Subject: Iximaz's team:
Author:
Posted on: 2017-03-02 02:09:00 UTC
Reuniclus
Skarmory
Blissey
Azumarill
Togekiss
Shuckle
Subject: Iximaz's team:
Author:
Posted on: 2017-03-02 02:09:00 UTC
Reuniclus
Skarmory
Blissey
Azumarill
Togekiss
Shuckle
Hello, trainers of the PPC! It's that time of year again, where we get to once again determine who will be the very best! That's right—it's time for the 2017 PPC Pokémon Tournament!
Since last year involved Monotype rules, this year, we will be going back to the 'normal' rules—that is, our rules list can once more be found here. The official tournament will begin in April, so the last day for signing up is Friday, March 31st. You may change your team lineup at any point before then.
Good luck, and I will see you in battle!
My team is Primarina, Tsareena, Crobat, Roserade, Celesteela, and Gardevoir. Gengar will probably be my between battle substitute.
I don't really have an overall strategy laid out yet, they're just my favorite 'mons. Gonna have to go visit Smogon I guess
If so, then could I change my between-battle substitute to Mimikyu?
...because I'M READY! I'M READY! I'M READY!
My team is Klefki, Gardevoir, Thundurus-Incarnate, Breloom, Tapu Fini, and Bisharp.
As I lacked team ideas of my own, Iximaz had suggested in the chat that I make a team based on my favorite zoo animals. I've modified the concept a bit further to represent some of the places/areas I've worked in the zoo, instead.
Gogoat (Hoofstock volunteer/Petting Zoo)
Starmie (Aquarium touch tanks)
Emolga (mammal buildings)
Kangaskhan (Kangaroo Walkabout)
Bouffalant (Adventureland outdoors)
Dunsparce (reptile buildings)
—doctorlit was considering a Mudsdale to represent the merry-go-round and other rides, but there just isn't room
Surprised you didn't go for some of the other reptilian Pokémon for your reptile-house 'mon - Arbok and Serperior are good calls, while Dunsparce is, I believe based on the Japanese equivalent of the drop bear. But you've got a decent team here - Starmie's been solidly OU since Gen 1, a feat achieved by few, and Gogoat and Bouffalant have some interesting uses. I'd recommend a Bulk Up set on the former and a Substitute/Swords Dance set for Bouffalant. You're a bit light on special attackers, but that's okay. You've got a good team of rad friends. =]
between Dragon World's overt fantasy theming and Tropics of the World's little, handheld lizards and snakes. Dunsparce seemed like the perfect in-between. Also, I like Dunsparce.
doctorlit
Mamoswine, because where would I be without Mamoswine... Playing PO during the early days of Gen 5, that's where.
Alakazam, because you always need a glass cannon, especially since Gen 5
Rotom-W, Tankin' it up since Gen 5
Heatran, Doing things slightly weirdly since Gen 5
Togekiss, making people rage quit since Gen 5
Breloom, Because a custom made Techniloom set originating in Gen 5 is one of my claims to fame.
AKA Yes, I have been using this team in OU since late Gen 5. Yes it still works in OU. Bring it!
Alakazam can't Mega Evolve, my seventh 'mon may though.
Trainer Hardric sends... Whatever monotype team he can think about during this weekend, or the following ones.
If you're doing monotype anyway, then ignore me.
The general naming rule for this team are Queen songs.
"Another One Bites The Dust" the Landorus-Therian
"Ogre Battle" the Excadrill
"Dragon Attack" the Charizard
"Seven Seas of Rhye" the Greninja
"Killer Queen" the Celesteela
"Flash's Theme" the Tapu Koko
...I have decided to add "Under Pressure" The Venusaur to my team list.
(Self-evidently: it has dragons.)
hS
My team:
Jennifer the Floatzel
Allen the Crobat
Ethan the Alolan Raichu
Angie the Roserade
David the Alakazam (can Mega Evolve)
Xander the Emboar
Aurorus
Bastiodon
Haxorus
Marowak (Alolan)
Kommo-o
Torterra
Tyranitar
Introducing Team K-T Boundary.
