Jibaku
Who let marco in here????
VULCAN FURY
The release of HeartGold and SoulSilver has undoubtedly shifted the metagame a bit – the rise of Shadow Sneak Giratina-O and Brave Bird Ho-oh quite interestingly left the metagame focused on Dragon and Fire Attacks. Stall teams saw a rise as Ho-oh’s immense bulk and power filled in many gaps in them. This, in turn, caused the metagame to move its attention towards entry hazards and more on offense, which in turn caused stall to decline as people overprepare for them. This is evident in august’s henry, where he abused Spikes and Stealth Rock and popularized Hidden Power Fire/Shadow Sneak Giratina-O. However in this rabble a few Pokemon were forgotten…
This team attempts to showcase the utility of a few undervalued Pokemon, specifically Heatran and Latias. These two Pokemon are currently “anti-metagame”, because they destroy a large part of it. The rare Trick Scarf Deoxys-S and Scarf Jirachi also make appearances that perform crucial roles for the team. The team also combines the common “semistall” and offensive playstyles, given the quick entry hazards, but also some good bulk provided by just about everything in the team! How exactly do you classify this team? Flashstorm1 called it “offensive balance”, and Ace Matador called it “Semistall”. You know what I think? Forget team classification! It’s a team of Pokemon, period. (Theorymon says "Right on Jibaku!)
As proof of this team’s success I’ve gotten to #2 with it a few times (couldn’t be bothered to get to #1 because I already accomplished that twice before ANYWAYS…it peaked at 1829 so it's good enough). However, as with any RMT, I need help – this team suffers from a few problems in which I can’t seem to cover up.A main issue of this team is that it’s a bit unstable - it sort of falls to hax, and unlike my previous Stall teams it relies too much on haxing back to regain the advantage. Speaking of that, another problem with the team is that it requires thought and whenever I'm in a tilt, this team fails me =(
This is probably the final 4th generation team I will make. With 5th gen stepping closer to our doorsteps, there isn’t a whole lot of time left. Of course, if ARCEUS (and I mean Arceus, not "Farceus" or "Farkeus" depending on how you want to pronounce it....) comes out before then, it may be a different story. To go out with a bang, I’ve put my utmost effort into creating this team, putting comprehensive information and organizing them so they would be easy to read.
Like my previous teams, I will tell you right now I might lie on the EV spreads, but if you can suggest a better EV spread, please do so =). Without further ado…
Team at a glance:
Now for the actual team!
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The entry hazard Core
Deoxys-e @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 244 HP / 40 Def / 52 Spd / 174 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Superpower
- Trick
General Information
Even with Deoxys-S leads being prepared for nowadays, it still remains as the most consistent lead in the metagame, setting up hazards with relative ease. This Deoxys-S lead differs from the general Spikes / Stealth Rock / Taunt / ExtremeSpeed lead, however, as it is a dedicated Spiker. Since this team is focused around entry hazards, I decided that splitting up Stealth Rock on another Pokemon would overall be beneficial to the team as putting both hazards on Deoxys-S places too much pressure on it and should situations come up where only one hazard can be put up (e.g. vs. Lead Tyranitar), it would throw over the focus of the team. Anyways, this is a TrickScarfer lead, which isn't seen at all nowadays. Its main advantage over the standard Deoxys-S is laying down Spikes before Scarf Shaymin-S/Scarfrai attack. This thing has a surprising amount of bulk which I will discuss later.
Also I find it quite weird that some Deoxys-S runs only ExtremeSpeed as their sole attacking move. I mean come on, would you really give up your coverage against other Deoxys-S to defeat Deoxys-A?
Moveset Explanation
Well Spikes is outright obvious, and Taunt is still useful in halting opposing set ups once I've tricked the Scarf onto something. Superpower is only for times I may actually need to attack - it helps greatly with Darkrai. I've considered Pursuit since most Deoxys-S leads Taunt me and it would be funny to chop them up a little bit as they switch with Pursuit, but I decided to scrap the idea because I don't want stuff like Scizor coming in and Pursuiting my hazardmon.
EV explanation
With Choice Scarf patching its Speed (which is already insane to begin with), moving the EVs into the defenses seem logical. With these EVs, Leadquaza will almost never KO it with LO Fire Blast + ExtremeSpeed, and most of the time they won't OHKO with Draco Meteor anyways. Shaymin-S will 3HKO at best with Air Slash so I get three layers of Spikes against it. If I Trick against Forretress, Payback will not 2HKO me if I snag Leftovers. Also, it survives Crunch from SpecialTar lead after sand. The Speed EVs are only there so that it can outrun a Rock Polish Jolly Groudon at +2 while having a Choice Scarf attached, so that I may cripple it.
