Snorlaxe
2 kawaii 4 u
TEAM AT A GLANCE
INTRODUCTION
so ive been getting back into pokemon lately, and decided to make a new team. i wanted to base this team around a pokemon who was my absolute favorite sweeper of early BW: bulky calm mind reuniclus. i knew from experience that this pokemon was an absolute fucking beast, and even though it was now a completely different metagame from the last time i used CM rank (literally, blaziken, thundurus, and excadrill were still OU at the time), i was confident that it could still be a great sweeper. i also wanted my team to be able to check threats effectively without going overboard, as anybody who has played BW knows, there is just so much shit to deal with that it's pretty much impossible for one team to be able to check everything. basically, i was setting out to make a team that could take hits well while still being quite offensive (which means im pretty much not interested in trash like forretress lol). i think that i have accomplished this goal.
my rating with this team is just over 1300 on the smogon server. while this isn't awful by any stretch, it really isn't great either. so i wanna make this RMT to ask for some advice. the RMT forum has been shaken up lately, and now it's bigger, better, and has more active and good raters than ever, so this seemed like a great time to ask for advice on the team ive been using for about a week. im really looking for some good suggestions, so i'll test absolutely everything. oh, and im sure that nobody is really interested in a "how i built this team section"....i'll cover why i picked each individual member in their descriptions, no need to be redundant you know~
THE TEAM
INTRODUCTION
so ive been getting back into pokemon lately, and decided to make a new team. i wanted to base this team around a pokemon who was my absolute favorite sweeper of early BW: bulky calm mind reuniclus. i knew from experience that this pokemon was an absolute fucking beast, and even though it was now a completely different metagame from the last time i used CM rank (literally, blaziken, thundurus, and excadrill were still OU at the time), i was confident that it could still be a great sweeper. i also wanted my team to be able to check threats effectively without going overboard, as anybody who has played BW knows, there is just so much shit to deal with that it's pretty much impossible for one team to be able to check everything. basically, i was setting out to make a team that could take hits well while still being quite offensive (which means im pretty much not interested in trash like forretress lol). i think that i have accomplished this goal.
my rating with this team is just over 1300 on the smogon server. while this isn't awful by any stretch, it really isn't great either. so i wanna make this RMT to ask for some advice. the RMT forum has been shaken up lately, and now it's bigger, better, and has more active and good raters than ever, so this seemed like a great time to ask for advice on the team ive been using for about a week. im really looking for some good suggestions, so i'll test absolutely everything. oh, and im sure that nobody is really interested in a "how i built this team section"....i'll cover why i picked each individual member in their descriptions, no need to be redundant you know~
THE TEAM
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
- ability: Storm Drain
- 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SpA
- Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack) ive changed this to a relaxed nature
- moveset:
- Earth Power - obviously i wanted a powerful ground-type STAB move, and earth power seemed like the best choice. lately ive been considering replacing it with earthquake simply to hit fucking annoying tyranitar harder, but terrakion and scizor pretty much already rape the shit out of him, so it isn't too big of a deal. ive changed earth power to earthquake
- Ice Beam - i chose ice beam because it lets me absolutely maul gliscor, as well as deal with those pesky fucking dragonite who are absolutely everywhere these days. ice beam also lets me deal with landorus and even salamence, though it seems that i rarely see the later pokemon these days.
- Toxic - this is a really important move on gastrodon because it means that i can poison something like a jellicent switch-in, effectively removing that wall for the duration of the match (or at least severely cripple their walling ability). its annoying how much shit is immune to toxic, but oh well.
- Recover - obviously this one is a given. allows gastrodon to last for extremely long periods of time. this is important, because hes probably my team's defensive backbone when you get right down to it, so i need him to stick around for a long time throughout each match.
- Why this Pokemon?