(Feel free to drop me if you need to lose one person to make the bracket tidier; we all know Team Paleontological Mishmash isn't going to win anything except possibly pewter.)
hS
Alas, poor Thyreophorans, we barely knew thee... at least there's still a ceratopsian to carry that weird-armoured-critter banner.
hS
Minior switches into an offensively oriented forme when it goes below 50% HP. You can tell the difference because it turns from the Malteser Of The Damned to one of the Lumas from Super Mario Galaxy. Anyway, it's therefore worth investing hugely into your Attack and Speed stats, since that way you can hit harder and go first against more stuff - Minior's attacking forme has a base Speed stat of 120, which means you can outspeed a lot of other attacking Pokémon even if they're equipped with a Choice Scarf.
As for a set, Smogon has very much the right idea, and it has a fairly specific game plan. Your Minior should be given a White Herb to hold and know the moves Shell Smash, Stone Edge, Acrobatics, and Earthquake - EdgeQuake coverage, as it is known among the collective nerd hive of the internet, is very good indeed, hitting a lot of stuff for super-effective damage. First turn out? Boost with Shell Smash, whatever the opponent does. This will grant a 2x bonus to your Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, at the cost of a penalty to your Defence and Special Defence. However, this is where White Herb comes in: the item removes stat penalties like the ones you get from Shell Smash! Useful, n'est-ce pas?
After that, it's just a question of having your Death Malteser beat things unconscious with your other three moves. Acrobatics is a fantastic move on this set, because it does double damage if the user isn't holding an item - and since White Herb is a one-use-only item that disappears after its use, Acrobatics will get the boost! Between that and EdgeQuake, you're basically set. Go get 'em, tiger! =]
I'd twigged that the White Herb was going to go away and free up Acrobatics, but hadn't spotted that it would also heal Shell Smash on the way.Any chance I could get the same sort of commentary for everyone else...? ;)
Death Malteser comes in just behind Katie B. on the list of prospective names, jsyk.
hS
AURORUS
Role Identification: Choiced Special Wallbreaker
One thing worth mentioning is that your team is very, very light on Special Attackers. This isn't your fault, there aren't that many special attacking dinos around, but it's a weakness. Luckily for you, Aurorus has some pretty serious chops as a wallbreaker - which means someone who's very good at getting rid of stally, bulky Pokémon, but lacks certain attributes (usually Speed) to be used as a sweeper.
The idea of a special wallbreaker is to either force out the opponent or kill 'em dead with a powerful STAB move. Give your Aurorus the ability Refridgerate - which transforms Normal-type moves into Ice-type ones and gives them a 20% boost in power (and anyone making a pony reference will be SHOT) - because your other option, Snow Warning, doesn't really benefit anyone else on your team. Having Hail up would give you a perfectly accurate Blizzard but not much else, and it would also mean damaging your team slightly while the effect was on the field. You'll want to run a Modest nature to boost your Special Attack more, with the following EV spread: 252 points into Special Attack, 252 points into Speed, and your four leftover points into Special Defence.
For moves, you want Hyper Voice, Freeze-Dry, Earth Power, and Frost Breath. Hyper Voice is the strongest Normal-type special move you can use every turn, which is fairly important to stop you being revenge-killed by the next Pokémon to switch in; it benefits from Refridgerate, becoming an Ice-type move with 108 Base Power. Because it's classified as a sound move, Hyper Voice is also able to ignore Substitutes, which annoys a lot of wall and stall Pokémon to no end. Freeze-Dry is another Ice-type move, though lower power. Why do you want it? Because it's super-effective against Water-type Pokémon, which normally resist Ice, and bulky Water-types are very common walls (for example, my team runs a Toxapex, which is the dictionary definition of an evil Water-type wall). Frost Breath is another Ice-type move, but this one is special because it always incurs a Critical Hit, meaning it does 100% extra damage AND ignores defensive stat boosts. Users of moves that boost Special Defence (like Iximaz's Reuniclus, which tends to run a Calm Mind set) had better watch out. Finally, Earth Power is there as Ground-type coverage, which will hit a lot of your threats exceedingly hard - Rock-types, Fire-types, and Steel-types who might think you an easy switch-in would be on the receiving end of a very rude awakening. I'm aware there's no Rock-type moves on this list, but Rock as a typing is not known for its special attacks - the highest Base Power move Aurorus knows is Ancient Power at 60BP, and it's simply not enough.
