Indigo; Spectral Skies

[Wedge]

Indigo
Spectral Skies
​

My teams recently have been lacking in flexibility. For every move the opponent made, I was forced to go with only one very predictable option. The teams could cover many threats, but only one Pokemon could cover a certain threat, and the loss of a single vital Pokemon at a key moment would always spell defeat. My new team covers the metagame's greatest threats from all angles and has multiple ways of dealing with certain Pokemon. My team does not rely on walls, but resistances and prediction. I can utilize each Pokemon in multiple ways and each Pokemon has it's own specific niche on this team.
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Analysis

Azelf @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
Rash Nature
252 Special Attack/232 Speed/36 Attack
Psychic | Flamethrower | U-turn | Explosion

Azelf is now one of my favorite leads, as it is so versatile and allows me to scout the opponent's playing style and strategy. Psychic allows me to hit starting Gengars for a one hit KO, and I'll be faster than all of them besides Timid Scarfers (whom I have alternative ways of dealing with), and I can easily revenge kill a sashed one. Flamethrower decimates Bronzong (who can't OHKO with Gyro Ball), Yanmega and Ninjask. U-turn allows me to escape from Tyranitar while getting in about 35% damage and switch to Lucario who will take the inevitable Crunch. It also allows me to switch to Gyarados and Salamence counters (Vaporeon and Bronzong). Explosion can get me a quick kill on something that the rest of my team can't handle, or I just need to take out. Overall, Azelf has worked incredibly well and can adapt to most battle plans I create.

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Arena Trap
Jolly Nature
252 Attack/252 Speed/6 HP
Earthquake | Aerial Ace | Sucker Punch | Pursuit

Dugtrio is a godsend. Whenever a Pokemon troubles my team and I can't get rid of it, I bring in Dugtrio to revenge kill almost everything slower than it. Sucker Punch kills Scarf Gengar and Deoxys-e while Pursuit destroys fleeing Ghosts and Psychics such as Gengar and Azelf. Earthquake gives me STAB and great coverage while Aerial Ace allows me to revenge Machamp, Heracross, Infernape, Breloom and many other Pokemon. It's a great asset to my team and earns his pay as my revenge killer.

Lucario @ Choice Specs
Steadfast
Modest Nature
252 Special Attack/252 Speed/6 Defense
Aura Sphere | Dark Pulse | Hidden Power Ice | Vacuum Wave

I've never realized just how potent SpecsLuke is until now. Nothing can safely switch in on him barring Calm Blissey with Thunder Wave (who'll be low enough on health that Dugtrio can easily kill her). Lucario's job is to switch in on Rock and Dark attacks, and beat down opponents with his plethora of moves and amazing type coverage. With above average speed, Dark Pulse's flinch rate works to his advantage, and can sometimes be necessary to kill certain opponents. Vacuum Wave nets quick kills on Pokemon such as Weavile, Aerodactyl, Ambipom and weakened Swellow. Lucario can usually take a hit from anything it resists and some that it's neutral to, so it's not too hard to get in. The extra EVs were thrown into Defense to give Lucario a slight boost in taking Stone Edges and Crunches.

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Water Absorb
Bold Nature
188 HP/252 Defense/70 Special Defense
Surf | Hidden Power Electric | Wish | Protect/Toxic

Vaporeon takes up the role of my team's wisher. Since I have no real walls, Wish support is absolutely vital to the survival of my team, as I rely on resistances and switching to take down powerful threats. Vaporeon makes sure Bronzong can survive through many attacks and will heal my sweepers when necessary. Surf is my STAB move and hits Infernape, Gengar and other Pokemon for 2HKOs, while HP Electric kills Gyarados and other Water types looking to stall out Vape. Protect is there solely for guaranteed healing, although Toxic is tempting to use to cripple opposing tanks without Rest. Because I am not using Ice Beam, Vaporeon no longer needs to hit 273 Special Attack to OHKO Garchomp, so the Special Attack EVs were dropped in favor of Special Defense.