- gastrodon was actually the last member to be added to my team. looking over what i had so far, it looked like a well-played rain team could really give me a tough time. i'd like to say that i thought long and hard about what pokemon i could use to patch this weakness up, but i pretty much said: "rain weakness? lol imma slap on a gastrodon". however, i think that gastrodon is the best fit for this team tbh. he provides me with a unique set of resistances, as well as a valuable water immunity. he also is pretty much my team's defensive backbone. i do get really fucking sick of random-ass celebi coming in on me 24/7, but that's what heatran is for i suppose!
- EVs and nature:
- really simple EV spread
- 252 HP so i can take hits better overall
- 252 Defense EVs with a Bold nature maximize my physical bulk, which is important because gastrodon's physical defense is actually far from great (but its special defense is above-average).
- What changes have I considered on this Pokemon?
- ive always wanted to find a place to use scald on this set. however, im not sure where i could fit it. i mean, toxic and recover are pretty much totally necessary. earth power is definitely really important as well. the only place where i feel scald could go is over ice beam, but then im utter set-up bait for substitute dragonite, who is becoming more and more popular. also, i love having the ability to OHKO gliscor and landorus, which i cant do with scald iirc (correct me if im wrong about that though)
- sometimes i feel like gastrodon is too defensive for my team. i also hate how some pokemon, namely celebi, have a really easy time coming in on him without care. if someone could find a pokemon who can counter rain and not be total set-up fodder for a ton of mons, that would be much appreciated!
Latios @ Life Orb
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Scizor @ Choice Band
- ability: Levitate
- 4 HP | 252 SpA | 252 Spe
- Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack)
- Moveset:
- Dragon Pulse - i used to use draco meteor in this slot, but eventually i just got hella pissed about how the -2 special attack drop pretty much forced latios to switch out. ive only been using dpulse for a few days, but so far i like it tons more. not having to switch out every time i used my STAB move has been super helpful, so i dont regret the change. i do miss the sheer raw power of draco meteor sometimes though, but oh well!
- Surf - surf has been really good to me so far. it lets me smash the shit out of annoying heatran who think that they can come in to sponge draco meteor. it also actually lets me pick off weakened tyranitar, which is hugely helpful as they always try to come in expecting to trap me.
- Hidden Power Fire - HP fire fucking rules! so many dumbshit scizor will come in on me, take a dragon pulse and think "okay, im safe now. time to u-turn motherfucker!". then the same scizor is outsped and OHKOed the next turn. this is great, as it allows latios to act as a pseudo-lure to scizor, who is a huge threat to reuniclus. HP fire also lets latios rape the shit out of annoying as hell ferrothorn.
- Recover - recover is great because it lets me heal off stealth rock damage, life orb recoil, and any hits i may have taken. it does wonders for latios's longevity, allowing him to stick around and fire off powerful attacks throughout the battle. it also gives me something to do on turns where i know the opponent will switch, but i dont know to whom.
- Why this Pokemon?
- i chose latios for my team for several reasons. number one, i wanted some of the extremely useful resistances and immunities that latios supplies. number two, latios is great because he really allows me to soften up the opposing team nicely. this is great because it makes it much easier for reuniclus to pull out a sweep in the lategame. number three, i knew that latios could act as an effective lure to scizor, who i wanted to have a way to remove. i actually used to use expert belt to lure scizor more effectively, but i figure with heatran on my team, scizor is still checked pretty nicely. however, i would honestly say that the main reason i used latios was because i think he's fucking badass. also, i consider him to be the most powerful mon in OU right now in terms of the ability to deal immediate damage, so he was a natural choice for my team. i also typically end up leading with latios just because of his ability to threaten pretty much everything in the game straight from the get-go.
- EVs and nature:
- another ridiculously simple spread
- 252 Speed EVs and a timid nature to outrun as much shit as possible. it sucks that hidden power fire means i cant tie with other latios, latias, and gengar, but oh well!
- 252 Special Attack EVs let me wreck shit
- the remaining 4 EVs are chucked into HP, lolz
- What changes have I considered on this Pokemon?