As for the item, go with Choice Specs. They boost the user's Special Attack by 50% but lock it into one move. However, since Ice and Ground is such a brilliant offensive combination, generally you'll be okay whatever you pick.
BASTIODON
Role Identification: Utility Lead
Bastiodon... isn't great. Sure, it's got huge defensive stats, but it doesn't have reliable recovery outside of the Leftovers item and its typing gives it two 4x weaknesses to the very, very common Ground- and Fighting-types. Its offensive presence also leaves something to be desired, like existence. Oh well. Let's make this work.
First things first: give your Bastiodon the ability Sturdy. This means that, as long as it's at full HP, it cannot be killed in one hit by direct damage. Think of it as kind of like an inbuilt Focus Sash. You'll want a Careful nature to protect against special attackers - nobody with a 4x weakness to Fighting wants to be on the receiving end of a Focus Blast, and it's fairly common as a coverage move. As far as your EV spread goes, you want 252 points in HP, 4 in Defence, and 252 points in Special Defence. This means you've got more of a chance to survive what your opponent will throw at you.
As for your own moves, you want Stealth Rock, Toxic, Roar, and Magic Coat. Stealth Rock and Toxic form the core of this set, with the former setting up chip damage for enemies when they switch in and the latter being its only reliable way to cause damage to its foes. Roar is a phazing move - it forces out the opponent and drags in another, allowing you to rack up more and more damage from Stealth Rock, spread more Toxic where applicable, &c. Roar has a Priority rating of -6, meaning you're guaranteed to go last, but since Bastiodon is outstripped by passing glaciers this is not a huge concern. Finally, Magic Coat allows you to reflect status moves like Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, and Taunt back onto the user. Status isn't a huge concern for Bastiodon, but it's never pleasant to deal with, and Taunt shuts this set down completely. Finally, give it Leftovers for some vital, if meagre, HP recovery.
HAXORUS
Role Identification: Physical Stallbreaker
Haxorus has a sky-high Attack stat and a very usable Speed, meaning it can maintain an offensive presence against a variety of Pokémon. The following set pairs very well with Minior, as it allows Haxorus to beat the living snot out of things that might counter Minior and let Katie B. mop up the stragglers.
First, select your shiniest, stabbiest Haxorus from the stable and give it the ability Mould Breaker. This allows you to ignore certain abilities when making your attacks. For example, let's say you're fighting a Weezing. Weezing has Levitate, which makes it immune to Ground-type moves - which you want to use against it, because Ground is super effective against Weezing. With the Mould Breaker ability, you can use a Ground-type move and hit the Weezing, something that in the competitive scene generally causes your opponent to have an enormous temper tantrum. They're always fun to watch. For the set we're running here, you want an Adamant nature to boost your Attack out of the blocks, with your EVs spread as follows: 252 Attack, 4 Special Defence, and 252 Speed.
The moves you want are Swords Dance, Dual Chop, Earthquake, and Poison Jab. Swords Dance boosts your Attack by two stages, meaning that you can then power through basically anything foolish enough to stand in front of you. Dual Chop might have a fairly low Base Power, but it hits twice and therefore deals with Substitutes, Focus Sashes and the like. Earthquake and Poison Jab are there to deal with the Steel- and Fairy-types that think they can come in on your Dragon-type attacks. A +2 Poison Jab will generally make any Fairy-type start having an extremely bad day, while +2 Earthquakes will make everything else have a bad day. Do bear in mind, though, that this set is walled by Steel/Flying-types like Iximaz's Skarmory and newbie SquidBoi's Celesteela, so you need to be willing to switch out with this set.
Finally, the item you want is a Lum Berry. This might seem a bit odd - why not a damage-boosting item like a Life Orb? Well, Haxorus doesn't like being on the receiving end of status effects like Burn, Paralysis, or Taunt. The Lum Berry lets you ignore that status effect and kick the opponent's teeth in unmolested.
