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i have successfully bred and trained salamence, azumarill, porygon and ferrothorn. (although technically i need to evolve the porygon). whoever wants to do the cloning and distribution, feel free to PM me to get those pokemon.
 
I think there should be a stage for refining the team before we start breeding and distributing. Nearly every good team goes through changes after choosing the initial 6 pokemon. I think its almost certain we could change some sets or pokemon from what we have now to make the team better. This is when we want to play with the team on PS and see what it struggles with and what we can improve.
 
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6tennis

Great stream. I got the impression that you weren't sold on P2. And that the team is built on the first 4. Any thoughts as to how we move this team on?
 
After the stream 2 days ago, I'd like to point out a few things. Bear in mind that I tested on an alt starting from 1250, and climbed my way to 1350 using only this team.

- Porygon2 didn't get selected once. I feel like between the 5 other mons we have, we cover everything that P2 covers. I haven't even been using it as a blanket check to multiple threats. Any combination of Rotom-H, Aegislash, and Ferrothorn get its job done better.
- This team is really slow! We're mostly relying on our defensive synergy and SpD Mence's ability to win against like everything lmao. Sure, SpD Mence can set up, and Rotom-H is Scarf, but both of these mons' selling points are their bulk. In my opinion, something offensive might do the team some good. It doesn't have to be like, say, a Greninja, and have 0 bulk, but who knows? Maybe one of those might be useful. We'll have to experiment.
- Aegislash doesn't get used much, but I think we should keep it. It's extremely handy in a few scenarios. I will say, though, that sometimes I regret not carrying Flash Cannon on my Aegislash. It may not be such a big problem that we have to change it up, but an option to hit Fairies SE is pretty cool, I guess? Neutral coverage+STAB is aight too.

What do you guys think about P2? Also, how did I play? Anything we should be doing differently for when we take this on cart?
 
You've made a great point about P2 thanks to the defensive synergy it's almost a wasted slot. I'd found myself experimenting with its' moveset (double status worked as well as anything else) and forcing myself to use it. Could we not find something that compliments the offensive combinations of the lineup that we have so far?

I've found anything not weak to flying or ground means that M-Mence is weak. There have been times where I've been desperate to click Outrage for power/STAB. Again i think it boils down to offensive combination. We could use the speedy glass cannon type - 'Ninja or Weavile, (put a sash on it?) and it's probably a guaranteed kill if you lead or bring it on a free switch.

How good is Sacred Sword on Aegis? I mean, I don't think I clicked it and got rid of it for FC as soon as I could.

There was one thing I wanted to mention. You saw Clef on team preview and never faced it, which surprised me as I struggled against it. What would have been the play? Is there anything else that draws the same kind of concern that we need to be aware of?

I'd been digging through the options of a second Mega but while I wanted the likes of Mega Luc (much familiarity), I can't help but bring it back to the speed issues. Would Mega Medicham or Lopunny or something like it be an worthwhile pick? Or Raikou? Hell, even our own Kang?
 
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For Clef, bring Mence and preempt it. Rotom-H and Aegis work fine too. As for double Mega, a second Mega would basically benchwarm. SpD Mence is what makes this team work. In any given matchup, I can't think of a time when I wouldn't want SpD Mence.
 
So I fully believe that P2 is expendable on this team and I'd like to discuss a replacement. My favourite is Mamoswine. I think Lum could work but I like AV too.

I've grown to appreciate this team a bit more and the stream definitely encouraged me to be a bit braver with Mence & Aegis, leading with it etc.

I've done some experiments with this team; Belly Drum Azu to moderate success and Iron Head/T Wave Ferro but Ferro got used a lot less thanks to Aegis. It's got me wondering if we need Ferro or if something with a Helmet and good typing could do a similar job.

I do feel it's vulnerable to well executed stall. This will probably be a bigger factor on cart.
 
Hi everyone! I'm a little late to the party here, but I am a decently experienced BSS player and would like to pitch in a few thoughts.

I have had a chance to test the team and it has worked pretty well. The defensive synergy gives a lot of good switching opportunities and can sometimes allow mind games on obvious switches in an emergency, as well.

Playing only one game against really clear stall despite almost 50 battles so far makes me a little nervous. This team seems at least somewhat vulnerable to stall, and stall itself is more prevalent on cart than what I've seen on Showdown in general, especially at higher levels.

I agree that P2 is by far the most expendable member of the team. While it hasn't been dead weight, it tends to be extremely situational (mainly against teams that stack dragons) and doesn't really help much against stall other than being decent against Gliscor. While having an extra check for popular stuff like Mence, most Kang, and whatnot is nice, Aegis seems to handle most of them very well too and has better synergy with Mence.