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Levitate
Relaxed Nature
252 HP/152 Attack/10 Defense/96 Special Defense
Gyro Ball | Explosion | Hypnosis | Stealth Rock

Bronzong's incredible array of resistances and stellar defenses makes it my Pokemon of choice for switching into attacks. Bronzong can threaten fast Pokemon with Gyro Ball, Explode on Outraging Garchomps, Hypnosis troublesome Pokemon to easily take care of them, and Stealth Rock so that my opponent has to think twice about switching so much. With wish support, Bronzong can live indefinitely and take the brunt of all the powerful hits that come my way. You'll notice that Bronzong isn't my lead. This is because Bronzong cannot always take control of the battle from the start, and it is so predictable that people will always know exactly how to counter it. Azelf does a better job of being unpredictable and gives me more options at the beginning of the match. However, as a sponge, Bronzong works very well and if the tide suddenly turns, it can go out with a bang clearing the way for another of my Pokemon to wreak havoc.

Salamence @ Leftovers
Intimidate
Jolly Nature
226 HP/12 Attack/196 Defense/76 Speed
Dragon Claw | Earthquake | Dragon Dance | Roost

Salamence is my potent and impressive late game sweeper. Once the other five members take out bulky waters and grounds, and the ever annoying Garchomp, Salamence will Dragon Dance twice and sweep up the remnants of the opposing team. The Bulky DDmence version fits my team the best as it allows me to easily counter Heracross and SD Lucario, along with other Physical attackers. Roost allows me stall out Ice Fang Gliscor, and other Pokemon with weaker Ice Attacks by alternating between Roost and Dragon Dance. Once I am pumped with stat-ups, Salamence will rampage through opposing teams and tear apart their defenses. Lucario and Salamence also cover each other's weaknesses perfectly, so they can switch between each other and seek an opportunity to attack for a good deal of damage. Bronzong and Salamence also have a relationship similar to this, as do Vaporeon and Bronzong.

 

[Wedge]

To the top!
24 Hour Bump

Please rate this!

 

[Davey Jones]

why do you have pursuit on dugtrio when he has arena trap? are you that afraid of shed shell?

 

[X1NF1D3L]

why do you have pursuit on dugtrio when he has arena trap? are you that afraid of shed shell?

any flying/levitate poke can escape arena trap, so he is tying to kill the fleeing azelfs and gengars

oh, IMO brick break is better than EQ on mence because dragon/fighting hits everything neutral. dragon/ground fails to hit bronzong and skarm

 

[The unstoppable]

ahh This is where i like smogon the very few players who make their team seem invincible i think your team is quite impressive.

 

[aflorez0]

I agree, I run a team similar to that. Not the same pokemon ofcourse, but the same style. Relying on types, protection and the assets of each pokemon. Bravo!

 

[blasphemy1]

Keep EQ on Mence. The reason EQ is there is for Heatran, Infernape, rocks, and other steels. Brick Break does hit these for SE, with the exception of Infernape, but it does not get any notable OHKOs. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to see a Heatran stop a physical Mence sweep? Anyways, Skarmory and Bronzong have no business whatsoever dealing with Specs Luke, as it easily beats them in no more than 2 hits.

 

[Falkner12]

Azelf is now one of my favorite leads, as it is so versatile and allows me to scout the opponent's playing style and strategy. Psychic allows me to hit starting Gengars for a one hit KO, and I'll be faster than all of them besides Timid Scarfers (whom I have alternative ways of dealing with), and I can easily revenge kill a sashed one. Flamethrower decimates Bronzong (who can't OHKO with Gyro Ball), Yanmega and Ninjask. U-turn allows me to escape from Tyranitar while getting in about 35% damage and switch to Lucario who will take the inevitable Crunch. It also allows me to switch to Gyarados and Salamence counters (Vaporeon and Bronzong). Explosion can get me a quick kill on something that the rest of my team can't handle, or I just need to take out. Overall, Azelf has worked incredibly well and can adapt to most battle plans I create.

I think you're confused. The idea behind leading with a CBTtar is to catch Azelf and OHKO it with Pursuit, not do excessive damage with Crunch. A fast U-Turn acts as a switch in respect to Pursuit.

 

[Farewell]

Same goes for Sucker Punchers (Sucker Punch works exactly as a Pursuit *its base power is the same if Pursuit is doubled* when the foe uses U-Turn).

 

[IsaacMM]

Having HP Ice on Lucario as your only Ice attack is a very risky strategy when 90% of the teams have a Garchomp and 50% of them have Yache.

 

[Qzahk]

Having HP Ice on Lucario as your only Ice attack is a very risky strategy when 90% of the teams have a Garchomp and 50% of them have Yache.

HP Ice on a Specs Luke is not really for Garchomp, since Lucario isn't fast enough to revenge kill Garchomp anyway. The only way in which Dragon Pulse would be useful is to OHKO YacheChomp when it switches in to SpecsLuke, which is kinda stupid.

