The Skies Are Clear

[Lamppost]

The Skies Are Clear​

Introduction

I first built this team to participate in the "#dreamworld challenge", which was to attempt to get #1 on the ladder with a weather-less team. I peaked at #1 with this team at approximately a 1470 rating. I built the team around Conkeldurr and Trick Room Reuniclus, because in my opinion, they were the two best non-weather sweepers out there. Plus, they both take out the majority of each others counters making them the ideal sweeping duo for a non-weather team. The team really isn't anything special, Choice Band Dragonite and Choice Specs Rotom-W both open up holes in teams so Reuniclus or Conkeldurr can sweep. This is without a doubt my most successful team, and i wish i had built it while i was still in the WCOP because i think i would have done much much better (i went 2-2). Anyways, since almost everyone knows this team, i figured it was a good time to post it. So here it is!

At a Glance

The Team

Deoxys-S @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Superpower
-Fire Punch

When i build non-weather teams, i almost always include Deoxys-S, just because he almost guarantees Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes on the field. I almost always lead with Deoxys so i can get my hazards quickly. The only times i don't lead with it are when the team has a spinner like Starmie or Donphan, because i don't have a spinblocker to stop them. This set is great for catching Tyranitar and Forretress off-guard with Superpower and Fire Punch and giving me the momentum early. This guy right here needs more use, he is the best hazard setter in the game atm.

I started running Superpower back in round 2 of the suspect tests because EVERYONE was using Tyranitar (everyone still does) and i never looked back. I've probably never used a Deoxys-S without Superpower, actually. I used to run Magic Coat over Fire Punch to beat Taunt / T-Wave Thundurus and opposing Deoxys-S, but it was kind of unreliable. I started to run Fire Punch to beat Forretress who is commonly sent out against me to lead.

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power Grass

I had never used Choice Specs Rotom-W prior to making this team, only Scarf and the Standard set. I needed something to pair with CB Dnite to bust through walls so Conkeldurr and Reuniclus could sweep, so i ended up picking this guy. Trust me when i say, you do not want to take an unresisted Hydro Pump from Rotom unless your name is Blissey. Seriously though, i haven't seen this set very much on the ladder so far, but i have a feeling it's going to get popular soon. Againt rain teams Rotom is so important because it checks Politoed and Starmie, which are huge threats to my team. Also a rain boosted Hydro Pump does a fuckload to anything. Volt Switch is awesome since it gives me a lot of momentum and i can go to a counter of whatever Pokemon they take the hit with (unless it's a ground-type). I like to run Thunderbolt and Volt Switch together just because i find myself needed the extra power late-game a lot of times. Hidden Power Grass is there to crush Gastrodon, who is a common switch-in to Rotom and who would otherwise wall Rotom-w completely.

Rotom-W beats Gastrodon and Jirachi who would otherwise wall Reuniclus so it can sweep easier. It also beats Gliscor and Skarmory so Conkeldurr can sweep. Rotom-W pretty much gets unlimited switch-ins to Gliscor and Skarmory, which can give me a lot of momentum since there aren't a whole lot of things that can take a specs Hydro Pump.

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multi-Scale
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
-Extremespeed
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Fire Punch

I put Dragonite in this team since it was the best Sun and Rain team counter. After Stealth Rock and Spikes damage it ohko's venasaur, who would sweep my team otherwise. Even without hazard damage Dragonite can take a +2 Sludge Bomb thanks to Multi-Scale. It also ohko's Volcanora with Outrage, who also sweeps my team without him. Dragonite is also my best answer to Thundurus. A banded Extremespeed ohko's Thundurus some of the time after Stealth Rock damage, and i can just revenge kill it with Scizor if i'm not at 100% health to activate Multi-Scale. This guy is the glue of the team and it checks too many threats to list.

Dragonite gets Reuniclus, Skarmory, Gliscor, Starmie, and Volcarona out of the way so Conkeldurr can sweep. It also gets Jirachi out of the way so Reuniclus can sweep.

Scizor @ Occa Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Atk / 138 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch
-Bug Bite
-Roost

This set may seem wierd at first but it's actually very effective. This used to be a Choice Band Scizor to try and counter Latios, but i found that i had a huge Dragonite weakness because a Choice Band Bullet Punch just didn't do the trick. And since Dragonite was getting much more popular, i decided to start running this set. Occa Berry allows me to set up a Swords Dance on Dragonite, and put it in KO range for CB Dnite to revenge kill with Extremespeed. Occa Berry also had other uses such as beating HP Fire Celebi and latias, it never gets old watching someone get KO'd and then saying "wtf man". This set has proven really useful and can set up on a ton of things. It's also a good Haxorus check since i can take one Outrage, Bug Bite, then Finish it off with Bullet Punch. I run Roost so Scizor can stay alive a lot longer because it constantly has to switch in to Dragon-type moves like Latios' Draco Meteors.

