Dinosaur [Eon Vision]
Click sprites for team importable.
Building Process
As previously stated, my goal was to build around specs Latias. Specs Latias is a really cool pokemon, able to lure in common answers like Steelix with a Specs Surf, and being a very hard pokemon in general to swap into due to specs psyshock 2hkoing many special walls, with rolls to 2hko even blissey and sylveon after rocks. Trick also allows it to potentially cripple stall teams and fatter teams, and it is not deadweight in these matchups even before tricking as long as it predicts well due to it's power.
Like any team with a latias on it, pursuit trappers are a serious threat to Latias. I therefore chose to include a Colbur Starmie on the team, in order to try and lure pursuit trappers such as Krookodile and Aerodactyl-Mega. It can also get necessary chip on other pursuit trappers like AV Muk/Bisharp for Latias even if it can't kill these. Starmie also provides hazard control, and a secondary check to pokemon such as cobalion infernape and lucario, to take pressure off of latias due to it's lack of recovery and the potential of pursuit trappers.
As said in the introduction, I wanted this to be a sand team. Therefore the next obvious choice was to include a Hippowdon, which would serve as the bulky ground and stealth rock setter for the team. Aerodactyl-Mega provides the main form of speed control for the team, creating a rather fast sand team compared between starmie latias and aerodactyl-mega compared to my usual sand balances. It is the main flying resist for the team, serving as an important moltres swap in, which comes in on multiple pokemon on the team. It also serves as a pursuit trapper for the team, getting rid of possibly problematic pokemon such as gengar and beedrill-mega.
At this point, the team heavily appreciated an answer to primarina, as it can abuse a latias locked into draco/surf (albeit taking a huge amount of damage from a specs psyshock), and can force switches if it ever comes in on hippo/aero. Amoongus provided the team with a swap in, with latias and starmie being able to take advantage of primarina locking itself into psyshic. It also provides the team a scizor and altaria answer, a u-turn punisher, and some extra staying power through regenerator. Spore is always a boon to any team too.
As it currently stood, bulky buginium scizor could cause problems for this team if at high HP. While it can only ever break one of hippowdon and amoongus, an answer to these sets was appreciated. Life orb bug bite could also be a problem, but it struggles to come in on the team unlike bulky scizor's due to it's lack of bulk. Another answer to Banded/Fight-Z Terrak was also appreciated, as while starmie/latias can revenge it, they do not have recovery. Doublade provided the team with this, while also providing a backup answer to latias other than aerodactyl, and taking pressure off of hippowdon by checking cobalion instead. It also puts some pressure on stall due to being a toxic doublade, allowing it to punish would be counters such as quagsire.
The Team
As previously stated, my goal was to build around specs Latias. Specs Latias is a really cool pokemon, able to lure in common answers like Steelix with a Specs Surf, and being a very hard pokemon in general to swap into due to specs psyshock 2hkoing many special walls, with rolls to 2hko even blissey and sylveon after rocks. Trick also allows it to potentially cripple stall teams and fatter teams, and it is not deadweight in these matchups even before tricking as long as it predicts well due to it's power.
Like any team with a latias on it, pursuit trappers are a serious threat to Latias. I therefore chose to include a Colbur Starmie on the team, in order to try and lure pursuit trappers such as Krookodile and Aerodactyl-Mega. It can also get necessary chip on other pursuit trappers like AV Muk/Bisharp for Latias even if it can't kill these. Starmie also provides hazard control, and a secondary check to pokemon such as cobalion infernape and lucario, to take pressure off of latias due to it's lack of recovery and the potential of pursuit trappers.
As said in the introduction, I wanted this to be a sand team. Therefore the next obvious choice was to include a Hippowdon, which would serve as the bulky ground and stealth rock setter for the team. Aerodactyl-Mega provides the main form of speed control for the team, creating a rather fast sand team compared between starmie latias and aerodactyl-mega compared to my usual sand balances. It is the main flying resist for the team, serving as an important moltres swap in, which comes in on multiple pokemon on the team. It also serves as a pursuit trapper for the team, getting rid of possibly problematic pokemon such as gengar and beedrill-mega.
