CrashinBoomBang
außerirdisch, anunnaki
This team originally started out as a team for POWC. As such, Genesect was still allowed so I figured I'd take advantage of that fact and make a team around my old favorite Genesect set, CB Genesect.
After I had Genesect, I started to look for good offensive partners. Landorus stuck out as a great option, being able to take advantage of U-turns from Genesect to come in safely on Pokemon such as Heatran. It would also make a great offensive SR setter should I not be able to fit it onto anything else. Furthermore, Genesect can double switch into most of Landorus' counters and pull off a +1 Choice Band U-turn.
With Landorus and Genesect on the team, I obviously wanted to go into a more offensive direction rather than defensive. The next two Pokemon, Keldeo and Heatran, came to my mind at pretty much the same time. Keldeo offers useful resists to Fire, Water and Dark while Heatran stops almost every other Genesect dead in its tracks. Specs Keldeo also makes for another great recipient of U-turn while I used an old favorite of mine, ScarfTran, whom I already used on an old XY team with CB Genesect before. It offers much needed coverage against threats such as Thundurus which I currently struggled with.
While I had a solid offensive core, I was severely weak to multiple more-or-less common Pokemon such as Thundurus, Azumarill and Conkeldurr. I also still had my Mega slot open. Remembering that I also used Mega Venusaur on a team with Genesect and ScarfTran before, I made the smart decision to add it to this team as it beat many of the Pokemon that terrified me. I used an offensive set as to keep the constant offensive pressure with this team going instead of settling for physically defensive like on my old team.
With that, my main more of 5 Pokemon was formed. At this point, I tried to identify what I was weak to and saw a few problems: Sand Rush Excadrill could have a field day with my team, Landorus would get a kill pretty mu ch every time it came in and I wanted to reinforce my defenses against several Pokemon such as Aegislash, Latios, Latias, Talonflame and Pinsir. Furthermore, I wanted something that could remove hazards if possible. I didn't expect there to be a Pokemon that fit the bill perfectly but, after looking through the list of Defoggers, Mandibuzz caught my eye. Its unique typing and great defensive stats allowed it to do exactly what I wanted it to do.
This version of the team was extremely solid, but had a pretty huge weakness to Mega Tyranitar. However, since Smogon's metagame did not house Genesect but I realized just how well the rest of the team worked together, I tried to find a replacement for it. I wanted a Dragon check that still hit hard and had priority for the aforementioned Mega Tyrantar as well as other Pokemon that I'd like to snipe at low percentages such as Thundurus. While Azumarill obviously doesn't fill the same niche Genesect originally filled, it was still a very solid Pokemon and formed a very threatening double water core with Keldeo. So, while the past focus of the team in the form of Choice Band Genesect was removed, it opened up the door for Choice Band Azumarill to fill its shoes, which it actually did do rather well.
After I had Genesect, I started to look for good offensive partners. Landorus stuck out as a great option, being able to take advantage of U-turns from Genesect to come in safely on Pokemon such as Heatran. It would also make a great offensive SR setter should I not be able to fit it onto anything else. Furthermore, Genesect can double switch into most of Landorus' counters and pull off a +1 Choice Band U-turn.
With Landorus and Genesect on the team, I obviously wanted to go into a more offensive direction rather than defensive. The next two Pokemon, Keldeo and Heatran, came to my mind at pretty much the same time. Keldeo offers useful resists to Fire, Water and Dark while Heatran stops almost every other Genesect dead in its tracks. Specs Keldeo also makes for another great recipient of U-turn while I used an old favorite of mine, ScarfTran, whom I already used on an old XY team with CB Genesect before. It offers much needed coverage against threats such as Thundurus which I currently struggled with.
While I had a solid offensive core, I was severely weak to multiple more-or-less common Pokemon such as Thundurus, Azumarill and Conkeldurr. I also still had my Mega slot open. Remembering that I also used Mega Venusaur on a team with Genesect and ScarfTran before, I made the smart decision to add it to this team as it beat many of the Pokemon that terrified me. I used an offensive set as to keep the constant offensive pressure with this team going instead of settling for physically defensive like on my old team.
With that, my main more of 5 Pokemon was formed. At this point, I tried to identify what I was weak to and saw a few problems: Sand Rush Excadrill could have a field day with my team, Landorus would get a kill pretty mu ch every time it came in and I wanted to reinforce my defenses against several Pokemon such as Aegislash, Latios, Latias, Talonflame and Pinsir. Furthermore, I wanted something that could remove hazards if possible. I didn't expect there to be a Pokemon that fit the bill perfectly but, after looking through the list of Defoggers, Mandibuzz caught my eye. Its unique typing and great defensive stats allowed it to do exactly what I wanted it to do.