Scizor really isn't here to clear a path for a Conkeldurr / Reuniclus sweep but it does counter Reuniclus and latios which are two of Conkeldurr's biggest counters. It also sets up on Jirachi, who is Reuniclus's biggest counter

Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
-Bulk Up
-Drain Punch
-Mach Punch
-Payback

This is the standard Bulk Up set for Conkeldurr, and it's really effective in the current metagame. Conkeldurr is one of my two main sweepers and is my main answer to Excadrill. There isn't really much to say about Conkeldurr other than it's an absolute beast. After a Bulk up there's only a few things that can stop this guy, who are usually eliminated by the time i bring out Conkeldurr to sweep. Mach Punch makes up for how slow this guy is since it has priority. Payback is there to hit ghosts and flying-type Pokemon who otherwise wall him. Conkeldurr can even beat gliscor by itself if it is at +1 already. Again, there isn't much to say about this guy other than he is my main sweeper and is an absolute BEAST.

Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SpA
0 Speed IVs
Quiet Nature (+SpA, -Spe)
-Trick Room
-Psychic
-Focus Blast
-Shadow Ball

This is by FAR my favorite set of the generation. It's so good, yet so underrated and not prepared for. There have been a lot of times where all i have to do to win is set up hazards and go straight to Reuniclus and sweep. Most of the time when they see me go to Reuniclus they pull out their CM variant counters such as Ttar, who are KO'd by LO focus blast. This is my secondary check to excadrill, since it only does around 67% to me with Earthquake if it hasn't set up a SD yet. Trick Room also benefits Conkeldurr, so if Reuniclus dies i'm not completely fucked over by slower Pokemon. This set demolishes offensive teams, while the CM version demolishes stall teams, i wish i could use them both on the same team :(.

So that's my team! Feel free to rate it since i feel like it has lost its edge lately. I will take all rates seriously (except Folgorio's) and test them all out on the ladder. thanks!

Threat list coming soon

 

[Lamppost]

Threat List

Offensive Threats

Conkeldurr - Is a tough to beat if reuniclus is down, so i try to keep it alive if i see one of these.

Darmanitan - In the sun it can be a pain in the ass but i usually just go to Dnite and KO it with Extremespeed

Dragonite - DD Lum Dragonite is a bitch if it has exspeed since it can beat my dnite when i revenge kill after i've weakned it with scizor. Generally all i have to do is weaken it with scizor, then revenge kill with dnite, though.

Excadrill - Is a bitch if Conkeldurr is down, but the only thing it can set-up on on my team is scizor, so i try to keep scizor off the field if conkeldurr is down.

Gengar - Is annoying but i usually just go to scizor and bullet punch it to death.

Gyarados - I always go to Dragonite and beat it with Extremespeed

Haxorus - Hits very hard, but i usually switch in with scizor, then if i fail to KO it revenge with Dnite.

Jirachi - I can beat it with conkeldurr if it's not offensive, and i beat it with Dnite no matter what set.

Landorus - In the sand it can be pretty annoying but i just go to dnite and exspeed it.

Latios - definately the biggest threat to the team. I don't really have anything to trap it so it gets unlimited switches. I usually go to scizor to take the draco then roost off the damage. It is set-up bait for reuniclus, though since all i have to do is sac something then set-up trick room

Reuniclus - Scizor beats CM versions, but trick room variants are a big problem to this team if scizor is out or weakened.

Scizor - My main switch-in is always rotom-w since it has a 4x resistance to bullet punch.

Starmie - Another huge threat to my team. In the rain it 2hko's rotom-w with hydro pump who is generally my first switch in. My only hope in beating this is hazards and revenge killing with extremespeed

Thundurus - if rocks are up i just beat it with cb extremespeed, and if im not at 100% health i have to revenge kill with scizor.

Tornadus - Same as thundurus

Volcarona - Bulky Volcarona is annoying since CB Outrage Doesn't OHKO and i risk the burn. If i get burnt on a bulky Volcarona, i lose.

Defensive Threats

Skarmory - Can be annoying to take down if Rotom-w is dead, but i never really get completely walled by it.

Quagsire - Probably the most annoying pokemon on stall teams. if rotom-w and reuniclus are gone i have a hard time breaking through it. It makes conkeldurr completely useless :(

 

[Dezza Laa]

Hey Lamppost,

Congrats on the successful clear skies team!

A specially defensive Jirachi seems to synergise very well with your team. Jirachi is a great partner to the Reuniclus + Conkeldurr duo, offering a switch in into some threats such as Latios, whom the duo otherwise struggle with. I would probably say going max special defense, seeing as how if Trick Room is in use the usual 16 Speed EV's would be rather odd. The most replacable Pokemon on this team would have to be Deoxys, who only really offers a check to Tyranitar and hazard supports.

