Battle Spot Singles; Semi-TR Team

[4lexander3]

Hey there,
I'd like to have a few improvements for a BSS Team^^
This Team is build around a Semi-Tr Core with Mega Heracross and Cresselia. I used this Core in another team but I forgot how exactly it was (I think sth like mega Heracross, Cresselia, Talonflame, Latios).
For a tournament in Germany (yes, I am from Germany. That is also the reason for my "bad" grammar EG) I needed a BSS team and I remembered this core. So I build another team around it.

And here it is:

Heracross +Heracrossite
Moxie
Adamant Nature
252Hp/252Atk/4Def
-Rock Blast
-Pin Missle
-Seed bomb
-Close Combat

This is my first Mega and it destroys very much. If there wouldn't be this terrible Speed... But that's the job of the rest of the team ;)
I play a rather bulky Heracross because I play it in Tr and if there is a Pokemon that outspeeds me in tr, I kill it before. With this bulky spread I am also able to tank a +6 252+Atk Azumarill Aquajet and can ko back with Bullet seed and otherwise a BD Azu would really destroy me.
I use Moxie over Guts because I can remove status with Lunardance and I feel like I'd be very weak in non-Mega because I can only use CC effectively.
The moves should be clear. I thought about running sth like Substitute, EQ or SD over Bullet seed but Bullet seed is so good against Water Types (Azu, Suicune, Rotom-W) and also avoids Rocky Helmet damage if I attack Hippodown (i'd otherwise attack it with CC)


Mawile +Mawilite
Intimidate
Brave Nature
252HP/212Atk/44Def
0 Spe Ivs
-Swordsdance
-Suckerpunch
-Play Rough
-Knock Off

This is my second mega. It is pure power and can perform in TR very good as well as outside. It helps me dealing with Talonflame (with this ev spread Mawile is able to live a -1 252+Atk Choice Band Talonflame Flareblitz), Aegislash, Gengar, supports with knock off and Intimidate and so on^^

Cresselia +Rocky Helmet
Levitate
Relaxed Nature
252Hp/252Def/4Sdef
0 Spe Ivs
-Ice Beam
-Trick Room
-Moonlight
-Lunardance

Cresselia is my Tr setter and it also supports my Megas because I can completely heal them up again with Lunardance. Furthermore it has great bulk, handles things like Mega Kangaskhan and it also has great defensive synergies with Mawile, heracross, Bisharp and Hydreigon.


Bisharp +Life Orb
Defiant
252Atk/252Spe/4SDef
Adamant Nature
-Pursuit
-Knock Off
-Suckerpunch
-Ironhead

I can switch Bisharp in if I expect mega Gengar because otherwise it could destroy me. Furthermore it helps me handling faster Threads with suckerpunch, kills Aegislash and fears Intimidate users. Pursuit is for mega gengar, alakazam and other pokemon that are strong against heracross and Cresselia. Furthermore I can kill fairies with Iron Head.


Hydreigon +Choice Scarf
Levitate
252Spe/252SAtk/4SDef
Modest Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Earth Power
-Flamethrower
-Dark Pulse

I realised that I'd need something fast and something against Mawile, Garchomp, salamence and steels. So I took Hydreigon because it helps me doing this. But Hydreigon can also help me dealing with Gengar, Cresselia and so on.

Thundurus-I +Focus Sash
Prankster
252SAtk/4HP/252Spe
Timid Nature
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Thunderbolt
-Thunderwave
-Taunt

Thundurus is there for more speed and speed control. Furthermore it can hit Dragons hard, checks Talonflame, Aegislash (I love taunting Aegislash), helps me against BD Azu (with the focus sash) and some more. I play the focus sash because with this I can live at least one turn and strike back with the good Ice/Electric coverage. This really helps me to improve bad matchups.

I think biggest weakness is Mega Blaziken with Knock Off.


Okay, that's it. I've already tested this team a little bit at PShowdown and i'm not defeated since ~15 matches and I have only played 15 xD But every team can be improved and I hope you help me improving this team. And maybe I even win this tournament, who knows xD

Thanks ^^

EDIT: Just found a replay of my team. It was on Showdown at round about 1200.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-436882937

 

[cant say]

Hey there, and welcome to Smogon!

I have to be blunt, 15 wins in a row starting from 1000 on the PS ladder is frankly not impressive. You can autopilot until the 1300s at least before you start finding players with real teams and metagame knowledge (the 1400s+ is very good). For example, the team you played in the replay you linked was not a competitive team and it nearly beat you.