This version of the team was extremely solid, but had a pretty huge weakness to Mega Tyranitar. However, since Smogon's metagame did not house Genesect but I realized just how well the rest of the team worked together, I tried to find a replacement for it. I wanted a Dragon check that still hit hard and had priority for the aforementioned Mega Tyrantar as well as other Pokemon that I'd like to snipe at low percentages such as Thundurus. While Azumarill obviously doesn't fill the same niche Genesect originally filled, it was still a very solid Pokemon and formed a very threatening double water core with Keldeo. So, while the past focus of the team in the form of Choice Band Genesect was removed, it opened up the door for Choice Band Azumarill to fill its shoes, which it actually did do rather well.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
Although it was technically the last member added, Azumarill fills the very important roles of being a secondary/tertiary Dragon check, revenge killing stuff with Aqua Jet and just generally smashing everything in its way with its immensely powerful attacks. It also switches into Keldeo decently well if we can't risk Venusaur getting burned or eating a Hidden Power Flying on the switch, and even provides a safety net against powerful sweepers such as Mega Gyarados and Sand Rush Excadrill. As for why we are using Choice Band Azumarill over one of the other sets, we really felt that this team would lack some much needed physical firepower with Genesect gone. While Assault Vest still hits decently hard and would provide us with more safety against Greninja, we felt that we would lack the ability to break full stalls, especially if they utilize Skarmory, Quagsire or both. With a Choice Band, Azumarill can just easily muscle its way past both of those with just a little bit of prior damage. Belly Drum is, in our opinion, a pretty average set anyway, and it doesn't fit this team at all as all six of my Pokemon can technically "sweep" lategame, so we didn't consider a set-up sweeper such as Belly Drum Azumarill important or even needed. Not to mention that both of these sets lose out on some much needed power against Mega Gyarados, Thundurus and Excadrill, just to name a few. The EVs also focus on the stallbreaking aspect, as we sacrificed a rather large amount of bulk for the ability to outspeed Skarmory running anywhere from 0 to 12 Speed EVs. While we do miss the bulk at times, it also comes in handy against other Azumarill and, most importantly, quite a few Mega Mawile, so we think raising its speed was the right decision. The set is your standard non-setup Azumarill set, but that is because it's simply the best. Waterfall and Play Rough give Azumarill incredibly wide coverage and allow it to hit almost every for huge damage. The few targets that its stab combination do miss out on, such as Amoonguss or Ferrothorn, all take heavy damage from Knock Off with the exception of Mega Venusaur. Aqua Jet is one of the reasons we picked Azumarill in the first place, and its utility can not be underestimated. It allows us to finish off a few low to mid health threats and even some high health ones such as Excadrill or Terrakion, the latter of which causes massive problems for this team in general. It also allows us to play mindgames with the likes of Mega Mawile if they're trying to take out Azumarill at low health and can even put us into a lategame sweep situation if all their Pokemon are weakened or weak to Aqua Jet. The last thing that can't be understimated is the usefulness of having two extremely powerful water types on one team. Many teams already struggle a fair bit with a well played Keldeo, so having Azumarill as its partner in crime is definitely a good thing as, even if Azumarill and Keldeo generally have different counters, they share a few such as Amoonguss or Mega Venusaur. Being able to force them to take damage with two Pokemon instead of one proved to be invaluable many, many times. Overall, while Azumarill doesn't offer the same qualities as Genesect, it makes up for it with its own mix of useful applications and using it as Genesect's replacement was probably the right call as it performs all its duties admirably.