- sometimes i find myself missing the sheer power that draco meteor provides me with. however, i think dragon pulse is a lot more useful overall, as it doesn't make latios a total sitting duck after he fires off his STAB move. not providing a window for anything to set up is pretty important imo, sooo im probably not gonna switch back to draco meteor.
- sometimes i wanna use psyshock to fuck up blissey and chansey so reuniclus can sweep more easily, but reuniclus can actually beat bliss/chans in a 1-on-1 situation. theyre just kinda annoying mons though, but honestly, every move on my current set is too important to replace with psyshock imo
- maybe use expert belt to bluff a choice set and lure scizor more easily? idk, i catch plenty of dumb scizor off-guard as it is
- no other changes. im definitely not replacing latios either. he's an extremely important member of my team!
Heatran @ Air Balloon
- ability: Flash Fire
- 252 SpA | 4 SpD | 252 Spe
- Modest nature (+Special Attack, -Attack)
- moveset:
- Fire Blast - obligatory powerful STAB move. if you couldn't tell by the offensive EV spread, im not running that gay specially defensive heatran; im going with a good, old-fashioned offensive heatran motherfucker! so obviously fire blast is a given. fuck those pussies who use flamethrower; fire blast's lesser accuracy is a small price to pay for the sheer power it brings to the table imo.
- Earth Power - i pretty much use earth power solely to deal with opposing heatran lol. this sounds really situational, but heatran is super common, and most don't carry air balloon, so it's totally worth it. it also lets me hit tyranitar kinda-sorta hard, which is always useful.
- Hidden Power Grass - i mainly run hidden power grass to 2HKO obnoxious water-types who always try to come in on me. i used to run HP ice in this slot because i hated dragonite's guts, but now i have scarf terra to revenge him (as well as scizor's bullet punch to pick off weakened dnite). also, the ability to OHKO unsuspecting gastrodon and swampert is fucking sick, as most heatran these days aren't even offensive variants, so they usually don't even see it coming.
- Stealth Rock - obligatory stealth rock. the most useful entry hazard in the game, and pretty much a must for any good team. heatran forces a shitload of switches, so i can usually set up rocks really really early in a match without breaking a sweat.
- Why this Pokemon?
- thanks to heatran's great typing and immediate power, he was a great choice for my team. i also really needed a pokemon to set up stealth rock, and heatran fit the bill nicely. plus, air balloon heatran is capable of countering tons of shit (provided his air balloon stays intact) my team could otherwise struggle with, such as nasty plot earth power celebi. heatran's fire immunity is kinda wasted on my team due to my sheer number of fire resists, but its always helpful to have an immunity! finally, ive found running offensive heatran to be hugely beneficial, as it seems that every heatran ive been seeing lately is a specially defensive variant who cant hit hard. many people dont expect to be raped by a fire blast off of a fully EV-boosted base 130 special attack stat, so you'd be surprised how many players are caught off-guard!
- EVs and nature:
- lol yet another simple spread, damn im creative
- 252 speed evs to outpace shit like scizor and magnezone
- 252 special attack evs and a modest nature let heatran hit ridiculously hard. even pokes who resist fire blast are gonna be taking about 35%-40% on the switch-in!
- What changes have I considered on this Pokemon?
- ive considered using hidden power ice over hidden power grass once more. the ability to OHKO gliscor and dragonite is pretty cool i guess, but heatran's teammates already deal with the aforementioned threats pretty well.
- ive also toyed around with the idea of using a timid nature to outspeed defensive gliscor and smash it with fire blast, but im not running hidden power ice -- plus my other pokemon handle gliscor really well -- so the need to outspeed gliscor is greatly reduced
- i used to run leftovers (and even life orb for a brief time lol), but ive found air balloon to be extremely useful as of late. still, i would be open to item changes if anyone has something to suggest!