Using two mega evolutions that rely on Trick Room isn't the best idea as it makes it very easy for your opponent to predict what you'll bring and how to play against you. If you use a second mega in your team it's best to have it be able to beat stuff that your main / other mega can't. For your team, whichever mega you choose, you'll more than likely need to bring Cresselia, which means your opponent will make sure they shut down Cresselia, which then shuts down your mega. Heracross and Mawile beat and lose to mostly the same things... I think the first course of action for you is to choose which mega you like better and replace the other. I personally think you should use Heracross and drop Mawile but that's mostly because I have more experience with Hera than Maw so can offer more help that way lol.

Guts is far better than Moxie on Heracross, you can't always rely on Healing Wish to remove status. For example, it allows you to muscle past Mega Sableye which otherwise walls your team. Also, I know you mean Bullet Seed but you have Seed Bomb listed!

Now because you're using Heracross + Cresselia, here comes the obligatory suggestion that you use Heatran. Hers/Cres/Heatran is a tried and tested core in Battle Spot and for good reason. Heatran patches up nearly all the weaknesses that Hera + Cres have on their own, while Cresselia supports Heatran with a Ground immunity. The three together form one of the more complete cores on their own and allows you to use 3 Pokemon that don't necessarily interact with the core at all (perfect for Semi-Trick Room). Specially defensive Heatran also pairs with physically defensive Cresselia very well. It checks both Aegislash and Gengar and Fairies that aren't Azumarill. I think you should replace Bisharp with it as Bisharp isn't great in BSS and doesn't actually complement the team as well as you think.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 44 Def / 156 SpD / 92 Spe
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute / Protect
- Magmar Storm / Lava Plume
- Earth Power / Flash Cannon

I'm not really sure how you think Hydreigon deals with Mega Mawile as it doesn't OHKO without Choice Specs, and you have Cresselia with Ice Beam and HP Ice Thundurus to take on Garchomp + Salamence. I've never really liked Scarf Hydrei much so I would suggest you try Choice Specs Hydreigon. This also gives Flamethrower some respectable power, otherwise you'd want to use Fire Blast on the Scarf set.

Thundurus looks fine, however you should definitely use a Sitrus Berry on it instead of Focus Sash. You'll find you rarely get OHKOed by anything, whereas Sitrus saves you from many 2HKOes, most notable is Choice Band Talonflame's Brave Bird! If you're worried about Belly Drum Azumarill then perhaps using Rotom-W instead of Thund is a good idea.

Rotom-W @ Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Spe
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Ice / Volt Switch / Rest

This set is made specifically beat Azumarill, the SpA investment is to make sure you KO Azumarill after it Belly Drums, or 2HKO Assault Vest ones. Of Course you can keep using Thundurus though...

Lastly, since we have an empty 6th slot for a Pokemon because I'm recommending dropping Mawile; I think you should consider using Mega Metagross as it pairs really well with Hydreigon. You've also got a lot of Metagross checks covered already so I think it would fit nicely!

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Iron Head / Meteor Mash / Bullet Punch

 

[Omastar68]

236 HP/ 36 Atk/ 192 SpD/ 44 Spe Adamant

I made this ev spread for Mega Hera a long time ago. Doubt you'd want the Spe lol, so just distribute those evs wherever, probably start by maxing HP. Honestly I'm not sure how good it is and it can certainly be improved, but it's definitely better than just max HP and Atk or I wouldn't have spent so long making it xd

Hide

Outspeed uninvested base 80s, OHKO Mega Blaziken, Azumarill, 2HKO Porygon2-87.5 % to OHKO 244 HP/12 Def, OHKO 252/252 Wobbuffet, 93.8% to OHKO standard Whimsicott, it 3HKOs back w/Moonblast. 93.8% to OHKO 244/168 Thundurus-it has .6% to 3HKO back w/ T-bolt. 252 SpA Timid LO Thundy T-bolt has 9.8 % to 2HKO, 12.5% to OHKO at +2. 252Atk Jolly Mega Lopunny Return 9.4% to 2HKO. 0 Atk Skarmory Drill Peck 2HKOs, Bullet Seed vs 252/252 Relaxed Hippowdon 2HKOs, it can maybe 5HKO in return.

some stuff it does.

