The Long Road Back

[Slyguy46]

Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I posted an RMT, and for good reason. You see, during the opening stages of the Smogon Tour, my budding career was cut short by the fact that my computer blew up, resulting in a long hiatus from the game.

Having recently got my new computer, I'm back, and I plan on getting back into the game with a vengeance. The problem being, I missed two very important updates: the removal of Latias and Salamence, the latter being the part of the core of my last successful team. Hence, I dove into the challenge of creating a new team to counter this very new meta-game, and it has shown some success as of late.

Team Building

First things first, I needed a good core to center a team around. Not knowing enough about the current meta-game, I figured that the pokemon that benefited the most out of the lack of Latias and Salamence would be Infernape, due to Latias being a fantastic Infernape check. Thinking this, I decided to build the core around a bulky water type, Swampert to be precise. Thinking of a good partner, Zapdos just seemed to mesh so well with it that I couldn't turn it down.

At this point, I decided that while stall could work well, I wanted to center the team around bulky offense, rather than semi-stall. Thinking this, I wanted a revenge killer that also brought in some valuable balance to the core, and what better than the most used pokemon in the meta-game, Scizor?

Thinking about what Bulky Offense entailed, I wanted a valuable teammate that could counter several opponents while surprising my opponent with an unconventional attacker. Offensive Snorlax seemed to work somewhat well, as most people expect RestTalking variates.

Around this time, I began thinking of a lead. Looking at my team, I figured that both Stealth Rock and Sandstorm would be useful for netting the needed kills, and Anti Lead Tyranitar seemed to be the perfect choice.

To round out the team, I wanted something that could take a hit, absorb status, and generally piss off my opponent. Naturally, my favorite little wish maker, Jirachi came to mind.

Now, this team seemed to be working pretty well, but in the end, it just wasn't doing the needed jobs, with Ghost types and opposing leads both ruining a lot of near wins, and the need for a second Special Attacker. Because of this, I tried two small changes: swapping Tyranitar for the more conventional Hippowdon and taking away Scizor for MysticGar, and the team has been working very well since.

A Closer Look

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Impish - Sand Stream
252 HP / 168 Def / 88 Sp Def
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic
-Slack Off

I brought Hippowdon on later in this teams life, and it has worked very well since its inception. Hippowdon has several options against most leads - it can set up SR against foes that can't do too much damage to it, can spread toxic to the opposing team, and stall via Slack Off. Because of this, Hippowdon sets up the opposing team to weaken them for Snorlax, Zapdos, and Swampert to take care of.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Careful - Torrent
252 HP / 40 Att / 216 Sp Def
-Curse
-Avalanche
-Waterfall
-Earthquake

Ah, CursePert. This team was centered around its ability to take a lot of punishment, and then dish out a lot more in full. Unfortunately, lately I've been thinking about how it's role has changed to status absorber as of late, and have thought about transitioning it to RestTalk, but in order to do so, I will have to alter my team greatly. Avalance, Waterfall and Earthquake hit a lot for Super Effective, and Curse allows it to sweep if the opponent lets me set it up.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Timid - Pressure
4 Def / 252 Speed / 252 Sp Att
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power Grass
-Heat Wave
-Roost

Offensive Zapdos has become more or less the main artillery for my team, as most expect a more defensive Zapdos and leave themselves open for easy KO's. STAB Thunderbolt deals enough damage to non-Special Walls to at least 2HKO most opponents, and Roost allows me to Pressure-Stall Choice Attackers and heal off Rocks. I chose Hidden Power Grass to take care of opposing Swampert and Bulky Waters, as without Salamence, the need for Hidden Power Ice is somewhat diminished.

Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid - Levitate
4 Def / 252 Speed / 252 Sp Att
-Shadow Ball
-Protect
-Hidden Power Fire
-Focus Blast

Gengar was the last member of the team to be added, and has proved to be useful in the late game. Protect is for scouting for Pursuit or Priority Moves, letting me take control of the match. Shadow Ball takes out opposing Ghosts, and Hidden Power Fire lets me take out Scizor and Magnezone. As such, Gengar has become a major part of my late game strategy.

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Adamant - Thick Fat
4 HP / 252 Att / 252 Sp Def
-Body Slam
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Selfdestruct

Probably the most unconventional member of the team, Snorlax's job is hard to explain at times. It is a great special wall, but without reliable recovery, it can't take too much of beating. Most of the time, I use Snorlax as a bluff, making them believe it is RestTalk, and deal out some major damage with either Crunch or EQ, use Body Slam for some powerful STAB, or attempt to take out a dangerous opponent via Selfdestruct. As such, Snorlax, though odd in theory, accomplishes his job of setting up the win very effectively by netting surprise kills.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Jolly - Serene Grace
164 HP / 168 Att / 176 Speed
-Iron Head
-Fire Punch
-Substitute
-Thunder Wave

Ah, Jirachi. Probably one of my favorite pokemon to use, but one of my least favorite to oppose. Sub-Wave Jirachi is probably the epitome of annoyance, dishing out headaches like never thought possible. Substitute allows for me to absorb status, and Iron Head and Thunder Wave as a combination allow for a 70% chance of the opponent doing nothing. This weakens the opponent enough for the win by spreading status to as many opponents as possible, and is extremely effective.