Lead Explanation
Deoxys-S: Trick allows me to at least cripple opposing Deoxys-S. If they Taunt, we both switch. I usually switch to Groudon to hopefully catch their Pursuiter and set up rocks immediately. If they attack with Signal Beam or Shadow Ball, I get my one layer, then switch to Groudon and set up the Stealth Rock. If they use SR or Spikes I just go for my three layers. However, battling against three layers worth of Spikes is rather annoying, but I do have two Levitators so I might not be at a huge loss here.
Deoxys-A: I usually go for the Spikes here, then switch out to Jirachi to attempt an Ironflinch. If it uses ExtremeSpeed on the first turn, I get two layers of Spikes down
Groudon: Spikes twice, generally. If it uses Stealth Rock I get three Spikes. After Deoxys-S is dead Groudon is sent out and Stealth Rocks, then Roars.
Kyogre: Spikes twice (Deoxys-S will survive a Surf barring a crit), then Latias is sent out to handle Kyogre. Although it’ll get paralyzed by Thunder Wave, it would weaken Kyogre to the point where it would be hard to use and making it easier to preserve my sunlight. Water Spout Kyogre can be annoying as it OHKOes Deoxys-S, however
Dialga: There are a few ways I can do this. Deoxys-S will survive two Flamethrowers from lead Dialga so if it goes by that route I get three layers. To destroy Deoxys by the second turn, it must use Draco Meteor, which then allows Groudon to set up SR without too much of a threat. On certain occasions when I feel trollish I can Trick as it Thunder Waves. Lum Berry will cure me of paralysis and Dialga's left choiced, allowing for easy Spikes set up.
Darkrai: I would just Spikes, and then take the Dark Void. I usually then go to Jirachi to scout for whatever they have. Deoxys-S will also survive a Dark Pulse so it can get two layers down. Signal Beam may come in handy once in a while
Mew: Yeah it’ll probably use U-turn so I’ll use Spikes. Scizor will probably come in after (or Giratina-O), and I’ll try to handle them by double switching etc (read later)
Scizor: Spikes, then try to predict between Bullet Punch and Pursuit in order to get that second Spikes. If it Pursuits Deoxys-S correctly Groudon comes in and sets up SR so I’m not at a huge loss.
Giratina-O: See Scizor, except I can’t send in Groudon (Heatran is sent in instead). However, Giratina-O doesn’t have Pursuit, which makes it easier to preserve Deoxys-S. On some occasions I catch it on the double switch as it uses Earthquake, sacrificing Deoxys-S’ life to reveal their surprise. Shadow Sneak crits are extremely annoying, though.
Rayquaza: Not too bad. I would just stay in against those who use Life orb leadrays, getting two layers of Spikes if they opt for Fire Blast + ES. If they Draco Meteor I'll probably survive and switch into Groudon while I set up Stealth Rock. Focus Sash LeadRay is handled in the same way, I guess
Shaymin-S: One of the prime targets for Scarf Deoxys-S - it will most likely Air Slash and cause the team's demise as Deoxys-S effortlessly manages three layers of Spikes against it. It can 2HKO Deoxys-S with Seed Flare, though.
Forretress: Trick severely cripples Forretress. They often Payback on the first turn which easily nets me two layers of Spikes. Then, Groudon can set up SR as it is forced to switch out. If they use Toxic Spikes I'll just spam Spikes while if they use Spikes I'll probably Taunt and set up Spikes of my own. If Forretress uses Rapid Spin it loses since Leftovers outheals the damage lol.
