Battle Spot Kanto Classic: Literature in Motion

[Redenstien]

Updates

Update #1: Currently testing out using Tentacruel>Gengar. It was suggested because I don't have an answer to Minimize/Stored Power Clefable, which is true. All I could was taunt and hope to hit him through it. I've also adjusted EVs for a level 50 tournament, instead of there being 8 EVs in some stats. As I finalize round two of changes, I'll change the RMT to reflect this.
I've also got Substitute over HP Fire on Zam. This could be something else eventually, maybe CM to punish things on the switch.

Hello all, Redenstien/Bysshe again. This is my third RMT, and I'm pretty happy with this one. I kind of just picked "top tier" mons for this tournament and ran with it. It's worked pretty well, and I'm 15-1 right now.

I kind of picked a random theme for the names so enjoy if you're well read.

Teambuilding Process

I wanted to start with the original gangster from RBY. Fastest in the meta, best special attack, insane movepool. It just OHKOs freaking everything, notably Gengars 100% of the time, Venusaur, Nidoking, etc.

Next was the best mon in RBY OU, her mistress the egg. Originally, I just knew she could beat a lot of stuff and be a great cleric. She also had rocks, which I wanted.

Chansey is a boss special wall, Slowbro is the best physical wall. Twave and regenerator cripples this meta. He's great.

I like Gengar a lot this meta because it has taunt, WoW, and can kill Clefable reliably, which I anticipate to be around a lot to counter Dragonites. The fast WoW also helps me cripple Dragonite, Gyarados, etc.

My thought was that Gyarados having access to DDance, Sub, Twave, meant that I had a lot of options when it came to setting up and beating opposing set-up mons.

I can't remember what else I had for a while instead of Golem, but I had Chansey being my rocker and Golem was another physical attacker? I changed that up to give Chansey her full cleric role, and Golem beats Gengar and Alakazam with Sucker Punch. It also gives my team a little more balance with another physical wall and sturdy.

Within the last few minutes, I dropped Gyarados (sorry bae) for Dragonite. I already had a water type and I was feeling weak with it. Dragonite has a boss ability, same general theory with DDance, Twave, but more attacking presence with Outrage, Extremespeed, Elemental punches, etc.

Onto the individuals!

Percy Shelley (Alakazam)
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Zam is just the best attacker in the KC Meta. Insane speed and Special attack means it is wrecking like... everything. For at least some damage. Psychic seems obvious to me, as does Focus Blast. Hidden Power Fire... could be ice, honestly. I might change that. Energy Ball helps me nail Lapras, Blastoise, Rhydon, Golem (on switch), etc. without having to risk Focus Miss. (I could always run HP Fighting, I know.) Anyway, seems an obvious choice, as does Magic Guard with status running like wild fire.

He's named after one of my favorite authors, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Like Alakazam, he was quite frail. Poets for ya.

L'Engle (Chansey)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Toxic
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
- Aromatherapy

Chansey is on every single good RBY OU team, and for good reason. Back in the day, she took everyone's special attacks (Zam, Gengar, etc.) Today, she's slightly less useful, especially without Eviolite, but her role is no less diminished. She works as a killer cleric, ensuring me that my Dragonite can continue killing stuff even if he gets statused. Moveset is pretty standard, but I'm considering wish over soft-boiled. Open to thoughts on that.

I named her after a motherly author, Madeline L'Engle, who wrote A Wrinkle in Time.

Poe (Gengar)
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp

(I had no idea there was a sprite for Gengar that looked like he was a damn bear, lmao)

Originally, Gengar and Alakazam were doing the same thing with full coverage, but that felt limited. I figured it was better to leave slaughtering to the psychic and let the ghost do what his type does best: ruin lives. Taunt shuts down so much stuff, namely Chansey and Curselax, and WoW helps me beat, well... a lot. Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave for STAB, but ALSO for killing those pesky Clefables.

I feel like I shouldn't have to explain his name.

Coleridge (Slowbro)
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off

(Damn, old sprites are the best. Why did we ever change?!)

Slowbro makes up the other half of my fat, pink defensive core. Chansey and Slowbro work well together. Slowbro can help the rest of my team set up with Twave, beating opposing Dragonites essentially. Scald is the best move in the game (S/O aim), Psyshock is good Stab and catches dumb Gengar switch-ins.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a great Romantic poet, who had a serious opium problem. One night, while he was passed out from a hardcore opium binge, he dreamt of his most famous poem "Kubla Kahn." He claims to have seen the words before him like you would see credits at the end of a movie. He says he woke up and remembered all the words and began writing them down. Sadly, a mysterious stranger came to the door in the middle of his writing and when he returned to finish, he had forgotten the rest. Anyway, he was kind of a dope and a toad-looking man. So it fits.