Hydra seems good, and I agree changing to Specs. Hydra is actually quite bulky, so I wouldn't go for 252 Spe. Whatever you have leftover should just go in HP with 4 evs in each defense. I guess a different distribution of bulk might help, but that gets complicated.

I thought about it a lot, and I think I like Thund instead of Rotom-w. A reliable status is really nice especially since you have nop others(WoW hits very often, but it's easy for Rotom-w to be put in a situation where it can't use it or at least has no reason to, while Thund's T-Wave is much harder to stop, gives flexibility since you don't have to rely just on tr, and cripples lots of dangerous stuff like Gengar and Blaziken, or anything frail and fast not immune or holding Lum.)

meh, was writing a whole bunch, but went back on the page on accident so was lost. Main thing is you can run max or nearly max HP and Def on Thund to live +6 AJ from Azu at full.

 

[cant say]

236 HP/ 36 Atk/ 192 SpD/ 44 Spe Adamant

I made this ev spread for Mega Hera a long time ago. Doubt you'd want the Spe lol, so just distribute those evs wherever, probably start by maxing HP. Honestly I'm not sure how good it is and it can certainly be improved, but it's definitely better than just max HP and Atk or I wouldn't have spent so long making it xd

Hide

Outspeed uninvested base 80s, OHKO Mega Blaziken, Azumarill, 2HKO Porygon2-87.5 % to OHKO 244 HP/12 Def, OHKO 252/252 Wobbuffet, 93.8% to OHKO standard Whimsicott, it 3HKOs back w/Moonblast. 93.8% to OHKO 244/168 Thundurus-it has .6% to 3HKO back w/ T-bolt. 252 SpA Timid LO Thundy T-bolt has 9.8 % to 2HKO, 12.5% to OHKO at +2. 252Atk Jolly Mega Lopunny Return 9.4% to 2HKO. 0 Atk Skarmory Drill Peck 2HKOs, Bullet Seed vs 252/252 Relaxed Hippowdon 2HKOs, it can maybe 5HKO in return.

some stuff it does.

Hydra seems good, and I agree changing to Specs. Hydra is actually quite bulky, so I wouldn't go for 252 Spe. Whatever you have leftover should just go in HP with 4 evs in each defense. I guess a different distribution of bulk might help, but that gets complicated.

I thought about it a lot, and I think I like Thund instead of Rotom-w. A reliable status is really nice especially since you have nop others(WoW hits very often, but it's easy for Rotom-w to be put in a situation where it can't use it or at least has no reason to, while Thund's T-Wave is much harder to stop, gives flexibility since you don't have to rely just on tr, and cripples lots of dangerous stuff like Gengar and Blaziken, or anything frail and fast not immune or holding Lum.)

meh, was writing a whole bunch, but went back on the page on accident so was lost. Main thing is you can run max or nearly max HP and Def on Thund to live +6 AJ from Azu at full.

I think you've missed the mark here with a couple of these suggestion..

Firstly, why would you run such low attack on Heracross? You don't even have a chance at OHKOing Cresselia with that spread, which is one of Mega Hera's biggest assets. I know the damage calc spits out a ~18% chance with max attack, but in my experience I've OHKOed basically all of them. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe multi-hit moves don't calc so well... But what I'm getting at here is that you pretty much just want to hit as much stuff as hard as possible all the time with something that has 180 base attack and great coverage. And with Healing Wish support, reaching defensive benchmarks isn't so important...

Secondly, are you suggesting he run max HP / SpA Hydreigon? I've never seen that. Base 98 speed is pretty good and creeps a bunch of stuff. I'm sure you'd rather bop that Gliscor instead of it SubProtect stall your PP. Or Mamo before it lands an Icicle Spear. You're also still slow enough with max speed to benefit from Trick Room against a lot of things like Mega Kang, Mence, Garchomp etc.

Physically defensive Thund is a fair shout though so I'll give you that. This is what he'll need to use though:

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 212 Def / 52 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Thunder Bolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Taunt / Volt Switch

+6 Aqua Jet has a 6.3% chance to OHKO, and Thunder Bolt has an 93.8% chance to KO after Belly Drum + Sitrus Berry (so when Azu is at 75%). Not quite as good for beating Azu as Rotom-W is, but you're right that priority Thunder Wave is amazing and allows Heracross to bop something outside of Trick Room.