The team looks pretty solid. I like the exploders to help prevent your team from getting swept. Do you have any reason to use DDmence over DDgyara?

 

[Farewell]

Probably to support Vaporeon. (Salamence can take grass hits), and Vaporeon can take Ice hits.

 

[Wedge]

HP Ice on a Specs Luke is not really for Garchomp, since Lucario isn't fast enough to revenge kill Garchomp anyway. The only way in which Dragon Pulse would be useful is to OHKO YacheChomp when it switches in to SpecsLuke, which is kinda stupid.

The team looks pretty solid. I like the exploders to help prevent your team from getting swept. Do you have any reason to use DDmence over DDgyara?

It is a better counter to SDLuke and Heracross than Gyarados, is easier to set up with, has roost, and I just like it better.

@ Falkner: Well, okay. If they start with T-Tar, what should I do then? Just Explode?

 

[Venom]

Leading with Azelf is pretty much a big risk. You either make a sweep, or die to Tyranitar, that's how it is. You can always lead with it though, but know that even U-Turn won't save you from Pursuit, which will OHKO you. Pretty much, if you lead with it, you might aswell explode on Tyranitar. Or you could always lead with Bronzong, who beats Tyranitar 1 on 1, and sets up rocks early game, and sleeps pokemon, and can also Explode on pokemon that are bugging you. With that you can save Azelf as a late game Sweeper, to clean up. The EVs of your Bronzong seem kind of off, 252 Hp / 72 Atk / 128 Def / 56 SpDef should be enough to handle T-boah and Gengar, standard Tyranitar aswell. If you want to run a Bulky DDMence, I would recommend the one that Aldaron has posted, which I can tell you, it has been alot of success for me.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Wedge]

Leading with Azelf is pretty much a big risk. You either make a sweep, or die to Tyranitar, that's how it is. You can always lead with it though, but know that even U-Turn won't save you from Pursuit, which will OHKO you. Pretty much, if you lead with it, you might aswell explode on Tyranitar. Or you could always lead with Bronzong, who beats Tyranitar 1 on 1, and sets up rocks early game, and sleeps pokemon, and can also Explode on pokemon that are bugging you. With that you can save Azelf as a late game Sweeper, to clean up. The EVs of your Bronzong seem kind of off, 252 Hp / 72 Atk / 128 Def / 56 SpDef should be enough to handle T-boah and Gengar, standard Tyranitar aswell. If you want to run a Bulky DDMence, I would recommend the one that Aldaron has posted, which I can tell you, it has been alot of success for me.

Just some thoughts.

Okay, I'll test that out on Bronzong, but I think I'm still going to lead with Azelf as so many leads now will shut down a Bronzong lead.

The DDMence I'm using is Aldaron's older set http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38444
and that has worked pretty well for me. I'll try it out though.

 

[Rag]

I haven't seen a CBTar in ages, so I think you would be good off leading with Azelf. You''ll beat Bronzong, Gengar and even Aerodactyl, but you should seriously consider Shadow Ball instead of Psychic, for some better coverage against other Azelf, Gallade, Mismagius and Deoxys-S. You'll still hit Gengar, and Heracross dies to Flamethrower. You should also consider Fire Blast, as it will 2HKO Bronzong.

 

[Wedge]

I haven't seen a CBTar in ages, so I think you would be good off leading with Azelf. You''ll beat Bronzong, Gengar and even Aerodactyl, but you should seriously consider Shadow Ball instead of Psychic, for some better coverage against other Azelf, Gallade, Mismagius and Deoxys-S. You'll still hit Gengar, and Heracross dies to Flamethrower. You should also consider Fire Blast, as it will 2HKO Bronzong.

I haven't seen a mismagius lead in a while, but I think Psychic is still a 2HKO. Flamethrower already 2HKO's Bronzong, as it does about 53% to it which is exactly enough to 2HKO standard Bronzong.

 

[Rag]

Flamethrower will do a minimum of 158 damage on a Sassy 128 SpD Bronzong, meaning Bronzong will have a 40.625% chance of surviving both hits, considering it doesn't run Leftovers. With Leftovers Bronzong will be 3HKOd, where Fire Blast will 2HKO everytime. You should actually even run Timid, and still 2HKO Bronzong everytime doing a at least 343, and that's with Leftovers as a factor.

And Mismagius isn't really a common lead, but I've seen it in some teams lately. Shadow Ball basically just cover more ground, and is worth consideration.