Krakauer (Golem)
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Why is Golem more snake than rock? Anyway, I wanted a dedicated rocker. He's got sturdy too, so extra bonus. The best part about him though is his really good attack and Sucker Punch. It OHKOs all Alakazams, and 90% don't run support or set-up moves, so a sucker punch is pretty safe. Same with Gengar. It also effectively kills sun setters, which are super common for some reason.

Krakauer wrote Into the Wild, a story about a 20ish young man who sells all his stuff, donates the money to charity, and goes to live in the Alaskan wildnerness for the rest of his life. He dies shortly after, but most of the novel is actually about rocks, so. Rocks.

Fitzgerald (Dragonite)
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Earthquake

So I didn't have Dragonite for a long time, but I did start with him. He might've been my secondary physical attacker, but I can't remember. Anyway, this WAS Gyarados, but I think Dragonite can fill that role better. Pretty basic set, hits a lot very well. At 2 Dragon Dances, Outrage fucking kills everything. And after that, I'll just Espeed my way to victory. Earthquake is filler, I don't honestly know what else to use here. Thunderpunch is a possible option.

I saved my favorite classic author for this beast. Fitzgerald was concerned with the corruption of the wealthy in America and, uh... I just wanted him to be named that, okay? Piss off.

I hope you've enjoyed this little excretion and take this team to go beat some heads in the online competition. Very open to all criticism and advice. Thanks for reading!

-Bysshe

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-326392552 Shows the value of Espeed Dragonite.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-326341103 Against Cloyster the Threat
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-326138291 Abused the shit out of Baton Pass, got a knockback for it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-326095025 Chlorophyll teams are the main "theme" right now I see. I don't like it. Without Yzard or Heat Rock, I just don't think Sun is viable.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-325719158 My kingdom for this guy's bad hax every game.

importable

The names are different because I wanna catch ya'll using my imports lol.

Kirby (Chansey)
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss
- Aromatherapy

Toodle (Slowbro)
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off

GOAT (Gengar)
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp

Prof. Spoons (Alakazam)
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Dwane Johnson (Golem)
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Stone Edge

Dragonite
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Thunder Punch

 

[Omastar68]

I don't think Zam needs four attacks in a meta with so little resisting Psychic. Encore and Substitute are really good moves on it, as are Psyshock and Calm Mind. Maybe try something else.

I really like your Gengar, I think I'll try that set with Clear Smog for Clef.

248 HP on Slowbro is a waste, move four from SpD to HP. If your IVs are 30 in HP a and SpD, breed for flawless. Same goes for Golem and Chansey.

Also on Chansey, thanks to her weird stats a spread of 4 HP/ 252 Def/ 252 SpD actually maximizes bulk, though you seem more concerned with her physical bulk, so maybe you're right to only focus on that. I actually run Calm OMG Chansey.

I think DNite actually prefers Jolly to outspeed Aerodactyl and Jolteon at +1.

Other than that looks good.

 

[Redenstien]

I don't think Zam needs four attacks in a meta with so little resisting Psychic. Encore and Substitute are really good moves on it, as are Psyshock and Calm Mind. Maybe try something else.

I really like your Gengar, I think I'll try that set with Clear Smog for Clef.

248 HP on Slowbro is a waste, move four from SpD to HP. If your IVs are 30 in HP a and SpD, breed for flawless. Same goes for Golem.

I think DNite actually prefers Jolly to outspeed Aerodactyl and Jolteon at +1.

Other than that looks good.

Thanks man. Just little stuff I didn't notice. I do agree with your Zam idea. Encore would be awesome to catch Dnites and other set up fodder. Sub's not bad either for the switch. Made the changes you suggested, will try it out.

 

[cant say]

Have you faced many Minimize + Storer Power Clefable? I feel like you have no great answer to it. Gengar may be able to come in and Taunt it but if it Minimizes on the switch then you have to pray you hit with Sludge Bomb as it 3HKOes you with 60BP Stored Power. And if it has a few Calm Minds up then it doesn't even care about Sludge Bomb...

You could replace Gengar with Tentacruel to remedy this. Then you also get a Rapid Spin user and dedicated Clef counter with Haze and Acid Spray.

I think Chansey should go Calm with SpD investment to (somewhat) make up for the lack of Eviolite. You have Slowbro as your physical wall so ideally you won't have to tank physical hits with Chansey.

Dragonite should be Jolly. This lets him outspeed Aerodactyl and Jolteon after one Dragon Dance so you aren't just killed by Stone Edge / Hidden Power Ice respectively. Iron Head is a fantastic option over Earthquake as it allows you to 2HKO Clefable, it does leave you walled by Magneton though.