This was brought up above, but I think handling Clef merits a bit more discussion on the grounds that most variants deal very well with the star of the team and are annoying for several of the others as well. It's #60 in usage, so it may not matter all that often, but the team does look at least somewhat weak to it.
 
Anything that commonly carries a Chesto Berry doesn't fear Hypnosis and loves the low accuracy riskiness, even Sylveon with the Poison weakness. And if it carries Psyshock then it doesnt need a lot of prior damage to KO. Specs Sylveon only needs chip damage.

I still feel like we are desperately missing Taunt somewhere but not sure where it could go.
 
You'd toss Sludge Bombs at Sylveon rather than spin the wheel, so Gengar wins barring prior damage and a healthy Psyshock Sylveon.

Or you can OHKO a +6 evasion Clefable and make your opponent throw his or her 3DS out the window.
 
You'd toss Sludge Bombs at Sylveon rather than spin the wheel, so Gengar wins barring prior damage and a healthy Psyshock Sylveon.

Or you can OHKO a +6 evasion Clefable and make your opponent throw his or her 3DS out the window.
lol. Well I like Casino Gengar a ton, but this team is really built around its mega so idk how often we'd bring it. Unless ofc we run sash, and that provides some insurance against Hypnosis misses just like the mega's enhanced bulk. Then basic STABs(Shadow Ball or Hex, not sure,) and Destiny Bond.
 
Yeah, you'd rarely bring it - honestly more or less just for stall, as it isn't really the most elegant available solution to fairy-types.

Maybe there's something else that can fulfill that role. Mega Mawile can break stallmons and also crush fairy-types with Iron Head, but it's really sub-par without a team built around it. Is there a Heatran build that's good against stall teams? Mega Venusaur maybe?
 

cant say

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Yeah see, I totally disagree with (what seems like everyone's) thoughts on Porygon2, and I've had a lot of battles where Salamence matches up terribly and I've had to bring 3 support mons to try and win a match with this team.

I've tested with this team a fair bit and I honestly hated piloting it. We have two Steel-types and three physically defensive Pokemon. I didn't feel like Ferrothorn and Porygon2 overlapped too much, but I think Aegislash does. Aegi also has a (somewhat) similar role to Azumarill (slow bulky attacker), so overall, I think we have too many mons doing the same thing, and they all compete for selection at team preview. Instead of going "I need a check to [example physical attacker] so I'll bring my physically defensive check" I was constantly arguing with myself over which one to actually bring, in the huge majority of cases though I was picking Porygon2.

We also have nothing for Stall, specifically Unaware Clefable. No I'm not going to count Rotom-H because getting it in and landing the Trick before it Minimizes (bar getting the lead matchup but that's rare) is hard af. They also rarely stay in because the threat of a Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, or yes Trick, is way too risky, and Clefable is often paired with a Mega or something that doesn't care about a Scarf.

I think we've tried to support Salamence too much, and not prepared the team to actually take on much of the metagame. Salamence doesn't need that much support, it only auto-loses to very few Pokemon (Thundurus, Mamoswine, Unaware Clefable, Weavile, Porygon2, that's about it off the top of my head), and those can be covered in about 2-3 teamslots, yet we've dedicated 5 slots to it. We've built the team under the assumption that we'll be bringing Salamence to every game which, in practice, is an impossibility. We need to have a "plan-B" core that we can go to when the matchup is iffy, which means cutting out like two Pokemon from the team.

At the risk of turning this team into what I'm already using to ladder with on-cart, I think keeping Porygon2 in favour of Ferrothorn and Aegislash, and adding CasinoGar and a 6th Pokemon is our best course of action. CasinoGar is the most splashable Pokemon on this team and replaces Aegislash flawlessly, as well as making our matchup against Stall 60% better (get it?). The Salamence + Porygon2 core is already really strong, then we have Gengar + Azumarill. Rotom-H is usable on both those cores, and P2 / Azu can be used in both cores (meaning we'd be using a three of [mega choice] / P2 / Azu a lot), which allows us to select a new 6th mon which can fill a really specific role that might never get chosen.

I also think a tanky SubWoW Lefties Rotom-H might be better for the team after testing it out. If people are in favour of that role then maybe we could look at using Heatran instead since we'll be lacking a Steel-type. But SpD Heatom is a fantastic Sylveon check which we'll need.

tl;dr:
  • Drop Ferro
  • Drop Aegi
  • Add Gengar
  • Change Rotom-H to tank set
  • Proposed team:
    • SpD Salamence / Banded Azumarill / Scarf Tank Rotom-H / Porygon2 / CasinoGar / 6th mon
 
I'm more than happy with most of this. We can open up discussions a bit more about the new steel type, whether that is the answer.