Scizor @ Choice Band
- ability: Technician
- 248 HP | 248 Atk | 12 Spe
- Adamant nature (+Attack, -Special Attack)
- moveset:
- U-turn - really useful, because not only does it deal huge damage, but it also allows me to keep offensive momentum in my favor. really useful for wearing down obnoxious mons like bronzong who could also trouble reuniclus.
- Bullet Punch - da fuckin best move ever! gives me a secondary way to check double boosting terrakion. it even lets me revenge kill dumb bitches like dragonite. plus it just lets me pick off fast yet frail sweepers like landorus, latios, and tornadus. in fact, the pokes it picks off dont even have to be frail....scizor is so strong that pretty much every non-defensive pokemon will be 2HKOed by bullet punch (as long as they dont resist it!).
- Quick Attack - quick attack is useful because it lets me pick of gyarados, infernape, and volcarona more easily. i dont use pursuit because i absolutely HATE being locked into a such a weak move, but i do sometimes miss the ability to trap choice scarf/specs latios..... ive changed quick attack to pursuit
- Superpower - though it requires good prediction, superpower is invaluable for letting me OHKO dumb heatran, magnezone, and ferrothorn. you gotta catch them on the switch though, which can be pretty tricky business. however, if you manage to land a KO, it's a hugely rewarding feeling lol.
- Why this Pokemon?
- lol as if i even need to explain. it's been the best and most pokemon in the OU metagame for like two years straight, nuff said. scizor provides my team with useful resistances, and helps me keep offensive momentum. he also gives me a way to wear down the opposing team's core, as well as rape tyranitar.
- EVs and nature:
- 248 HP EVs maximize scizor's overall bulk while giving it an extra switch-in to stealth rock
- 248 attack EVs and an adamant nature let me hit hard as hell, which is the main draw of choice band scizor in the first place!
- 12 speed evs let me outpace standard choice band scizor and u-turn out before they can touch me
- if someone would come up with an ev spread that would let me outpace standard tyranitar, it would be much appreciated! i wanna be able to smash ttar with u-turn before it can hit me with fire blast.
- What changes have I considered on this Pokemon?
- i have considered changing back to pursuit instead of quick attack. while i do love being able to revenge gyarados, volcarona, and infernape, my other teammates can handle those pokes pretty well. idk though, i just hate being locked into pursuit. any thoughts on this?
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Reuniclus @ Life Orb ive changed life orb to leftovers
thank you for reading this! i appreciate any and all feedback, and will reply shortly after testing any suggested changes. however, please don't replace reuniclus or suggest that i do so, as he is the focus of the team and i'd like to keep him intact. thanks a bunch everybody!
- ability: Justified
- 4 HP | 252 Atk | 252 Spe
- Jolly nature (+Speed, -Special Attack)
- moveset:
- Close Combat - even without a boost from swords dance or choice band or whatever, close combat lets me hit like a fucking truck. it also lets me sweep late-game when all of the mons who resist fighting are gone. i know that scarf terra isn't meant to be a sweeper, but it's fast as fuck and ridiculously powerful, so ive actually swept teams with it before once the physical walls are removed
- Stone Edge - another great STAB move. also, all of the main pokemon terrakion is aiming to revenge kill, such as dragonite, volcarona, and gyarados, are OHKOed by stone edge. the poor accuracy is kinda a letdown though.
- X-Scissor - i use this move almost solely to OHKO celebi, who can be really annoying. for whatever reason, a lot of people dont expect terrakion to stay in on celebi, and are pretty surprised when their pixie pokemon is KOed. aside from hitting celebi, it has absolutely no use though lol. close combat and stone edge are pretty much all terrakion needs to succeed.
- Rock Slide - complete and utter filler. however, i do use it when im facing volcarona simply because i dont want to have to risk a stone edge miss. i also use it to pick off weakened dragonite and gyarados, because im just fucking neurotic about accuracy and have been let down by stone edge's 80% accuracy in the past. ive changed rock slide to frustration
- Why this Pokemon?