A final note, this competition is being played at level 50, so EVs should be divisible by 4 but not 8 on perfect stats (31 IVs). The exception is stats with 30 IVs, which should then be divisible by 8. So Hidden Power Fire on Zam (which hits nothing except Magneton) requires you to use 248 SpA and Spe as the extra 4 provide no stat increase. Chansey, Slowbro and Golem should have 244 or 252 HP (and then either 12 or 4 in the leftover stat).

If you change your Pokemon's level to 50 in the teambuilder the EV sliders will help as they only increase EVs every time a stat actually changes, so you don't end up with spreads like this.

Good luck! Be sure to visit our Battle Spot forum to discuss the competition, or our Battle Spot PS room to chat with us!

 

[Redenstien]

Have you faced many Minimize + Storer Power Clefable? I feel like you have no great answer to it. Gengar may be able to come in and Taunt it but if it Minimizes on the switch then you have to pray you hit with Sludge Bomb as it 3HKOes you with 60BP Stored Power. And if it has a few Calm Minds up then it doesn't even care about Sludge Bomb...

You could replace Gengar with Tentacruel to remedy this. Then you also get a Rapid Spin user and dedicated Clef counter with Haze and Acid Spray.

I think Chansey should go Calm with SpD investment to (somewhat) make up for the lack of Eviolite. You have Slowbro as your physical wall so ideally you won't have to tank physical hits with Chansey.

Dragonite should be Jolly. This lets him outspeed Aerodactyl and Jolteon after one Dragon Dance so you aren't just killed by Stone Edge / Hidden Power Ice respectively. Iron Head is a fantastic option over Earthquake as it allows you to 2HKO Clefable, it does leave you walled by Magneton though.

A final note, this competition is being played at level 50, so EVs should be divisible by 4 but not 8 on perfect stats (31 IVs). The exception is stats with 30 IVs, which should then be divisible by 8. So Hidden Power Fire on Zam (which hits nothing except Magneton) requires you to use 248 SpA and Spe as the extra 4 provide no stat increase. Chansey, Slowbro and Golem should have 244 or 252 HP (and then either 12 or 4 in the leftover stat).

If you change your Pokemon's level to 50 in the teambuilder the EV sliders will help as they only increase EVs every time a stat actually changes, so you don't end up with spreads like this.

Good luck! Be sure to visit our Battle Spot forum to discuss the competition, or our Battle Spot PS room to chat with us!

I've actually made all the changes aside from the Tentacruel one so far! I just haven't changed it yet to reflect that as I'm going to wait until I do a round of testing before I change the post too much.

I definitely will try out Tentacruel. I actually haven't encountered too many Chansey with minimize and SP, but I'm sure I will, so better to be proactive.

Thanks for the advice! I'll update the team later today based on testing.

 

[Redenstien]

Have you faced many Minimize + Storer Power Clefable? I feel like you have no great answer to it. Gengar may be able to come in and Taunt it but if it Minimizes on the switch then you have to pray you hit with Sludge Bomb as it 3HKOes you with 60BP Stored Power. And if it has a few Calm Minds up then it doesn't even care about Sludge Bomb...

You could replace Gengar with Tentacruel to remedy this. Then you also get a Rapid Spin user and dedicated Clef counter with Haze and Acid Spray.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/kantoclassic-326766211

I know I did get lucky towards the end there, but I feel like Gengar was able to adequately handle the threat and equally shut down his Golem from setting up at the same time, while crippling it with WoW. I think WoW might give me a better reason to run Gengar over Tentacruel. More testing is needed however.

 

[Omastar68]

That was pretty great with Gengar. I don't understand why Zam didn't sub of the paralyzed Lapras. Parad foes are good for using Substitute-they're liable to be fully paralyzed and thus not break your sub.

Chansey isn't a switch in to Arcanine. Golem probably would've been better. You fear a WoW, but that's pretty much it.

Were you sure that Sucker Punch from Golem would finish off the foe's DNite? Seems like a fair assumption to make, considering Multiscale was down, but idk.

 

[Redenstien]

That was pretty great with Gengar. I don't understand why Zam didn't sub of the paralyzed Lapras. Parad foes are good for using Substitute-they're liable to be fully paralyzed and thus not break your sub.

Chansey isn't a switch in to Arcanine. Golem probably would've been better. You fear a WoW, but that's pretty much it.

Were you sure that Sucker Punch from Golem would finish off the foe's DNite? Seems like a fair assumption to make, considering Multiscale was down, but idk.

yeah, I'm a misplay master, lol. I was relatively confident Sucker Punch would. I didn't calc it or anything, but I did think at that low of a dnite wouldn't appreciate my sucker punch. Golem is shockingly powerful.

 

[Redenstien]

Quick update: Over the weekend, I've been testing regular CM MG Clefable over Chansey. It's working better as a special wall than Chansey was due to Psyshock being standard on Zams. I'll post replays after I get some good ones.