Wifi by Numb3rs

[Chocopot]

Hey all,

As you can see from my posting count, I’m new to Smogon. I’ve been wifi battling for a while now but need to get the team to the next level so I thought I would ask some of the experts here to see if you can help. I normally run an offensive team (Starmie/Scizor core) but I thought that I would challenge myself to do something a little more balanced.

To make a totally balanced team I couldn’t think of any better way to do it than using maths. For me that meant: three defensive, three attackers. The team at a glace looks like:

​

Gastrodon, Forretress provide the all out defence for the team while Dragonite and Metagross provide some balanced strength. Mienshao and Gengar are there to break stuff and clean up at the end.

‘Ten’
Metagross (Clear body) @ Leftovers
Adamant: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
- Bullet Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Earthquake

This guy is here to take physical hits early in the game, set up Stealth Rock and do whatever other damage it can as a bonus. He’s also a good counter for Latias, who normally appears about the same time in a match as he (it) does. In theory it seems like this team would do better with Heatran support. I’ve tried it, but then I unbalance the team since Special Walls become a problem that only Dragonite can fix and I normally don’t want to bring her in till nearer the end.
Added Zen Headbutt over Meteor Mash following comments. Gives a bit more elemental diversity.
Added Pursuit over Zen Headbutt because it was great for trapping Latias.

He(it?) is called ‘Ten’ because of the X on his face.

‘Three’
Dragonite (Multiscale) @ Lum Berry
Adamant: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 212 Spd
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
- ExtremeSpeed

Dragonite is here as an attacker who can take some hits but keep on going. Lum Berry is here more to absorb burns from the likes of Rotom-W or Scald than to tackle Outrage’s Confusion. Fire Punch is specifically to tackle Scizor/Ferrothorn who think they can ruin Dragonite’s Outrage party. I originally tried running this set with Dragon Claw for easier move switching but it lacked power. I think Dragonite has a nice synergy with Metagross since ground and file attacks directed at Metagross are not problem for Dragonite while the Ice and Dragon attacks Dragonite fears will be taken by Metagross.
Added ExtremeSpeed over rood following comments, I wasn't getting much of an opportunity for Roost when on a sweep anyway.

She’s ‘Three’ because that’s how many claws she has – the pic also makes it look like she’s giving a High 3.

‘Infinity’
Gastrodon (Storm Drain) @ Leftovers
Calm: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover

Gastrodon begins the fully defensive section of the team. I brought this gal on specifically to counter Rotom-W. That said, immunity to water type moves has become incredibly useful especially when you pick up that special attack boost. She also loves to be burned since it means that toxic can’t affect her. She’s also a good multi-purpose special wall once you can eliminate Ferrothorn. Since I’m playing in wifi its incredibly rare to see HP Grass.

The name ‘infinity’ comes from being able to take a number of hits, recover off the damage and just sit there, asking for more. Plus it’s a cool name, no?

‘Pi’
Forretress (Sturdy) @ Leftovers/Lagging Tail
Relaxed: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin

The physical half of the defensive core of the team. Forretress started off on the team because I needed a rapid spinner to be able to bring Dragonite in easily. After putting him on the team I could never have imagined the benefit that having Toxic Spikes would bring me. They are the entry hazard which just keeps on giving. Volt Switch is there so I don’t need to run a Shed Shell. Gyro Ball is a replacement for Explosion since it got nerfed, my Forretress has particularly low Speed IVs anyway, but sometimes I run a Lagging Tail just to maximise its power.
Replaced Toxic Spikes with Spikes. Due to the (new) more offensive nature of the team it allows more OHKOs. It also affects steel types which Toxic Spikes attracts

Forretress is called ‘Pi’ because I think of it as an oddball pokemon and pi is also a pretty strange number. Also Forretress is circular.

‘One’
Mienshao (Regenerator) @ Life Orb
Jolly: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Fake Out

I love this little guy. Regenerator was just made to be given U-Turn and a Choice Item. I’ve tested out a Choice Scarf to make him a revenge killer, but I missed with power of destroying everything with Hi Jump Kick. U-Turn also makes him a good, yet bizarre counter to Celebi as no one is switching Celebi out because they think they’ve got Mienshao covered. OHKOing Ferrothorn with a physical move is just too satisfying. Jirachi doesn’t like this either. Since he outspeeds a lot of things already, flyers like Gyarados don’t want to be taking a stone edge. He’s one of two ‘glass cannons’ on the team (the other being Gengar) who’s there to come it cause lots of damage and, in Mienshao’s case, recover any damage taken when he switches out!
Changed from Choice Band to Life Orb, not losing a massive amount of power but the ability to switch moves is useful. Means I can drop Drain Punch for Fake Out to give that little bit more damage and break sashes.

Mienshao is call ‘One’ because of the connection to Zen and oneness.

‘Zero’
Gengar (Levitate) @ Black Sludge
Timid: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

The second ‘glass cannon’ and all out offensive bad-ass that is Gengar. I haven’t seen this set get a lot of play since I think a lot of people are still hung up on the Pain Split versions of the previous generation. When I read about the B/W generation enhancements I think 100% Disable is one of the things I wanted to try out most. As an offensive player at heart there are few things more satisfying than disabling the only move a wall (or something like Conkledurr) has to hurt you and then putting up a Substitute to put you beyond all harm.

Gengar get’s ‘Zero’ because he’s a ghost and, well, ghosts are there but not really there like zero. Also because he’s cool.

I’ll take any notes you guys have, the more off the wall the better. I find this team tends to struggle with set-up sweepers unless they can be headed off before they get started. No pokémon is sacred in this team so whatever you guys think I’ll certainly take into account.