MAROWAK-ALOLA
Role Identification: Utility Attacker
Ghost/Fire is an extremely difficult STAB combination to counter effectively, and Alolan Marowak has the attacking chops to use that gift effectively. This set is designed to maximise the damage you do with Ol' Boney here while still retaining survivability.
First, get an Adamant one and give it the ability Lightning Rod. This has a number of benefits. First, it makes you basically immune to both Burns and Paralysis, which would otherwise cripple a physical attacker like Marowak. Next, it gives you a free switch-in on Electric-type attacks, which is always useful. Finally... well, the other options are kind of bad. Rock Head has its charms, but I prefer not being paralysed. As for EVs, you want 252 Attack, 4 Special Defence, and 252 Speed.
Now let's get onto your moves: Shadow Bone, Fire Punch, Bonemerang, and Will-O-Wisp. Shadow Bone, Alolan Marowak's signature move, is great way of dealing reliable damage due to only Dark-types resisting it, and it also has a 20% chance to lower the target's Defence stat by 1 stage, meaning that if luck is with you you can hit a lot harder. Fire Punch is preferred over Flare Blitz because the recoil element is just too much damage on someone with no reliable recovery (unless one runs Rock Head, but then one may be Paralysed and it is a debilitating experience). This is also your big counter to Steel/Flying types that so plague the Haxorus set above. Bonemerang, which used to be a signature move, is an extremely able thing indeed; a Ground-type move with the same effective Base Power as Earthquake that can hit through Substitutes? Sign me up. Finally, Will-O-Wisp allows you to spread Burns across opposing physical attackers that might otherwise do you considerable harm.
Your item - and it should only ever be this item on a Marowak - is good old Thick Club. It doubles your Attack stat, meaning that Alolan Marowak's brilliant STAB combo now hits like a freight train. While this does make it Knock Off bait, you're able to put some serious hurt on Pokémon who don't run it - and there aren't that many who can.
KOMMO-O
Role Identification: Special Attacker
This is one of the times when I'm going to deviate from the Smogon orthodoxy - I think you can get more out of other moves in this context than you can what they prescribe, and thereby get more power out of your selection. Here goes nothing!
Select a Modest-natured Kommo-O and give it the ability Bulletproof. This is the ability that will render you immune to a wide variety of moves - a full list may be found here - which, by extension, makes you more survivable. For your EV spread, you want 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, and 4 in Special Defence. This maximizes the benefit of your Nature and allows you to do more horrible things to people for longer. Which is always good.
For moves, you want Autotomize, Clanging Scales, Focus Blast, and Flash Cannon. Autotomize boosts your Speed by two stages, allowing you to outspeed most opposing Pokémon after a single turn, which is handy for a sweeper. Clanging Scales is your main STAB move, a reliable 110 BP special attack with the downside of lowering your Defence by 1 stage every time you use it. Focus Blast is your other STAB move, and really it's a do-or-die thing. It hits a lot of Steel-types for excellent damage, but that is predicated on it hitting at all - which, when the move has an accuracy of a mere 70%, is far from guaranteed. Flash Cannon is there to bait your foes; Dragon/Fighting has a double weakness to Fairy, and there's a temptation to throw out a Fairy-type like Iximaz's Togekiss or SquidBoi's Mimikyu to soak up your STAB moves. Flash Cannon hits them for super effective damage and can catch them severely off guard. Finally, give it a Life Orb to hold. You're looking to do more damage... so do it! Just beware that you're on the clock; Kommo-O has nothing at all in the way of HP recovery.
TYRANITAR
Role Identification: Physical Tank
Tyranitar is a brutal-looking kaiju of a Pokémon, and it shows in the design and movepool. Sandstorm benefits a large number of your team members, boosting Minior, Bastiodon, and Aurorus's Special Defences (as well as its own) to stratospheric levels. However, its role as a bludgeon requires some fine-tuning.