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Stealth Rock
Unlike Azumarill, Landorus' job varies a lot depending on the matchup. In more stallish matchup he generally sets up Stealth Rock early in the game as the most common Defogger, Skarmory, doesn't want to come anywhere near its powerful Focus Blast while Mandibuzz gives Keldeo plenty of free turns to do whatever it wants to do. Zapdos is more of a problem, but smart switching can usually circumvent Zapdos' impact on the match. If Zapdos is paired up with the right partners, however, you might be in trouble since it's very important to keep up Stealth Rock against defensive teams. After doing that, he generally just waits until the coast is clear for him to do some massive damage while forcing in their Landorus counters for our other Pokemon to take advantage of from time to time. Against very offensive teams, Landorus usually only sets up Stealth Rock and does a little bit of damage before he gets sacrificed so one of his teammates can come in for free. However, if their sole Landorus check is Thundurus or something then we might just hold on to him for some lategame cleaning as Thundurus isn't hard to wear down with this team at all. Against balanced and bulky offensive teams is where Landorus really shines: possessing neither the defenses to repeatedly sponge his blows nor the ability to outspeed and OHKO us with pretty much their whole team, Landorus is usually one of the Pokemon that checkmates those kind of teams eventually with its extremely powerful moves. Only use Stealth Rock with Landorus when really needed. Talonflame usually wears itself down well enough and we don't rely on Stealth Rock to deal with Pinsir as every attack that OHKOs it OHKOs it regardless of whether it is at full or 75% while attacks such as Psychic or Foul Play don't kill it in one blow regardless. We mainly like to have Stealth Rock up against defensive teams as well as teams with Thundurus (mostly HP Flying versions), Greninja and Mega Gyarados. Thundurus is extremely dangerous if it is carrying Hidden Power Flying, as our main check really doesn't want to deal with it, so having a way to wear it down passively, especially if it's carrying a Life Orb, is crucial. Greninja, with Stealth Rock up, has a very real chance to get 2HKOd by Overheat after Stealth Rock damage and is always OHKOd after Stealth Rock and one round of Life Orb damage. Considering how dangerous Greninja is, that's a good thing to have, especially since teams running Greninja rarely have any better Heatran checks. Mega Gyarados needs little prior damage to OHKO everything on our team apart from Mandibuzz, so having that extra 25% on it can mean the difference between victory and defeat as it usually tanks every attack on the team apart from Azumarill's Play Rough without trouble. Landorus' set and EVs are rather standard, so we won't go into detail about them. Focus Blast was chosen over Sludge Wave as we never considered Sludge Wave to be that good anyway, and we really value being able to hit Skarmory, Air Balloon Excadrill and Mandibuzz for massive damage. Azumarill, Venusaur and Heatran curbstomp most Fairy types anyway, and the latter two also dispose of Grass types that Sludge Wave would be good against.
Heatran (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
ScarfTran is probably Heatran's most underrated set. While many people opt to use bulkier, Specially Defensive Heatran, we chose this set for its ability to revenge kill naturally fast threats such as Landorus, Thundurus, Greninja and Terrakion, its ability to effectively clean lategame and, in the old metagame, its ability to roast Genesect before it had a chance to move. And even in this newer metagame where people are aware of it, there's still very few battles where Heatran doesn't pull its weight through its combination of surprising speed and incredible firepower. For example, Overheat is guaranteed to OHKO a lot of offensive Pokemon such as: Thundurus-I after one turn of Life Orb recoil, Landorus-I after Stealth Rock damage, Greninja not resistant to Fire, Aegislash, Mega Pinsir, Gengar and Mega Medicham, to list just a few. Flash Cannon does massive damage to Fairy and Rock types alike and is surprisingly strong against neutral targets as well, easily nabbing the OHKO on Terrakion, the 2HKO on Clefable, most (Mega) Tyranitar and even a 2HKO against Latios after just Stealth Rock damage. Garchomp shares a similar fate, as it has a a chance to be 2HKOd even without Stealth Rock damage and rarely ever survives after Stealth Rock damage. Earth Power allows Heatran to hit most Charizard X for at least a 2HKO which allows it to reliably beat Charizard X that only carry Dragon Dance/Dragon Claw/Flare Blitz/Roost. It also allows it to avoid prediction issues if theres a slightly weakened Terrakion on the field with an Aegislash in the back, as Flash Cannon and Overheat both risk a mispredict. Stone Edge is the final move on the set and is used almost exclusively for Charizard Y, although a sun-boosted Flash Fire-boosted Overheat already does about 80% and Talonflame takes enough from Flash Cannon and Overheat for the most part as well. Due to how rarely Stone Edge sees use, we decided to just use a Modest nature over a Rash or Mild one, as Heatran has respectable defenses and there are quite a few scenarios in which a lowered defensive stat would have lost us the game. Modest is also chosen over Timid, as Timid outspeeds few noteworthy things; the only things Heatran wishes it could outspeed are +1 Mega Tyranitar and especially Mega Aerodactyl. Dragonite and Mega Gyarados are rather inconsequential as Heatran can't hit them for big enough damage, and we really don't want to replace any of our moves for Hidden Power Ice seeing how we have Dragonite covered rather well already. Add to this the fact that it misses out on a lot of notable KOs against offensive threats, and Hidden Power Ice/Timid become very, very inferior options. Against offensive teams, Heatran is usually my ace in the hole: Azumarill is the only common Pokemon on offensive teams that wants to deal with Heatran as Keldeo takes around 40% from Overheat and as such is 2HKOd by Overheat + Overheat the next time it switches in. Considering how common Pokemon such as Thundurus, Greninja, Landorus and Aegislash are on these kind of teams, that is really the one matchup in which Heatran thrives, easily smoking half their team or more with Overheat over the course of a match. Unfortunately, it is not near as useful in stally matchups, but it can still be used to pivot around Lava Plume, and Stall is a battle in which other Pokemon become more important. Among these is the next one in our lineup.
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