Specially Defensive Jirachi

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Body Slam
- Iron Head

The set I gave you above really helps the entire team out, whether it is giving Rotom-W or Dragonite another round of wall breaking or just para flinching problems such as TTar, Latios and Starmie (The latter two are prevalent threats). He gives you Stealth Rocks, the more vital of field hazards, and is a more durable Pokemon that Deoxys.

GL

 

[IronBullet]

Hey bro,

This is a fantastic team, and youve used it to pretty much its full potential. Since Latios can only really switch in on Rotom-W, something worth trying out is Signal Beam over Thunderbolt. Specs Volt Switch is not really missing out on any KOs that you would get with Thunderbolt, and on neutral targets Hydro Pump is a better option anyway. Signal Beam puts a serious dent in Latios and scores a clean OHKO on Celebi, especially useful since Occa Scizor is defeated if it switches in on Nasty Plot.

Your team is very slow, and Reuniclus will not always get an opportunity to set up TR. You would benefit from a Scarfer or something for a better source of revenge killing than priority. Simply giving Rotom-W a Scarf will give you a better tool for checking stuff like Latios, Starmie and Landorus. Scarf Rotom-W is actually more helpful against offense than Specs. Jirachi is still 3HKOed, so without Protect you still beat it. Gastrodon is still easily 2HKOed, while Specs was never going to get past Blissey anyway. You can still use the moveset with Signal Beam over Thunderbolt, but run just enough speed for Starmie and put the rest in HP. It also helps a lot against SD + Acrobatics Gliscor, who can actually give you a lot of grief.

Good luck!

 

[-Tsunami-]

Hey there.

I've played against this team a lot so I think I can offer some good information (I remember twice it came down to CB Dragonite vs CB Dragonite in the end =)

On Dragonite, run Aqua Tail / Waterfall over Earthquake. Aqua Tail does the same amount to Volcarona was Outrage, and has the advantage of not being set up fodder for steel types such as Ferrothorn. Same against Gliscor. Earthquake doesn't really offer you anything spectacular; Heatran gets destroyed by Aqua Tail / Waterfall regardless.

Also, I agree with Iron Bullet about Signal Beam on Rotom-W. Obviously, no one is going to expect that, and destroying an extremely common switch-in to Rotom-W with a very unexpected move can truly annoy the opponent.

On Dragonite, run your extra 4 evs in defense or special defense. 4 HP leaves you with an even HP number, allowing you to be killed off by 4 switch-ins to Stealth Rock.

On Deoxys-S, run Thunder / Thunderbolt over Superpower. Superpower is really predictable nowadays, and many Tyranitars run Chople Berry as well. Thunder / Thunderbolt would allow you to kill Starmie, who can very easily beat your Deoxys-S and spin your entry hazards away. Thunder is the preferred as most Starmies are seen on rain teams. Just run a Naughty / Lonely nature instead of Adamant if you plan to use Thunder / Thunderbolt.

Overall, very good team :)

 

[Lamppost]

k thanks for the rates guys

@dezza laa, thanks for the rate but the team thrives off the entry hazard damage. without rocks i wouldnt be able to beat a lot of threats like dnite, thundurus, and tornadus. i'll try it out but i doubt it will really help.

@IB93: Thanks for the awesome rate, i think the scarf rotom with signal beam will really help and i will try it soon!

@oz: The reason i run earthquake is for jirachi since fire punch doesn't KO it and then i get body slam / flinch haxed to death. I'll try it though since it does have a lot of uses. also changed the evs and put tbolt on over superpower, thanks.

 

[StallMandibuzz]

Hey there, I've got a suggestion for you with your Rotom-W. Change T-bolt for Discharge. Even though Discharge is a bit weaker then T-bolt is, it does have a 30% chance of paralysis, which will always help Roobushin and Rankurusu. (I love the Japanese names for them. :D) Anyways, T-bolt has 15 more BP then Discharge does, but Discharge has a better chance of tossing some chaos around in your foe's face when half of his team are paralyzed and getting destroyed. Other then that, your team looks pretty sturdy. You could also try using Trick on Rotom-W to disorient a physical attacker like Conkeldurr, while usually getting a good item in return. Anyways, I hope my little critique helped. :) I've also never seen anyone use Fire Punch on a Deo-S. o.o

 

[Albyness]