Having the scarf free is interesting too.
 
I think cant say did a good job of outlining the major problems with the team as is. After more testing, I've been starting to think that P2 is significantly more critical than I had been thinking in my first post above. One major problem that we would have without P2 in the team's current iteration that cant say actually didn't mention is (somewhat ironically) Mega Mence, as the standard Adamant DD version ranges from good to excellent against the other five members of the team, even more so if SR is up, which is of course common to pair with it. Unaware Clef in particular has always been a worry, as mentioned several times above, and while I've managed to beat it a couple of times it's definitely a pain to face.

I echo cant say's frustration in determining which physically defensive mon to bring in certain cases, and after my most recent testing session I agree with his assessment that P2 ultimately has significantly more utility against most top threats than Aegis in this regard. I think Aegis is generally a better Kang check because PuP variants are dangerous to P2 despite it having Foul Play, and they win with DE, but other than that there's not a lot that Aegis does better after testing. (Note that for Aegis, much like with Mence, the added utility of our variant against specific threats is balanced by a general lack of power when unboosted, and on reflection, this similarity--especially without recovery for the former--points to Aegis being more expendable than our first blush impressions suggested). I also agree that CasinoGar handles a lot of stuff that Aegis might be used for, such as being a PuP Kang check, and of course it's vastly superior against stall. (I also agree with can't say about having 2 megas/cores for the reason described--even Mence doesn't want to come if, say, Mamo and Thundurus both show up in team preview, and when it's the only mega there's at least a decent chance I'd go with both if I was playing the other team.)

However, if we do drop both steels, I think Sylveon becomes a much bigger headache than suggested above. Heatom seems like a mediocre primary check at best to most Sylveon variants due to its inability to do decent damage to it, especially if it has to switch in (and actually loses 1-on-1 to both common variants without something like Confuse Ray or Pain Split unless I'm totally missing something... which I admittedly might be). CasinoGar at least does heavy damage to it, but it can only switch in once on Specs and has quite a bit of trouble stopping CM Sylveon once it has a boost, though if nothing else DB is always an option. It can be played around to a degree, but it's annoying.

I've found Ferro to be pretty useful in a lot of matchups, as LS and SR are strong support, it handles stuff like Suicune and non FB Thundurus more reliably than anything else, and it's a full stop to CM Sylveon while also at least crippling Specs before going down. This is even with the Showdown meta being pretty unkind to Ferro--Kang doesn't commonly run a fire move on cart (ice moves are the preferred elemental there if run due to dragons and better reward from status proc on common counters), but for some reason on Showdown it seems like almost all that I faced had one. HP Fire on stuff like Saur is also a lot less common on cart. I also don't think this team is especially weak to fire types in general, especially lacking Aegis and especially if we change Heatom to the tank variant. I'm not saying that we definitively shouldn't drop it, just that I think it provides some unique support especially compared to Aegis, and some of its qualities will need to be in the new 6th mon IMO if we do that.

(edit: Ferro is also a fine counter to some decently popular gimmicky stuff like Prankster Liepard or Ditto type stuff which does show up on cart from time to time)

I'm going to try a short testing session sometime this weekend with some changes and see if there's improvement.
 
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I think cant say did a good job of outlining the major problems with the team as is. After more testing, I've been starting to think that P2 is significantly more critical than I had been thinking in my first post above. One major problem that we would have without P2 in the team's current iteration that cant say actually didn't mention is (somewhat ironically) Mega Mence, as the standard Adamant DD version ranges from good to excellent against the other five members of the team, even more so if SR is up, which is of course common to pair with it. Unaware Clef in particular has always been a worry, as mentioned several times above, and while I've managed to beat it a couple of times it's definitely a pain to face.

I echo cant say's frustration in determining which physically defensive mon to bring in certain cases, and after my most recent testing session I agree with his assessment that P2 ultimately has significantly more utility against most top threats than Aegis in this regard. I think Aegis is generally a better Kang check because PuP variants are dangerous to P2 despite it having Foul Play, and they win with DE, but other than that there's not a lot that Aegis does better after testing. (Note that for Aegis, much like with Mence, the added utility of our variant against specific threats is balanced by a general lack of power when unboosted, and on reflection, this similarity--especially without recovery for the former--points to Aegis being more expendable than our first blush impressions suggested). I also agree that CasinoGar handles a lot of stuff that Aegis might be used for, such as being a PuP Kang check, and of course it's vastly superior against stall. (I also agree with can't say about having 2 megas/cores for the reason described--even Mence doesn't want to come if, say, Mamo and Thundurus both show up in team preview, and when it's the only mega there's at least a decent chance I'd go with both if I was playing the other team.)

