp
Volt absorb

Thunder Bolt
Volt Switch
Hidden Power Ice
Focus Blast

So I decided to run Thunderbolt after all and continue to abuse volt switch. Hidden power ice is great combined with those moves for coverage and of course Focus blast for the ever annoying steel types. Thundurus really helps keep momentum and makes a deadly one-two punch with landorus as they hit on opposite sides of the damage scale. Much like Scizor and Rotom W these two are always playing tag with one another and can turn any match around when played right. Thundurus serves as a great answer to rain teams combined with Rotom W and an excellent revenge killer.

Landorus @ ChoiceScarf
Naive 252Speed 236atk 16spatk
Sand Force

U-turn
Stone edge
Earthquake
Hidden Power Ice


.So this WAS Landorus T, hence the picture but I`m too lazy to redo it on paint.This form of Landorus is my best bet against Volcarona and generally does the same thing minus Intimidate. His set is simple and standard for scarfed versions as far as i know. I added some special attack Evs just to get it to an even 270, and leaving his attack at 345. Earthquake and Stone edge for the infamous edge-quake combo and works really nice. U-turn is the theme of the teams offense and he uses it extremely well. HP ice again for dragons and coverage. Hes a great pokemon to have against sand and sun as well. He captains this team as the main star and i feel can be an impact in any weather.




Conclusion:Overall I can deal with any weather as long as I don't derp out. This team is so fast and it runs like a machine.
Once i get in a motion it often just goes and goes and goes ,until the match is over. If i lose its usually because i made a stupid choice or something. You all know the routine.

Sun : Hydreigon - Landorus
Rain: Rotom-W - Thundurus - Hydreigon
Sand: Scizor - Landorus - Rotom-W
Hail: Scizor - Rotom-W

Even the ones who arent listed can work in any weather when played correctly.
Again i DO NOT carry rapid spin. And i dont need to. Spikes can only hit Scizor, and Tspikes cannot hit anything on my team. Rocks only really hurt on Thundurus and Landorus but in most cases is never really a problem.

When facing stall the main idea is to Trick the scarf asap and then Do as much damage as i can each time i bring in a new attacker. And is a lot easier to deal with again because hazards don't hurt my team as much as other teams who are grounded. Also Azelf with Taunt just makes life easier.

Tbh i don't see many baton pass teams. So i can't say I've tested this against many.

I suppose this may qualify as a form of Hyper offense.

Thank you all for reading and rating. Please Luv Disc If you like this team.
If not Luv Disc because All artwork was done by me :) on paint.

Any feedback is appreciated. Please stick to the theme of the team

 

[Dr Ciel]

First off, HI CAPTAIN. Awesome team you got there, I'd like to make some suggestions that you may want to try to help make this team better. First off, I immediately see a terrible Weakness to Volcarona, as it can sweep your team after a couple of Quiver Dances. To help patch this problem, while still keep your Volt-Turn momentum up, I would suggest you use a Choice Scarf Landorus over your current Landorus-T. When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Landorus can outspeed Max Speed Timid Volcarona and OHKO with Stone Edge or 2HKO with Earthquake. Landorus is also an amazing cleaner for your team. I also suggest that you run Ice Punch on Azelf to catch those rare Dragon leads off guard. Also, I would like to suggest you run Dark Pulse on Hydregion as it provides great insurance against non-scarfed Psychic types. Overall, a great team and great drawings. I really hope some of these tips will help your team. Have fun and good luck battling!

Choice Scarf Landorus

Landorus @ Choice Scarf Lv. 100 -- Sand Force
Nature: Naive - EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Earthquake
Hidden Power [Ice]
U-turn
Stone Edge

Dr Ciel~

 

[Oh Captain]

Thanks for reading and rating! :)
Yep volcarona can be a pain for sure.
I will definitely try out your suggestions and see about changing somethings up

 

[Oh Captain]

No comments about the team? :( no body?
Not even the artwork!?

bump :)

 

[SharpEyes]

Awesome Pics man.

The team is kool too. I like how its a fast paced play style. Maybe you could Try Jirachi instead of Azelf. Keep the same move set but Jirachi has a ton of resists that azelf doesnt have.

Or use iron head wichever. But sick team

 

[Oh Captain]

I went with Azelf over things like Celebi or Jirachi becase of his offensive capabilities.
But i will test jirachi to see how it goes

Thanks for rating :)

 

[Oh Captain]

Bump :)

Thinking on switching Azelf to Mew... Any thoughts?

 

[Gamester]

If I knew how to fix and improve teams I'd help you but I normally take what works and build on that. I'd definitely replace u-turn or volt-switch on thundurus. Also I'd recommend a chest rest rotom-w it's just a great set and you should give it a try. I'd also recommend a few less choice items/scarfs make Hydreigon something like draco/super power/roost/u-turn which will essentially mimic nado-t ofc you could just run a nado-t lol.

Good luck with the team I liked the pictures you did.

 

[Shining_Latios]

Hey nice team, I like the concept. However, I do have a suggestion. I think you should use Thunderbolt > U-turn on Thundurus-T. The increased damage from Thunderbolt definitely helps and considering you have U-turn on 4 other Pokemon and Volt Switch on Thundurus-T and Rotom-W, not much harm is done in switching. You can also try using Grass Knot in it's place to hit Gastrodon on the switch. Also, I think you should switch back to STAB Psychic on Azelf. This will definitely help take out physically bulky Fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr, Breloom, and Toxicroak. It also comes in very handy against Virizion, Keldeo, Infernape, etc. Dragon-types shouldn't really be a problem, anyways. Thundurus-T and Landorus-T both have HP Ice, Hydreigon has Draco Meteor, and Scizor can revenge with Bullet Punch. Hope I helped.