Hey very nice team...i once made it to 1509 with a non weather as well.Not saying that to boast but to prove to people what ur doing, that non weather teams are still viable, and can be successful depending on the trainer ...actually cant say non weather team, cuz it had rain dance on it, but no toads or t-tars u always see, no weather inducers.It takes a real trainer to use a non weather team as any noob can strap a toad and kingdra together ,t-tar/ex and climb the ladder.You've inspired me to put a band on my nite, cuz ur right i do look to nite's extremespeed to finish off a lot...ur scizor set looks nice, and messes up all those douches that carry hp fire, Also think of switching it. But really what i will use from ur team is hp grass on rotom...gastrodon messes up my team bad with its new change to its ability.Trick was my only attempt to check it.
What i do think will help ur team drastically, is adding a jirachi. Sp def, the same set that DEzza laa is proposing. It take specs meteors from latios like nothing and threatens to paralyze it or the switch in... its a beast...Also u should consider hp fire on reuniclus...scizor almost always switch it, focus blast doesnt KO and it KO's with u-turn/bug bite...i know u need shadow ball for psychics but to me killing scizor take a gret thorn out ur side...also psyshock is another reward move to check chansey n blissey

Again nice team, I love it

 

[Albyness]

Also Jirachi has great synergy with ur d-nite, and he could pass wishes into a ground or fire attack to nite activating multi-scale...this is nice especially if ur opponent has rocks up

 

[Basti]

YES! Finally someone else who uses HP grass rotom. I love baiting :3

Anyway nice team, although it is a bit latios weak.

 

[Eternal]

Hey there Lamppost. As you already know I've used your team as an example of a successful weather-less team. I've also written a couple of paragraphs of me identifying the team's weaknesses and strong-points. So everyone will just have to ready my article for that info, lol.

While analyzing this team and how successful it is against other weather teams, I've found a couple of threats. One of the biggest problems to this team is Thundurus. The only Pokemon you have of handling Thundurus is your CB Dragonite's ExtremeSpeed, which isn't that reliable as it does 66 - 78% to standard Thundurus. Whereas if Thundurus was holding Leftovers and Stealth Rock isn't up (which would be easy to take off since you lack a Ghost-type to stop Rapid Spin), Scizor's Bullet Punch won't be enough to beat it. So A Nasty Plot Leftovers Thundurus could easily sweep your whole team. Another problem in the rain is Tornadus. A Choice Specs Tornadus with Hurricane can also blow away your whole team, where you would once against have to rely on Scizor and CB Dragonite and Stealth Rock up to take care of it. You're just giving them too many jobs. So what's a good way to fix this problem? I would recommend replacing Fire Punch from Deoxys-S for Ice Punch instead. This way Deoxys-S is able to revenge kill your biggest threats, those being fast Ice-weak sweepers like Thundurus, Tornadus, DD Salamence/Haxorus/Dragonite which your team has a hard time again. It will ease those problems. Another option is to go with Choice Scarf on Rotom-W over Choice Specs so that you're able to revenge kill Tornadus and Thundurus. Other than that, this is a very solid team and I can see how it was so successful in the ladder. It seems Ironbullet93 also recognized the problem, so yea I agree with him:

Your team is very slow, and Reuniclus will not always get an opportunity to set up TR. You would benefit from a Scarfer or something for a better source of revenge killing than priority. Simply giving Rotom-W a Scarf will give you a better tool for checking stuff like Latios, Starmie and Landorus. Scarf Rotom-W is actually more helpful against offense than Specs. Jirachi is still 3HKOed, so without Protect you still beat it. Gastrodon is still easily 2HKOed, while Specs was never going to get past Blissey anyway. You can still use the moveset with Signal Beam over Thunderbolt, but run just enough speed for Starmie and put the rest in HP. It also helps a lot against SD + Acrobatics Gliscor, who can actually give you a lot of grief.

Good luck!

 

[Lamppost]

A Choice Specs Tornadus with Hurricane can also blow away your whole team

lol pun intended? xD

anyways ya i will try ice punch, i'll use ice punch and fire punch so i can still deal with forretress. Like i said with IB93 i'm gonna try the scarf rotom, thanks!

 

[shrang]

Okay, I remember playing this team, and while I lost because I play like an idiot, one thing really stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Your team is incredibly, incredibly Electric weak. As soon as I saw the team on Team Preview, I just sent in my Specs Thundurus and started spamming Thunder or Thunderbolt because I knew nothing on your team could switch into it. As much as I hate Gliscor, I think it would be a better fit over Conkeldurr for this reason. It would provide much better synergy with the rest of your team.

 

[Reiko]

Great Team :]...here's my thought though...
1. With all the Gliscor running around, conkelldur is rendered useless so I'd try maybe a Smack Down Landorus?
2. I'd switch Dnite and scizors uses...so All Out offensive DD Dnite and CB Scizor...this offers massive sweeping ability since Dnite will still have its function and being able to switch move and Scizor is one of the best revenge killers in the game.
Other then that great team:]

 

[Vitalise]

Nice team you got there, and Congradz on the #1 :>, I like the Idea of HP Grass on rotom. Good way to Bait Gastrodon and Quagsire and predict them to switch into Rotom and then just wreck there tiny asses