 

[Jolteon Bandit]

Hey Chocopot,
First of all, I really like the nicknames you used, very nice and creative =)

Anyway, down to business, I'll just give short little suggestions about what I think would be good in terms of movesets or EVs:
For "Ten," I would suggest Zen Headbutt over Meteor Mash to help it damage Rotom-W and Gyarados more effectively.
For "Three," I think Extremespeed could go over Roost so that you can damage set up sweepers like Volcarona (Multiscale pretty much guarantees a boost and Extremespeed can do a lot a damage and possibly KO with SR support).
As for "Infinity," I like Scald over Toxic because you get STAB damage and a 30% burn chance. It's up to you, but I like to try and burn physical sweepers that try to switch into Gastro rather than poison walls. Plus, it allows you to damage Skarmory, which your team appears to be weak to.
For "Pi," I like it's movesets and EVs because I used to run something very similar it on my team as well. I like Volt Switch especially to escape Magnet Pull.
For "One," I kind of like Life Orb over Choice Band. With Regenerator and high speed, you'll just heal off what you use when you switch out and still have very powerful moves with the freedom to change them. I think Drain Punch could be switched for Fake Out or a Flying type move (which would give you perfect coverage) since you have Regenerator as healing and can then break Sashes.
Lastly, I like One and Zero as a strong, fast, perfect coverage core. This is the same TrollGar I use so no complaints.
Just looking over your team, I see that you're pretty Skarmory weak and it can really wreck havoc when all is said and done. I don't really see what you can change besides what I've described that wouldn't mess up synergy.

 

[Harsha]

Hey,

Pretty cool team, this is my favorite style of play! Let's try and make this run more smoothly. Now, the thing that I have found in the past about Forretress is that even with Volt Switch you completely lose momentum, especially to Heatran who can be troublesome because your only safe switch is Gastrodon. Dragonite risks getting hit by Hidden Power Ice and the rest of your Pokemon live in fear of Fire Blast, so to remedy this, I would consider two things. I think you should replace Gastrodon with another special wall: Chansey. Now this may seem like a bad idea because in theory you are weaker to Rotom-W and Water-type moves, but I promise this is not the case. Chansey provides useful Wish support and can lay Stealth Rock effectively due to all the switches she forces. Now, if you do that, you can replace Forretress. To be honest, I think that you would really appreciate Toxic Spikes support and you love having a Water-type on the team, so I will suggest Tentacruel. It can sponge hits effectively if need be and lay Toxic Spikes. While you may find the lack of a second Steel-type disconcerting when it comes to dealing with Dragons, I think that you can easily remedy this with a simple change of Ice Punch > Meteor Mash on Metagross. As for one final change, consider dropping the Choice Band on Mienshao for a Life Orb—covered by Regenerator—to give you some utility. With this, you can opt to use Fake Out instead of Drain Punch because it helps out against foes that need to be revenge killed.

sets

Chansey @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf

Cool team, and good luck! Hope I helped.

 

[Chocopot]

Thanks a million for the comments guys, I've made some edits up above. The reason I've left toxic on Gastrodon is because I was back getting completely wasted by Rotom-W, but also because burn had poor synergy with toxic spikes. The only things I'd really want to be burning were flyers and more often than not I'd be better off trying to hit them with Ice Beam. Actually the only thing it was dealing better with was Skarmory.

I've replaced Meteor Mash with Zen Headbutt on Metagross and I'm currently debating Hammer Arm/Ice Punch over Earthquake. Think I'll test this out tomorrow.

In terms of replacing Forretress and Gastrodon, I've set up a team to test this and I'll do it tomorrow, at first glance a little concerned I'll struggle with physical attackers but I'm willing to give it a shot.

 

[BTzz]

Hey man pretty cool team! You have a lot of threats covered so I'll just be suggesting some simple moveset changes. First off I would drop Zen Headbutt on Metagross for Pursuit. You say Zen Headbutt was mainly for Rotom-W, but you already have an excellent check to it in Gastrodon. Pursuit ensures you can eliminate Ghost-types so Mienshao is free to spam High Jump Kicks. Pursuit also helps with your weakness to Latios. Also consider Leftovers over Air Ballon on Metagross. With Excadrill banned, Air Balloon has very little uses in this metagame and you have a fair amount of ways to check Landorus and Gliscor. Which brings me to my next suggestion, Hidden Power Ice over Stone Edge on Mienshao. Hidden Power Ice enables Mienshao to take out Gliscor, paving the way for some Choice Band Dragonite destruction. This means you'll have to change Mienshao's nature from Jolly to Naive. Finally, I would use Spikes instead of Toxic Spikes on Forretress. Your team doesn't really abuse Toxic Spikes at all, with all you heavy hitters, the passive damage won't really make a differnce and you can always go to Gastrodon to poison stuff. Your team would love Spikes, due to its more offensive nature. With Spikes down, there are very few safe switch ins to CB Nite and Mienshao, and they also work great with Sub-Diable Gengar, racking up damge as Genagr forces stuff out after disabling them.

 

[Chocopot]

Hey,

I've tried Pursuit over Zen Headbutt and I thought it was great because it means I can bring Metagross in on thinks like Latias and hurt it. The Leftovers boost was nice too.

I'm playing on wifi so the chances of me finding a Naive Mienshao with Hidden Power Ice are slim, nigh on zero. I play PO to test out teams before I build them, but I'm probably not going to be able to get the correct hidden power in a game.

Spikes over Toxic Spikes I think was also a winner since it does more initial damage than toxic spikes and and allows the others to get more OHKOs.

Thanks a million!