 

[4lexander3]

At first, thanks for your comments on this.
I will answer the first two suggestions you made after school because then I will be able to take a closer look, but I have one question which came up while reading. With Heatran, Heracross, Cresselia, Metagross and Hydreigon I am still quite weak to Mega Blaziken if it has Knock off and the opponent is predicting switches. Thats why I thought about switching Cresselias Ice Beam to Psychic. Furthermore I'd like to know, whether Rotom or Thundurus is better to deal with Mega Blaziken. I think Thundurus is the better choice because I can slow it down with twave and Taunt him to beat it with Heatran by protecting the High Jump Kick. Furthermore Thundurus helps me dealing with Brelooms spore.

And I think I will not be able to play the bold hp-Ice Thundurus because I only have access to a bold one without hp-Ice and a Timid with hp-Ice.

 

[cant say]

At first, thanks for your comments on this.
I will answer the first two suggestions you made after school because then I will be able to take a closer look, but I have one question which came up while reading. With Heatran, Heracross, Cresselia, Metagross and Hydreigon I am still quite weak to Mega Blaziken if it has Knock off and the opponent is predicting switches. Thats why I thought about switching Cresselias Ice Beam to Psychic. Furthermore I'd like to know, whether Rotom or Thundurus is better to deal with Mega Blaziken. I think Thundurus is the better choice because I can slow it down with twave and Taunt him to beat it with Heatran by protecting the High Jump Kick. Furthermore Thundurus helps me dealing with Brelooms spore.

And I think I will not be able to play the bold hp-Ice Thundurus because I only have access to a bold one without hp-Ice and a Timid with hp-Ice.

Knock Off on Blaziken isn't very common at all, but even if it does Cresselia tanks it decently. But in the huge majority of battles your Cresselia will be able to wall it and whittle it down or set up Trick Room for Heracross to come in and destroy it. But it may be a good idea to try a Psychic move on Cres over Ice Beam if you're that worried about Blaziken.

edit: Thundurus can also get a priority Thunder Wave in to cripple Blaziken. It will also live a hit thanks to its bulk and get a Thunderbolt in.

edit2: you could also try a Chople Berry Heatran with Earth Power, but it isn't a guaranteed OHKO

Go here for a bold Thundurus: http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...ubers-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-ivs.3567141/

Because its IVs are 30/24/30/31/31/31 you'll need to run a different EV spread to the one I suggested to make sure it's optimised for level 50. The best would be 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpA. This gives the same chance of surviving Aqua Jet, but gives a slightly lower chance of KOing with Thunderbolt after a Belly Drum. Nothing you can really do about that.

 

[4lexander3]

Okay, I tested the team with your suggestions and it went well. I especially like the core with Hera, Cress and tran. And I think I don't really need to worry about Blaziken, so you told me right ;)
But while playing I felt Metagross to be a little bit "lost" as it never really got used. Thats why I thought about only playing one Mega and add sth with priority/quite fast because I struggled quite hard against fast Pokemon. I thought about Talonflame, Mamoswine (scarfed) and Azumarill or do you have any other ideas?
Thank you.

 

[Omastar68]

Okay, I tested the team with your suggestions and it went well. I especially like the core with Hera, Cress and tran. And I think I don't really need to worry about Blaziken, so you told me right ;)
But while playing I felt Metagross to be a little bit "lost" as it never really got used. Thats why I thought about only playing one Mega and add sth with priority/quite fast because I struggled quite hard against fast Pokemon. I thought about Talonflame, Mamoswine (scarfed) and Azumarill or do you have any other ideas?
Thank you.

lol, forget those first two things I said earlier. Hera I got carried away thinking about what KOs you get, and not power in general which is also really important. Hydra you could run a little less Spe, but only a bit so you're still faster than +Spe base 80s. You lose the Spe tie with mirrors though, might not be worth it for so little extra bulk.

Metagross that's actually the other part of what I was saying. It's just not that good tbh. It has a questionable at best match up vs many common things like Chomp, Kang, Gengar, Talon, etc., and even if you have many of these adequately covered it isn't really a good idea to run something that loses to most stuff.

I like double mega though. Looking at Heracross' common teammates, only Gengar likes to be mega. Gengar helps you more with Kang, and is amazing in general. You already were looking kinda soft vs enemy Hydra to me though, so it might not be the best idea. You could run Sash though. Talon also looks like a great add. Revenges Azu after a BD most of the time with CB Brave Bird, isn't too bad vs Hydra and definitely wins if it isn't locked into a STAB, and is the perfect counter to Blaziken.