At this point, the team heavily appreciated an answer to primarina, as it can abuse a latias locked into draco/surf (albeit taking a huge amount of damage from a specs psyshock), and can force switches if it ever comes in on hippo/aero. Amoongus provided the team with a swap in, with latias and starmie being able to take advantage of primarina locking itself into psyshic. It also provides the team a scizor and altaria answer, a u-turn punisher, and some extra staying power through regenerator. Spore is always a boon to any team too.
As it currently stood, bulky buginium scizor could cause problems for this team if at high HP. While it can only ever break one of hippowdon and amoongus, an answer to these sets was appreciated. Life orb bug bite could also be a problem, but it struggles to come in on the team unlike bulky scizor's due to it's lack of bulk. Another answer to Banded/Fight-Z Terrak was also appreciated, as while starmie/latias can revenge it, they do not have recovery. Doublade provided the team with this, while also providing a backup answer to latias other than aerodactyl, and taking pressure off of hippowdon by checking cobalion instead. It also puts some pressure on stall due to being a toxic doublade, allowing it to punish would be counters such as quagsire.
The Team
Stephen (Latias) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Trick
Specs Latias is a threatening breaker, that preys on it being a rare set to get surprised KOs, and can lure in one of the more popular Latias answers in Steelix-Mega with Surf. Under the effect of choice specs, it can break teams very easily with good prediction, and it becomes very difficult to swap into. Trick allows it to potentially cripple a fat pokemon such as Blissey, which coupled with it's powerful +1 STABs allows it to greatly irritate stall, in comparison to a Scarf Trick set. It can also be used to unload it's item in a matchup where swapping moves would be more useful, while potentially crippling a pokemon still. Surf allows Latias to lure in Steelix and cripple it, while being able to 2HKO Bulky Scizor after Stealth Rocks, helping to deal with some of it's would be swap ins.
Animal (Hippowdon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
Hippowdon serves as the bulky ground, stealth rocker and sand setter for the team. Standard set, allowing it to serve as a Manectric-Mega answer for the team, while supporting Aerodactyl-Mega via sand to allow it to take on pokemon such as latias and gengar a lot better. Whirlwind was chosen over toxic to prevent scizor and altaria using it as set up bait, especially since Doublade has toxic itself. Whirlwind + Sandstorm allows it to prevent Sylveon from healing itself, while minimising the self healing from Florges/Umbreon, allowing the team to break these sort of teams much easier, as Starmie can't break through these fairies without psyshock and life orb and Latias appreciates being able to use Dracos. Does what a hippowdon does really.
Hungover (Starmie) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
Starmie serves as the hazard removal for the team. Colbur berry allows it to lure in pursuit trappers such as Krookodile and Aerodactyl-Mega and kill them with a hydro pump, so that Latias doesn't have to worry about them, while allowing it to also get good chip on other pursuit trappers such as AV Bisharp and AV Muk-Alola so that they can't swap in on Latias freely. Hydro pump, ice beam and thunderbolt offer it key coverage that makes it hard to swap into for more offensive teams, as shown in the replay vs Juuno, allowing it to (revenge-) kill pokemon such as Terrakion, Nidoqueen/Nidoking and chipped Primarina without being forced to lock itself into a move like Latias, while forcing swaps against common hazard setters. Colbur berry also allows it to clear hazards more reliably without caring about being pursuit trapped in the process.
Also made a version of the team using bulky starmie with reflect type, as this allows it to deal with the Assault Vest pursuit trappers, and allows you to clear hazards more often with recovery, however it won't actually remove those pursuit trappers or chip them like the offensive version, and has much less offensive presence making the teams matchup vs more offensive teams a lot harder. It also puts all the suicune matchup onto latias, which would make vincune rough in particular as it can protect itself from being tricked via sub and while will lose to psyshocks will be able to pp stall them out with subs and protects.