However, if we do drop both steels, I think Sylveon becomes a much bigger headache than suggested above. Heatom seems like a mediocre primary check at best to most Sylveon variants due to its inability to do decent damage to it, especially if it has to switch in (and actually loses 1-on-1 to both common variants without something like Confuse Ray or Pain Split unless I'm totally missing something... which I admittedly might be). CasinoGar at least does heavy damage to it, but it can only switch in once on Specs and has quite a bit of trouble stopping CM Sylveon once it has a boost, though if nothing else DB is always an option. It can be played around to a degree, but it's annoying.

I've found Ferro to be pretty useful in a lot of matchups, as LS and SR are strong support, it handles stuff like Suicune and non FB Thundurus more reliably than anything else, and it's a full stop to CM Sylveon while also at least crippling Specs before going down. This is even with the Showdown meta being pretty unkind to Ferro--Kang doesn't commonly run a fire move on cart (ice moves are the preferred elemental there if run due to dragons and better reward from status proc on common counters), but for some reason on Showdown it seems like almost all that I faced had one. HP Fire on stuff like Saur is also a lot less common on cart. I also don't think this team is especially weak to fire types in general, especially lacking Aegis and especially if we change Heatom to the tank variant. I'm not saying that we definitively shouldn't drop it, just that I think it provides some unique support especially compared to Aegis, and some of its qualities will need to be in the new 6th mon IMO if we do that.

(edit: Ferro is also a fine counter to some decently popular gimmicky stuff like Prankster Liepard or Ditto type stuff which does show up on cart from time to time)

I'm going to try a short testing session sometime this weekend with some changes and see if there's improvement.
How was your testing session?

I found it hard to win with the team, but porygon and aegi have good synergy imo.
 
I found it hard to win with the team
I still have a touch over 50/50 win rate so i'm glad that this not just me.

I'd like to see a few more replays on this team if possible. Has anyone stumbled on a good sixth member?

The great vulnerability to Taunt and Pranskter tech including SwagPlay is still strong.
 
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freekhoorn said:
How was your testing session?
I've held about a 60% score with the team after switching Aegis for CasinoGar (the only change for my testing session). That switch also turns the bad stall matchup around from before; Stall hates Mega Gar + Azu, and I think I've only lost one game to it since the switch despite playing it more often. This is a good sign for cart laddering.

I agree with a# that SwagPlay is a significant problem. If Heatom gets in safely (and without an opponent's Sub up--often as a lead) on most SwagPlay stuff it tends to at least have a decent chance to do work, but the matchup is still poor--I failed to win against a Thundurus + Klefki SwagPlay team on Showdown despite two or three attempts. (To be fair, I don't think I've ever seen that dedicated of a SwagPlay unit on cart). Ferro is fair against it too though--it at least damages opponents when they attack with Foul Play, has it's own attack boosted by Swagger, and Foul Play really doesn't do much even at +2 (even Liepard with STAB only has about a 50/50 chance to 3HKO after Leftovers), but in the long run it doesn't beat Klefki or Thundurus running those sets if they have Leftovers or Protect. On the bright side though, it's very tough for Tacticat cores to break barring repeatedly bad confusion rolls since it easily 2HKOs Liepard unboosted, barely damages itself in confusion without getting to at least +4 (it barely does more than Leftovers recovery at +2), and as mentioned above doesn't even get close to 2HKOed by Foul Play unless hit multiple times by Swagger.

Prankster was also mentioned above, and I agree that it's a potential problem. Most Prankster users (even Thundurus and Klefki) have at least some problems with either Ferro or Heatom, especially depending on the set, but it's definitely a major threat, especially with either SwagPlay as mentioned above or SubToxic. (The threat of NP Thund, which we also have some issues with, hurts us with stopping these as well). Luckily Gengar does fairly well against SubToxic (Ferro handles that Thundurus variant too), and this team is bulky enough that I've usually found ways to stall out Prankster Dual Screens users while crippling the user in the process. Taunt can certainly be annoying in certain situations as well, mainly against P2 and Ferro. However, a fair amount of stuff that uses it (Thundurus in particular) really encourages both to attack or switch to the motor anyway, while stuff like support Talonflame and Mandibuzz struggles mightily against both Heatom and Azumarill.

