Destiny Warrior
also known as Darkwing_Duck
This was a team I made to test out Celebi in GSC. My results weren't very conclusive in the end, because my matches were dominated by my 2 Cursers, and Celebi itself saw very little action. There are a few problems witht his team, which I shall mention later. I'd like to take this step by step, so here we go:-
Team Building Process
I was really curious to see why Celebi was banned, and how exactly it was a staller, so it was kind of natural for me to choose it first?
Next, I checked out threats to Celebi. Heracross and CurseLax star among them. Drumlax too, but what doesn't Drumlax threaten? Skarmory made it in next, as my physically defensive Pokemon and also my Curse Pokemon stopper since I couldn't fit Perish Song onto Celebi(4mss fml)
Next, I needed a pair of tanks who can check most non-setup sweepers. I put in ST Suicune + ST Raikou for this purpose.
Now, I have a solid defensive core. I needed a good lead, and figured I could use a CurseLax there. Besides, Celebi had Heal Bell, so I could run Curse + Lovely Kiss and still get away with it.
Finally, I looked through my team's weaknesses: JoltWak and Growth Vaporeon. I figured Raikou could possibly take on Vaporeon(its still very iffy) , so I slotted in Starmie to Spin away annoying Spikes since most of my team is grounded, and because JoltWak wasn't very common. I fully admit I have no idea what would be best in this slot.
Now to the main team.
Snorlax (M) @ Leftovers
- Lovely Kiss
- Rest
- Belly Drum
- Body Slam
This is so good. Teams which don't have a Skarmory have a lot of trouble with this. Lovely Kiss means I can choose exactly what to disable on my opponent's team, and I often get very good targets for it. CurseRest is self-explanatory, and Body Slam to fish for paralysis and also because I don't need Double-Edge's power. This lures out ghosts satisfactorily, so I can go to Skarmory/Suicune on Misdreavus and Raikou on Gengar.
EDIT: Changed to DrumRest to provide some offense to this team.
Celebi @ Leftovers
- Psychic
- Heal Bell
- Leech Seed
- Recover
This is the keystone of my team. It is significantly limited by the lack of Spikes, which I'm not sure if I should be running(need help there!). Leech Seed helps the team as a whole, and in tough situations, tides me over in stall wars. Recover is self-explanatory, and Heal Bell helps Snorlax. Psychic hits Machamp, means I can actually do some damage in a pinch, and lets me hit any Gengar that try to stay in and Ice Punch. Gengar in general is annoying to this team with access to Explosion and Perish Song.
Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
- Rest
- Sleep Talk / Whirlwind
- Curse
- Drill Peck
This bird once killed 3 Pokemon a team at a stretch. I'm honestly amazed by how good CurseResTalk Skarm(can I call it CroMory :P) is, and it stops so many physical threats. I decided to go with Curse instead of WHirlwind because I lack Spikes, and jeez, this thing does so much. It can go toe to toe with CurseLax, and either win or leave it deprived of a lot of PP.
EDIT: It was brought up on IRC that I could use a phazer, so Skarmory now has Whirlwind slashed with Sleep talk. Both are equally viable options, and it really comes down to what you prefer.
Raikou @ Leftovers
- Thunderbolt
- Rest
- Roar
- Hidden Power [Water]
Teams up with Suicune in a mini-core to beat down mixsweepers. I didn't go with HP Ice because I found Exeggutor was really uncommon, and didn't feel the other targets like Dragonite particularly deserved my attention. On the other hand, HP Water lets me hit Ground-types while also punishing Rhydon and Golem more severely, something I like.
Suicune @ Leftovers
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
Suicune is what I use for taking on Dragonite and other Mixsweepers Raikou doesn't cover. Surf + Ice Beam gets decent neutral coverage, and Raikou already deals with Water-types, so that's all nice and dandy.
Cloyster @ Leftovers
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Surf
- Spikes
My Spiker. This ensures my team isn't mere bait for stall wars, and hinders switching around. While I do have a shortage of phazers, I feel that Celebi should be able to force switches with Leech Seed, to cover for having fewer phazers than normal.
Threats
JoltWak: I haven't encountered any JoltWak teams, but if it gets through to Wak, its gg. As far as I can see, JoltWak can beat this team easily, something I'm not very comfortable with. My only semi-reliable checks are Skarmory to take on Marowak(Maro can SD and break me down pretty fast afaik), and Raikou for Jolteon(can easily BP out). I'd really like help with this.
Drumlax: Obviously.
LK Nidoking: Generally leads are dealt with by Snorlax, but midgame it can give me issues.