 

[forestflamerunner]

Hey Captain,
Interesting team to say the least. I admire your resolve to tet and use 6 choiced Pokémon on one team. However, I’m afraid this probably won’t work really well. There are two reasons for that. First, when you have a bunch of Choiced mons, you’ll be forced to switch a lot, which will rack up entry hazard damage quickly, while smart players will be able to tiptoe around your mons while Stealth Rock does all the damage your opponents need. Secondly, since you are using 5 Choice Scarf Pokémon, your team lacks a lot of power which leaves you incredibly vulnerable to stall teams that tend to abuse the aforementioned entry hazards. Your Pokémon, for the most part, are ok, but your sets do need a facelift and that’s what I hope to provide.

Lets start with Hydreigon. I’d recommend you change the set to a Stall Breaker variant with a moveset of Dragon Pulse/ Earthquake/ Taunt/ Roost. This will allow you to single handedly dismantle a ton of stall teams thanks to your near neutral coverage, Taunt, which shuts down a ton of Stall threats, and Roost, which lets you recover any paltry damage Stall may dish out to you. Moving on I’d Change Thundurus to a Nassty Plot variant with a moveset of Thunderbolt/ Focus Blast/Hidden Power (Ice)/Nasty Plot. This gives you a nice focal point for your team and lets you something to build the rest of your team around.
Now onto actual Pokémon changes I’d recommend. I’d suggest you exchanged Azelf for balloon or shed Shell Heatran, whichever you’d prefer. This heatran is about as good of a check to to sun teams as you’ll ever find and it also maintains the offensive pressure you mentioned in your Azelf description.Heatran is bulkier and stronger than Azelf and also has better typing, so I think you’ll find it works rather well with your team. Next, I’d suggest switching Landorus to Ferrothorn. A team really doesn’t need more than one scarfer and Ferrothorn can provide spikes support which compliments your Volt-Turn core very well. It also gives you another steel to handle all those dragons that are roaming around the metagame while simultaneously providing an all-around check to many rain sweepers.

Sets

Hide

Hydreigon@ Life Orb
4 Def/252 SPA/252 SPE
Modest nature
-Earth Power
-Dragon Pulse
-Taunt
-Roost

Thundurus-T@ Life Orb
4 HP/ 252 SPA/ 252SPE
Timid Nature
-Thunderbolt
-Focus Blast
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Nasty Plot

Heatran @ Shed Shell/Balloon
4HP/252 SPA/252 SPE
Timid Nature
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse
-Stealth Rock

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
252 HP/88 Def/ 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
-Spikes
-Leech Seed
-Power Whip
-Thunder Wave

 

[X5Dragon]

I carry no spinner, no walls, and no weather. How crazy am I?

:P

Aside from this being the worst team evar (HOW DARE YOU DEFEAT ME THAT ONE TIME?!), pirates are awesome and therefore so is this team.

If I wanted to suggest something Azelf can have taunt instead of trick, especially since he has that awesome 115 base speed and you don't have any spinner.

GL!

 

[Oh Captain]

@ Gamester :P I suppose since you only know what works this team probably wouldn't work so well on paper, But it really does work. I took some of your advice and removed some scarfs. I prefer scarf Rotom as trick is a huge part of why i love him so much.
Thanks for coming and rating :)




@ Shining Latios
I have definitely noticed fighting types can be a pain so i am testing the switch back to stab psychic. I also took the advice wich i had mentioned contemplating on since the beginning and added Tbolt to thundurus in place of U-turn. Im sure it wont be a problem. Grass knot sounds interesting however I'm afraid to use it because ferrothorn is already a wall that makes me rage inside.


@ ForestFlamerunner
Suprisingly hazards don't matter so much to me. Rocks only hurt Thundurus for the most part, but i agree about having too many choiced. Therefore i removed some choice scarfs and such. I also agree in theory with some of the pokemon changes you suggested as i do have a few other teams i play a bit that are mostly balanced teams, however the theme of the team is speed and switching on the go to keep momentum. So those sets won't work really well for that.
Thank you for rating though as some insight is always appreciated.


@X5Dragon Hey! not the WORST team evar...I'm quite positive i can make a worse one :) If you'd like to test that theory i will battle you with THE most unorthodox sets you can imagine. Im talking Specs breloom bro xD

On topic i added taunt on azelf as it does the same thing for me when facing stall and such. Works well so i like it.

Thanks for rating:)

 

[Prinz]

Hello Captain, cool nick and cool team. You can put Deoxys-d instead of Azelf, you lose a lead offensive but gains spikes, great to wear down the opposing team with volturing.
Imo, you need a antispinner for opponents's spinner, gengar is a good antispinner which keeps certain offensiveness, you can put it in place to hydreigon.
Now, you have Deoxys-d, Gengar for antispinning and the best volturn core, Landorus, Rotom-w and Scizor, finally you can put DDnite for have a strong lategame sweeper.
gl with team!

 

[Oh Captain]

@ A l e x a n d e r

Hey thanks for stopping by!

I have contemplated Deo-D and i can see his use for sure, however he doesn't fit in my mind because he lacks offense. Spikes and other hazards like you said requires a spin blocker and that means getting rid of Hydriegon like you said. To me I feel his role is more important than gengar would be as he also abuses U-turn in a deadly combo with Meteor.

Again i dont want to add a late game sweeper that doesnt keep to the theme of the team which is switching. Dnite requires spin support and i cannot fit rapid spin in this team. Thanks thought for rating :)