Hello, I truly hope that I am posting this RMT in the correct forum. If I am not, I am sorry.
After having bred some of my favorite Pokémon, I decided to go for the Battle Stadium. Until this morning, I was more or less satisfied with my score of W26/L21, knocking at Hyper Ball's door; however, this morning, I was humiliated multiple times, resulting in a score of W28/L30. Since I am not too familiar with the current metagame, I do not want to spend too much time breeding possibly useless Pokémon; therefore, I am asking for your advice regarding an average team, both in general and concrete regarding the "What do I struggle with?" section at the bottom of this post.
RATE MY TEAM!
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Pyro Ball
- Court Change
- High Jump Kick
The standard Cinderace that serves primarily as a pivot, which is why it is often my starter. Interestingly, there has not been any situation in which I got to use Court Change, there has been no Spikes and almost no Stealth Rock users at all. Nevertheless, on the rare occasions where I dynamaxed Cinderace, Max Guard served as a useful option to out-stall my opponent's dynamaxed Pokémon.
Inteleon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
I am not entirely sure what I am supposed to think of Inteleon. There were multiple moments where I thought "You are heavily underrated!", only to experience thoughts of "Why have I even considered you?" shortly afterwards. Scald is Inteleon's STAB that may cause burn, Air Slash is for any Grass, Fighting and Bug Pokémon and Max Airstream when dynamaxed, Ice Beam is for any Grass, Flying and Dragon Pokémon, and Shadow Ball is for any Psychic and Ghost Pokémon. When I have to snap out of Choice Specs' lock, I simply dynamax. And yes, I was incredibly lucky and hatched a Shiny 6IV Inteleon.
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
Interestingly, Rapid Spin does not serve its actual purpose of eliminating entry hazards, but as a Speed boost that has been crucial on multiple occasions. I thought of replacing Swords Dance, since without a Speed boost, it is simply too slow to actually start sweeping (and Fire moves seem to be obligatory on [insert random special sweeper]), at least from my experience. I refrain from dynamaxing Excadrill, since the bulk it receives from Max Steelspike and Max Quake does not suffice to actually out-stall sweepers with very effective moves.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Curse
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
At first, I underestimated Ferrothorn's actual bulk, having made the idiot that I am too careless, which has resulted in too many unnecessary OHKOs and 2HKOs. I rarely manage to set Spikes, and I have not managed to use Curse at all, which is why I thought of replacing it with Power Whip. Since Fire moves seem to be an omnipresent threat, Ferrorthorn often remains not used, even though I really want to use it.
Dracovish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Outrage
- Psychic Fangs
- Fishious Rend
Dracovish's sole purpose is to spam Fishious Rend as often as possible. While I am still overwhelmed at the damage it does (even without an Adamant Nature or a Choice Band), it is easily crippled by burn or paralysis. Crunch is for Jellicent (theoretically, since I have not encountered any Jellicent yet), Outrage is Dracovish's other STAB, and Psychic Fangs is for Toxapex. I refrain from dynamaxing Dracovish too, since it loses the Choice Scarf's Speed boost.
Dragapult @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Dragon Darts
- Flamethrower
I vehemently object to Draco Meteor, since I would force myself to switch out and possibly lose momentum; therefore, I use Dragon Darts and a Hasty Nature. Interestingly, when Dragon Darts is the first move I use, people seem to believe that my Dragapult is a physical sweeper, which has occasionally resulted in advantageous situations I would not have gotten into with Draco Meteor. Thunderbolt is for Gyarados and Toxapex, Shadow Ball is Dragapult's STAB, and Flamethrower is for Corviknight and Ferrothorn. I prefer reliability over power, which is why I do not consider Thunder and Fire Blast as alternatives.
WHAT DO I STRUGGLE WITH?
After having bred some of my favorite Pokémon, I decided to go for the Battle Stadium. Until this morning, I was more or less satisfied with my score of W26/L21, knocking at Hyper Ball's door; however, this morning, I was humiliated multiple times, resulting in a score of W28/L30. Since I am not too familiar with the current metagame, I do not want to spend too much time breeding possibly useless Pokémon; therefore, I am asking for your advice regarding an average team, both in general and concrete regarding the "What do I struggle with?" section at the bottom of this post.