Perish Sleep Trapping Misdreavus: Another issue, can come in on Snorlax and get free kills again and again.
Rate away guys, I'd appreciate criticism and help on this team!
Team Building Process
I was really curious to see why Celebi was banned, and how exactly it was a staller, so it was kind of natural for me to choose it first?
Next, I checked out threats to Celebi. Heracross and CurseLax star among them. Drumlax too, but what doesn't Drumlax threaten? Skarmory made it in next, as my physically defensive Pokemon and also my Curse Pokemon stopper since I couldn't fit Perish Song onto Celebi(4mss fml)
Next, I needed a pair of tanks who can check most non-setup sweepers. I put in ST Suicune + ST Raikou for this purpose.
Now, I have a solid defensive core. I needed a good lead, and figured I could use a CurseLax there. Besides, Celebi had Heal Bell, so I could run Curse + Lovely Kiss and still get away with it.
Finally, I looked through my team's weaknesses: JoltWak and Growth Vaporeon. I figured Raikou could possibly take on Vaporeon(its still very iffy) , so I slotted in Starmie to Spin away annoying Spikes since most of my team is grounded, and because JoltWak wasn't very common. I fully admit I have no idea what would be best in this slot.
Now to the main team.
Snorlax (M) @ Leftovers
- Lovely Kiss
- Rest
- Belly Drum
- Body Slam
This is so good. Teams which don't have a Skarmory have a lot of trouble with this. Lovely Kiss means I can choose exactly what to disable on my opponent's team, and I often get very good targets for it. CurseRest is self-explanatory, and Body Slam to fish for paralysis and also because I don't need Double-Edge's power. This lures out ghosts satisfactorily, so I can go to Skarmory/Suicune on Misdreavus and Raikou on Gengar.
EDIT: Changed to DrumRest to provide some offense to this team.
Celebi @ Leftovers
- Psychic
- Heal Bell
- Leech Seed
- Recover
This is the keystone of my team. It is significantly limited by the lack of Spikes, which I'm not sure if I should be running(need help there!). Leech Seed helps the team as a whole, and in tough situations, tides me over in stall wars. Recover is self-explanatory, and Heal Bell helps Snorlax. Psychic hits Machamp, means I can actually do some damage in a pinch, and lets me hit any Gengar that try to stay in and Ice Punch. Gengar in general is annoying to this team with access to Explosion and Perish Song.
Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
- Rest
- Sleep Talk / Whirlwind
- Curse
- Drill Peck
This bird once killed 3 Pokemon a team at a stretch. I'm honestly amazed by how good CurseResTalk Skarm(can I call it CroMory :P) is, and it stops so many physical threats. I decided to go with Curse instead of WHirlwind because I lack Spikes, and jeez, this thing does so much. It can go toe to toe with CurseLax, and either win or leave it deprived of a lot of PP.
EDIT: It was brought up on IRC that I could use a phazer, so Skarmory now has Whirlwind slashed with Sleep talk. Both are equally viable options, and it really comes down to what you prefer.
Raikou @ Leftovers
- Thunderbolt
- Rest
- Roar
- Hidden Power [Water]
Teams up with Suicune in a mini-core to beat down mixsweepers. I didn't go with HP Ice because I found Exeggutor was really uncommon, and didn't feel the other targets like Dragonite particularly deserved my attention. On the other hand, HP Water lets me hit Ground-types while also punishing Rhydon and Golem more severely, something I like.
Suicune @ Leftovers
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
Suicune is what I use for taking on Dragonite and other Mixsweepers Raikou doesn't cover. Surf + Ice Beam gets decent neutral coverage, and Raikou already deals with Water-types, so that's all nice and dandy.
Cloyster @ Leftovers
- Rapid Spin
- Rest
- Surf
- Spikes
My Spiker. This ensures my team isn't mere bait for stall wars, and hinders switching around. While I do have a shortage of phazers, I feel that Celebi should be able to force switches with Leech Seed, to cover for having fewer phazers than normal.
Threats
JoltWak: I haven't encountered any JoltWak teams, but if it gets through to Wak, its gg. As far as I can see, JoltWak can beat this team easily, something I'm not very comfortable with. My only semi-reliable checks are Skarmory to take on Marowak(Maro can SD and break me down pretty fast afaik), and Raikou for Jolteon(can easily BP out). I'd really like help with this.
Drumlax: Obviously.
LK Nidoking: Generally leads are dealt with by Snorlax, but midgame it can give me issues.
Perish Sleep Trapping Misdreavus: Another issue, can come in on Snorlax and get free kills again and again.
Rate away guys, I'd appreciate criticism and help on this team!