In Conclusion

Obviously, this team has its flaws. The fact that I have no Choice Users of any kind leaves me lacking some needed power, but allows for more flexibility. Without a true status absorber, I fall vulnerable to status at some of the most inopportune times. However, this team has worked very well for me, and I hope to not have to alter it too drastically.

Any input will be appreciated, and thanks in advance.

 

[Piccolo]

Change your Swampert to the standard Lead MixPert set, which requires no set up to be able to wall its enemies. This team is pretty slow after all. :/

It's also noticeable that this team has Hippowdon and Swampert, both of which have very similar roles. Because of this, remove Hippowdon altogether. Half of your team does not enjoy Hippowdon's Sand Stream. Gengar is already worn down quickly enough from SR & LO, Snorlax loses Leftovers' benefits, and Zapdos already hates having 1/4 of its HP chipped off whenever it enters the field.

In Hippowdon's place, use Starmie. Now, you're able to check ShucaTran and Infernapes (2 of this team's huge weaknesses) much easier, and you get the benefit of having your enemy's SR spun away - a huge relief for Zapdos. :) If you don't feel comfortable with a Starmie lead, simply have it switch places with MixPert.

 

[Smith]

I agree with Piccolo in that Swampert and Hippowdon together are somewhat redundant and that Mixpert could probably fulfill the roles of both. Infernape looks like a huge hassle for the team, but instead of Starmie, I'm going to recommend Vaporeon. Pokemon like your Swampert really need recovery to be succesful in my opinion.

I feel like Mysticgar isn't really necessary. Mysticgar is great if your team is actively trying to dispose of Scizor, but I feel like you hold up fine against him. In his place I'd try SubSplit Gengar, because the recovery helps boatloads, substitute is superior to protect on pokemon like gengar, and I don't think you'll miss hp fire a lot.

That's all I got, hope it helps.

 

[Scimjara]

Hey Slyguy46 nice team you have yourself, I have a few suggestions that may help your team out.

I'm shaky on the fact that you chose to use hippowdown as your lead. Sandstorm is not a staple on this team. With the effect of sand stream in play gengar, snorlax, and zapdos can't function as well. Especially for gengar who will have the least longevity in the game due to stealth rock and lo+ss recoil. Zapdos already faces problems switching in to stealth rock and a matter of fact you wont be given the opportunity to roost very often. Leads such as forretress can easily set up entry hazards due to hippowdown being a sitting duck to spike stacking. Your team hates switching into entry hazards especially spikes and toxic spikes since swampert and snorlax take a huge toll from just entering the game with the lack of rest you have nothing to stop this.

Another problem for this team is life orb starmie being able to easily hit and run against your team. This can be a potential threat due to the fact that you have no water resists. Even snorlax who is supposedly your spD sponge wont be able to take many hits against constant hydro pump hits as well as sr and ss damage. Once snorlax is out of play you have nothing to take life orb hydro pump leaving your team easily weakened by this insane water pokemon. To add to this you have nothing that out speeds base 115 pokemon like starmie.

Another problem for this team is the lack of trapping capabilities or pokemon that have base 115 speed or higher. This can be a problem due to hit and run scenario I stated in the second paragraph. That with gengar being your fastest pokemon pokemon your team is fairy slow for offense leaving you prone to damage against faster based pokemon. You need an answer to that and because of this the lack of a trapper could be bad.

Another problem for this team is the lack of status absorbing. A defensive rotom can come into play and burn anything it wants in return. Nothing beside swampert or snorlax can switch in well gengar and zapdos would be fearing the thunderbolt and jirachi has nothing to do with defensive rotom. Swampert and Snorlax take WoW like wimps since they both don't have recover.

With this said I would suggest you use life orb heatran a more viable lead for this team instead of poor old sitting duck hippowdown. You stop forretress from setting up layers on you as well as skarmory. You also have the ability of ohko swampert with hidden power grass and machamp with overheat. Life Orb tran provides a more you a more beneficial lead and more offensive power.

I would also suggest pursuit over self destruct on snorlax. This allows you to trap threats like offensive starmie and other weak choice scarf pokemon. Since you don't have anything faster then base 115 on this team I would highly suggest you use pursuit on snorlax.

As for swampert you have many more options instead of the current set you are using. I would suggest you use rest over avalanche which would give you a status absorber letting you set up easily on defensive rotoms. Even with the lack of coverage you still hit hard with earthquake and waterfall. Avalanche was only hitting dragons hard and you can already set up easily on flygon and most dragonites and still manage to kill with waterfall once you set up. You have no business with shaymin or celebi so there is no point in using avalanche.
---
Heatran @ Life Orb | Flash Fire
Modest | 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Speed
Overheat | Earth Power | HP Grass | Stealth Rock

Snorlax: Pursuit over Self Destruct
Swampert: Rest over Avalanche
---
Good Luck

 

[Critical Hyper Beam]

SubSplit Gengar is a good suggestion; IMO. It's a terrific sweeper.

I like the Snorlax - SD carries a lot of promise (if you time it right).

I think Swampert is dead-weight; consider bringing back Scizor.

Or, a MixNite could throw off your opponent. It also covers your weaknesses nicely.

 

[Slyguy46]

Thanks for all the input so far. I'm experimenting with the team now, but I can see why Hippowdon needed to go, so I've replaced him with the Heatran mentioned earlier, but that can be changed to Swampert if needed. For Swampert, I took of Avalanche and gave it Rest, and Gengar I replaced with Vaporeon for Wish and water immunity. Thanks for all the help so far.