In summation: the team still has issues, but I think the CasinoGar switch makes it more well rounded. It's rare when I feel like I'm at a significant disadvantage in team preview. Further, without Espeon, Sableye, or something with Lum that is good against the user (Mamo is notable against Thundurus and Klefki), most teams are going to struggle to be super reliable against SwagPlay in particular. But I think that especially teams with only one SwagPlay mon, while not great matchups, can often be overcome with a necessary bit of luck (usually getting one timely clutch hit through confusion). A dedicated SwagPlay team is obviously more of a problem, though.
 
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Team so far: Mence/P2/Azu/Heater/CasinoGar/6th mon. We need to decide on this 6th mon. What could it be? What problems do we have right now? The Stall MU is fine. Hyper Offense shouldn't be a problem, though not having a dedicated Gren check other than P2 is kinda scary. Or maybe that's just me. Bulky Offense is even worse off, as Mence and Azu just nuke things lmao. What about Balance? At Team Preview, these 5 mons can cover a lot, but not enough. Suppose the opponent's team is Kang/Gar/Thund/Chomp/Ken/Suicune. In this scenario, I might bring CasinoGar, P2, and Azumarill. This combination, however, has its flaws. If they bring Blaziken, the only thing we have to counter it is Azumarill. It's not the best example, but it proves the point that if we want to run Balance, we have to be able smother any team combination at Team Preview. As for actual suggestions, well, I have 2 ideas in mind. The first one is Cresselia. It's super bulky, and can provide support to your other mons. What else could you ask for? It's never a bad idea to bring Cress, and it's a hard stop to just about every physical attacker in the meta. Mamoswine, on the other hand, while less supportive, compensates for this by packing a punch offensively. Between a great offensive typing, passable bulk, and a wide variety of sets, Mamoswine decimates tons of mons with its STAB combination. With good play, Mamoswine can come out on top in just about any situation. Cresselia would carry the standard set, and I'm undecided on the ideal set for Mamo yet. Opinions?
 

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Team so far: Mence/P2/Azu/Heater/CasinoGar/6th mon. We need to decide on this 6th mon. What could it be? What problems do we have right now? The Stall MU is fine. Hyper Offense shouldn't be a problem, though not having a dedicated Gren check other than P2 is kinda scary. Or maybe that's just me. Bulky Offense is even worse off, as Mence and Azu just nuke things lmao. What about Balance? At Team Preview, these 5 mons can cover a lot, but not enough. Suppose the opponent's team is Kang/Gar/Thund/Chomp/Ken/Suicune. In this scenario, I might bring CasinoGar, P2, and Azumarill. This combination, however, has its flaws. If they bring Blaziken, the only thing we have to counter it is Azumarill. It's not the best example, but it proves the point that if we want to run Balance, we have to be able smother any team combination at Team Preview. As for actual suggestions, well, I have 2 ideas in mind. The first one is Cresselia. It's super bulky, and can provide support to your other mons. What else could you ask for? It's never a bad idea to bring Cress, and it's a hard stop to just about every physical attacker in the meta. Mamoswine, on the other hand, while less supportive, compensates for this by packing a punch offensively. Between a great offensive typing, passable bulk, and a wide variety of sets, Mamoswine decimates tons of mons with its STAB combination. With good play, Mamoswine can come out on top in just about any situation. Cresselia would carry the standard set, and I'm undecided on the ideal set for Mamo yet. Opinions?
With your current setup, Kang honestly is looking like the biggest threat to you in my opinion. CasinoGar is really all you got to keep that in check while being able to hold any type of offensive pressure to it. And even then, Kang + something that outspeeds or keeps Gengar from Mega Evolving is a huge problem. Like Kangaskhan + Greninja/Talonflame/Scarf Chomp seems pretty rough to deal with, at least on paper.
 
p2 helps, but you're right. all the offensive pressure will be really tough to stop. i mentioned conk ages ago, and i think it also might be a good idea. healthy conk beats kang, and it tanks a hit from just about anything that isn't named talonflame and retaliates back with drain punch > mach punch for solid damage. it could be a great check to the offensive mons like kang, chomp, and gren that we could have trouble with rn.
 
So what do you guys do about a giant Rock weakness (2 weak, no resists) and no Psychic resist either while Cress kinda just sets up CM and kills everything, while Khan has all but a field day.
Might want Scrafty, guys. Intimidate + Drain Punch for Khan, STAB Knock Off for everything that isn't a Mega, can run things like Super Fang or Ice Punch for coverage holes.

edit: wtf set does "Casino" Gengar even run I do not see it posted.
 

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