- in my opinion, choice scarf terrakion is the absolute best revenge killer in the current OU metagame. it can revenge kill everything under the sun, including dangerous threats like lucario, haxorus, dragonite, volcarona, gyarados, infernape, and salamence (and that's just the beginning lol). it is insanely fast and powerful, and with just two moves, it can absolutely rape any pokemon in the game pretty much. im pretty much not going to be replacing terrakion, as he is a key member of this team. the only thing i dont like is when i anticipate a dragon dance from something like dragonite, and am instead met with outrage...but that's not terrakion's fault. that's just my poor prediction :(
- EVs and nature
- 252 attack evs let me wreck shit, especially with terrakion's base 129 attack and great dual STAB moves
- 252 speed evs and a jolly nature let terrakion outspeed pretty much every pokemon in existence. lol seriously scarf terrakion is just the best revenge killer in existence
- the remaining 4 HP evs are just dumped there for no reason
- What changes am I considering on this Pokemon?
- absolutely nothing. i have no intention of replacing terrakion. it is by far the best revenge killer i have ever used, and dont intend to let it go for anything. it's just way too useful, and no other pokemon can revenge kill the extremely wide range of threats that terrakion can.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb ive changed life orb to leftovers
- ability: Magic Guard
- 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SpA
- Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack)
- moveset:
- Calm Mind - i knew right from the get-go that i wanted to use calm mind reuniclus. with calm mind, reuniclus can set up on every special attacker around (as long as the opposition isn't also a calm mind abuser lol). with just two boosts, it can sweep whole teams, but honestly ive been able to obtain more than two boosts multiple times under the right conditions.
- Psychic - my STAB move of choice. after a few boosts, pretty much everything is OHKOed. i dont wanna use psyshock because honestly, in a 1-on-1 situation against blissey and chansey, reuniclus can come out on top about 99% of the time. also, im not that concerned about beating opposing calm mind users because scizor and terrakion can usually revenge kill them most of the time.
- Focus Blast - pretty much lets me hit whatever psychic doesnt. it's a shame that it has such shitty accuracy, but reuniclus is so bulky that it can afford a miss most of the time. between psychic and focus blast i can pretty much hit everything hard as hell.
- Recover - this is what makes reuniclus such a deadly sweeper. it's bulky as fuck, it's really powerful...and it has access to reliable recovery? gg. even if im not actively boosting, recover is useful for restoring me to full health and then attempting a sweep later in the game.
- Why this Pokemon?
- the way that i build teams is that i pick one pokemon to center my team around. then i build around that pokemon until i have a complete and good team. this time, the pokemon i chose to build around was defensive calm mind reuniclus. i knew how destructive it could be with the right support, and i wanted to take advantage of that. thanks to how my team supports reuniclus, i can pull out a successful calm mind reuniclus sweep about 60% of the time (and then about 20% of the time i just win by a latios or scarf terrakion sweep lol). calm mind reuniclus is a fucking beast; it's not as popular as it once was, but i still encourage you to try it out, as it can absolutely destroy unprepared teams.
- EVs and nature
- i pretty much decided to maximize physical bulk so i could set up on physical attackers more easily.
- it kinda sucks that i don't have any special attack investment, but oh well, i'd much rather be super bulky and be able to set up on tons of shit
- What changes have I considered on this Pokemon?
- um pretty much nothing....i mean, it is the focus of my team.
- i tested leftovers over life orb for a brief time, but i found life orb's power much more important than leftovers' recovery. it would be a different story if reuniclus didnt have recover, but with recover my lack of lefties isnt a big deal. plus life orb gives my attacks a kick without even taking away any of my HP thanks to magic guard which is pretty fucking sweet!
thank you for reading this! i appreciate any and all feedback, and will reply shortly after testing any suggested changes. however, please don't replace reuniclus or suggest that i do so, as he is the focus of the team and i'd like to keep him intact. thanks a bunch everybody!