RATE MY TEAM!
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Pyro Ball
- Court Change
- High Jump Kick
The standard Cinderace that serves primarily as a pivot, which is why it is often my starter. Interestingly, there has not been any situation in which I got to use Court Change, there has been no Spikes and almost no Stealth Rock users at all. Nevertheless, on the rare occasions where I dynamaxed Cinderace, Max Guard served as a useful option to out-stall my opponent's dynamaxed Pokémon.
Inteleon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
I am not entirely sure what I am supposed to think of Inteleon. There were multiple moments where I thought "You are heavily underrated!", only to experience thoughts of "Why have I even considered you?" shortly afterwards. Scald is Inteleon's STAB that may cause burn, Air Slash is for any Grass, Fighting and Bug Pokémon and Max Airstream when dynamaxed, Ice Beam is for any Grass, Flying and Dragon Pokémon, and Shadow Ball is for any Psychic and Ghost Pokémon. When I have to snap out of Choice Specs' lock, I simply dynamax. And yes, I was incredibly lucky and hatched a Shiny 6IV Inteleon.
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
Interestingly, Rapid Spin does not serve its actual purpose of eliminating entry hazards, but as a Speed boost that has been crucial on multiple occasions. I thought of replacing Swords Dance, since without a Speed boost, it is simply too slow to actually start sweeping (and Fire moves seem to be obligatory on [insert random special sweeper]), at least from my experience. I refrain from dynamaxing Excadrill, since the bulk it receives from Max Steelspike and Max Quake does not suffice to actually out-stall sweepers with very effective moves.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Curse
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
At first, I underestimated Ferrothorn's actual bulk, having made the idiot that I am too careless, which has resulted in too many unnecessary OHKOs and 2HKOs. I rarely manage to set Spikes, and I have not managed to use Curse at all, which is why I thought of replacing it with Power Whip. Since Fire moves seem to be an omnipresent threat, Ferrorthorn often remains not used, even though I really want to use it.
Dracovish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Outrage
- Psychic Fangs
- Fishious Rend
Dracovish's sole purpose is to spam Fishious Rend as often as possible. While I am still overwhelmed at the damage it does (even without an Adamant Nature or a Choice Band), it is easily crippled by burn or paralysis. Crunch is for Jellicent (theoretically, since I have not encountered any Jellicent yet), Outrage is Dracovish's other STAB, and Psychic Fangs is for Toxapex. I refrain from dynamaxing Dracovish too, since it loses the Choice Scarf's Speed boost.
Dragapult @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Dragon Darts
- Flamethrower
I vehemently object to Draco Meteor, since I would force myself to switch out and possibly lose momentum; therefore, I use Dragon Darts and a Hasty Nature. Interestingly, when Dragon Darts is the first move I use, people seem to believe that my Dragapult is a physical sweeper, which has occasionally resulted in advantageous situations I would not have gotten into with Draco Meteor. Thunderbolt is for Gyarados and Toxapex, Shadow Ball is Dragapult's STAB, and Flamethrower is for Corviknight and Ferrothorn. I prefer reliability over power, which is why I do not consider Thunder and Fire Blast as alternatives.
WHAT DO I STRUGGLE WITH?
- Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf. It outspeeds Excadrill, eliminating the possibility of using Mold Breaker. It outspeeds and OHKOs Inteleon, and those Pokémon it can't OHKO either receive a Choice Scarf or it pivots, gaining momentum.
- Dragapult @ Choice Scarf. It is able to at least 2HKO most of my team, especially when dynamaxed.
- Trick Room. Whenever I spot a Dusclops or a Hatterene, I start panicking. As I mentioned before, I am not too familiar with the current metagame. My current strategy is to somehow out-stall and out-predict until Trick Room wears off, which often results in wasting dynamax, since Max Guard is my only protection.
- Weakness Policy. Whenever I spot a Tyranitar or especially a Togekiss, I dynamax, use Max Guard, then I use a not very effective move (ideally Max Airstream), and then I use Max Guard again. Thus, I manage to avoid Weakness Policy, but I am highly dissatisfied with this strategy, since I waste 2 dynamax turns just protecting, and it is difficult to predict, at least from my experience.
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