Tik Tok (Doublade) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 180 Atk / 88 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Toxic
Doublade serves as an answer to Fightinium-Z Terrakion and to a lesser extent Banded Terrakion for the team, while offering a back-up answer to Latias for the team, and acting as a secondary check to pokemon such as Cobalion, Altaria-Mega, Aerodactyl-Mega and non knock-off Scizor. 88 Spdef EVs are so that it can live a +1 Gigavolt from Latias (after rocks too if thunderbolt). Toxic was chosen over Shadow Claw to allow it to pressure would be swap ins such as Quagsire, Mantine, Alomomola, Hydreigon, Hippowdon etc. This allows the set to also put pressure on stall teams for the team.
Blind (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb
- Spore
Amoongus is the team's main primarina swap in, and isn't hugely pressured into this as thunderbolt on starmie and specs psyshock both massively hurt primarina. It is also the main Altaria-Mega answer, and alongside Doublade serves as the main defensive way of dealing with Scizor. While SD Bug Bite Knock Off sets will break through this combo, they do not have the bulk or recovery to swap in against the team, especially due to Surf on Latias. Rocky helmet allows it to punish common u-turners such as beedrill and scizor. Standard moveset and EV spread. Sludge bomb was chosen over Clear Smog as Latias can trick CroCune, and Starmie heavily pressures it, while sludge bomb pressures swap ins like celebi far more. With regenerator, amoongus adds to the staying power of the team, as starmie and latias do not have recovery.
Backstabber (Aerodactyl-Mega) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Roost
Aerodactyl-Mega completes the sand core for the team, and offers extra speed control. Under the effects of sandstorm, its special defence is high enough to much more reliably pursuit trap pokemon such as Latias and Celebi for the team. Along with sandstorm, this also allows it to check Hydreigon, coupled with hippowdon and amoongus heavily pressuring it too, dealing with roost variants unlike these two. It also serves as a way to pursuit trap problematic pokemon such as Starmie and Beedrill-Mega if given free entry. Also another revenge killer for pokemon such as lucario, infernape, terrakion.
Threatlist
- Choice of Latias over Hydreigon and Doublade over Slowbro respectively mean the team doesn't have reliable swap ins to these two pokemon. Offensive counterplay to these pokemon exists however, with neither of them coming in for free on most of the team, and starmie able to revenge both due to resisting priority, and latias too in crawdaunts case.
- Klefki can be a pain for this team, as unlike other fairies it doesn't take much damage from Latias's psyshock, and 3 pokemon on the team hate being Twaved. If played well and kept alive throughout the game, it's spikes can cause issues due to starmie not having recovery, and can constantly cause 50/50's for latias.
- Mega-Sharpedo can be an issue for the team, especially if it is running psychic fangs, as nothing outspeeds it and Starmie cannot take a crunch even with colbur berry. Main counterplay is via a high HP amoongus, or whirlwinding it with hippowdon once it's mega'd so that starmie/latias/aerodactyl can outspeed it later. These counterplays can be screwed over by ice fang flinches however. Important to try and mitigate the number of hazards in these games using Aerodactyl-Mega.
- While Hippowdon and Aerodactyl-Mega both annoy this to no end, and to a lesser extent Amoongus too, AV Muk can cause problems for the Psychic duo, as it doesn't take much damage from Starmie so the Colbur Lure can't remove it. Starmie however can weaken it into range for Latias, forcing it to only come in safely not directly. It can also be doubled around to weaken it sufficiently due to it not resisting rocks.
Replays
Shoutouts
Just a few shoutouts to some good friends on this site, that make playing mons feel worth it! (And a shoutout to all Glaceon Goons in general too :x)
Juuno Scizorphobic royesk gum Daiyaga BackAtYouBro PhantomHurious KellyKafka tom holland Jacobikko Twilight
Replays
Shoutouts
Just a few shoutouts to some good friends on this site, that make playing mons feel worth it! (And a shoutout to all Glaceon Goons in general too :x)
Juuno Scizorphobic royesk gum Daiyaga BackAtYouBro PhantomHurious KellyKafka tom holland Jacobikko Twilight
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