First of all, the ability: it is Sand Stream. Just... just use Sand Stream. Unnerve is insufficient for your purposes. It sets up the Sandstorm weather condition for 5 turns, which will allow you to put chip damage on the field for everyone who isn't a Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-type. This is useful for breaking stuff like Focus Sash, Multiscale, or Sturdy. Your giant stompy rock monster should have an Adamant Nature and the following EV spread: 4 HP, 252 Attack, and 252 Speed.
Next, we have the movepool of Stone Edge, Crunch, Earthquake, and Pursuit. STAB Stone Edge is a seriously meaty move; its accuracy isn't the greatest at 80%, but between 100 Base Power and an increased critical hit rate, it can dish out a lot of hurt when you do manage to land it. Crunch is just a good move; Dark-type STAB with 80BP and a 20% chance to lower the target's Defence, which is helpful. Earthquake's utility in combination with Stone Edge is well-storied; what one can't hit for at least neutral damage, the other generally can. Finally, we come to Pursuit, which is a very interesting move. It deals double damage when the target is switching out, allowing you to get kills you might not otherwise manage against more fragile targets. It relies upon a certain level of prediction, of reading what the opponent is likely to do... so if you want to swap it out for type coverage like Superpower, Iron Head, or Ice Punch, then I completely understand. =]
At last, the end is near. This is a Choice Band set, which is like the aforementioned Choice Specs but for the Attack stat rather than Special Attack. It allows Tyranitar to bulldoze its way through the specially defensive walls that might shut out Aurorus, paving the way for midgame wallbreakers like Kommo-O and Haxorus, as well as lategame cleaners like Katie The Death Malteser Minior. You have a reasonable team composition. Hopefully this little guide helps you use it to its full potential. =]
(Also you're having a team themed after the K-T Boundary why do you not have Minior it is literally a falling asteroid up yo game mister ventral sparrow darkness)
You have about two thirds of a very good team going on here. Kommo-O is very good, Mega Tyranitar works well with your various Rock-types, Alolan Marowak gives you a lot of options and has a stratospheric attack courtesy of its signature item (Thick Club), and Haxorus is a very good physical attacker. If you ditched, say, Torterra for Minior, then you'd have the makings of a pretty decent offensive team, with Aurorus being a bit of additional special attack via Refridgerate to make up the numbers.
Okay, now that I've told hS he's wrong about something I will be hyperventilating into a paper bag for about three years.
Because for all that Team Cretaceous Calamity may be good on paper (and dang yoi, now it'll have a Minior named Katie in it), it's still got me commanding it. And I am not good at this game.
hS
You've got very good Pokémon on your team. With stuff like Kommo-O, Haxorus, Minior, and (to a lesser extent) Tyranitar, all you have to do is point and shoot. I know what Douglas Adams (and Sean Bean, at least in Civilization VI) have to say on the subject of foolproof things, by selecting good Pokémon that are relatively uncomplicated in terms of strategy, you've got a much easier time of it than you had with your previous teams. Stop doing yourself down, Buzzard's Underside. =]
Guess it's time to binge Smogon, then.
Now, in the inaugural Sunflower Cup I got to the final with an RU team... basically because I was the only one who knew even slightly what they were doing wrt team comp. I was Bodyhammer that year, basically, and if you get that reference then you were a nerd in the late '90s too, so grats. =]
Anyway, my team will be as follows:-
Toxapex
Pheromosa
Metagross
Volcarona
Serperior
Hoopa-Unbound
Tapu Fini
Reuniclus
Skarmory
Blissey
Azumarill
Togekiss
Shuckle
At least there's no Celesteela on this list, because ew. Instead, I can at least sort of deal with Skarmory. It's Togekiss I'm worried about, though IDK how well it'll hold up to my own parahax. =]
They just don't feel like Pokémon, you know? As game opponents I don't mind them but putting them on my team feels the same as putting Legendaries on my team.
Plus, I had a very epic win using Skarmory's Spikes+Whirlwind combo, so I trust it.
Although I say that having a team of sweepers, tanks, wall and stall breakers thrown together in the name of Hyper Offense. That also being said, I'm not going to take this tournament anywhere near as seriously as I did the last one (even if I am reigning champion), so everyone is probably going to be grateful for that.