Possible Replacements:
I am considering Forretress over Deoxys-S, whose ability to stop most other Deoxys-S leads better and being able to lay down Toxic Spikes help this team quite a bit, slowing down sweepers and torturing Blissey. Oh and being a third Steel type helps. However, this means I have less control over the early game (which you can see in the Deoxys-S vs leads section - most notably against Rayquaza lead). Also, Forretress lead mirrormatches are stupid -_-, and I can't really lead with Groudon since I don't want to risk the possibility of them having Deoxys-S + Giratina-O. I would have to use Gyro Ball though, because the thought of Darkrai Nasty Plotting on Forry is scary considering my Scarfer can't even OHKO it. Since Forry often only carries Payback as an attacking move (Rapid Spin does NOT count!), Darkrai could easily set up without having to Dark Void which could put me in a horrid position. However, this would unfortunately force me to use Shed Shell to avoid Wobbuffet (this is significant as Deoxys-S can Taunt Forry and then Wobbuffet gets sent in, and if I happen to use Rapid Spin at that time Wobb could Encore and then proceed to Counter me to death!). Another option is to use Bug Bite which means I wouldn't have to lower Speed and therefore I can use Leftovers without fearing Wobb, but it does pathetic damage to Giratina-O (which then forces me to treat Forry as sacrifice against EQ variants, though I'd get a lot of hazards in the process). Bug Bite also has the added bonus of dealing tons of damage to lead Mew thanks to its Lum Berry. But unlike Gyro Ball, Rayquaza laughs at it. Using Gyro Ball with enough Speed to beat Wobb is a terrible idea X_X. The final option is to drop Toxic Spikes for Bug Bite...and I don't want to remove TS because that's the main reason Forretress is here, and I'm certainly not removing Spikes either!
Okay I will admit that after testing Cloyster a bit with a set of Ice Beam / Rapid Spin / Toxic Spikes / Spikes @ Sash, it's not bad. Against slower leads and stall it gets Toxic Spikes + Spikes down easily, while Spinning away at Deoxys-S leads as well as threatening Giratina-O switch ins with Ice Beam. But I dunno - Cloyster is still fairly slow and isn't as versatile as Deoxys-S in terms of leading, and dislikes being put up against Forretress. What this thing can do that Forretress can't is set up both TS and Spikes against lead Kyogre and Dialga (barring fast ones, though). Obviously the main appeal here that it has over Deoxys-S is being able to lay down Toxic Spikes.
This Deoxys-S used to be a lead with 144 Atk / 252 Speed / 112 SAtk, Naive, Fire Punch / Spikes / Taunt / Signal Beam. However, ScarfDeoxys-S' ability to outrun Scarfrai and Scarfmin-S eventually gave the Sashlead the bootout from the team. Still, it performed its job exceptionally well while it was on the team. If for any reason Scarf Deoxys-S fails me, I can return back to this lead.
Well Spikes is outright obvious, and Taunt is still useful in halting opposing set ups once I've tricked the Scarf onto something. Superpower is only for times I may actually need to attack - it helps greatly with Darkrai. I've considered Pursuit since most Deoxys-S leads Taunt me and it would be funny to chop them up a little bit as they switch with Pursuit, but I decided to scrap the idea because I don't want stuff like Scizor coming in and Pursuiting my hazardmon.
EV explanation
With Choice Scarf patching its Speed (which is already insane to begin with), moving the EVs into the defenses seem logical. With these EVs, Leadquaza will almost never KO it with LO Fire Blast + ExtremeSpeed, and most of the time they won't OHKO with Draco Meteor anyways. Shaymin-S will 3HKO at best with Air Slash so I get three layers of Spikes against it. If I Trick against Forretress, Payback will not 2HKO me if I snag Leftovers. Also, it survives Crunch from SpecialTar lead after sand. The Speed EVs are only there so that it can outrun a Rock Polish Jolly Groudon at +2 while having a Choice Scarf attached, so that I may cripple it.
Lead Explanation
Deoxys-S: Trick allows me to at least cripple opposing Deoxys-S. If they Taunt, we both switch. I usually switch to Groudon to hopefully catch their Pursuiter and set up rocks immediately. If they attack with Signal Beam or Shadow Ball, I get my one layer, then switch to Groudon and set up the Stealth Rock. If they use SR or Spikes I just go for my three layers. However, battling against three layers worth of Spikes is rather annoying, but I do have two Levitators so I might not be at a huge loss here.
Deoxys-A: I usually go for the Spikes here, then switch out to Jirachi to attempt an Ironflinch. If it uses ExtremeSpeed on the first turn, I get two layers of Spikes down
Groudon: Spikes twice, generally. If it uses Stealth Rock I get three Spikes. After Deoxys-S is dead Groudon is sent out and Stealth Rocks, then Roars.
Kyogre: Spikes twice (Deoxys-S will survive a Surf barring a crit), then Latias is sent out to handle Kyogre. Although it’ll get paralyzed by Thunder Wave, it would weaken Kyogre to the point where it would be hard to use and making it easier to preserve my sunlight. Water Spout Kyogre can be annoying as it OHKOes Deoxys-S, however
Dialga: There are a few ways I can do this. Deoxys-S will survive two Flamethrowers from lead Dialga so if it goes by that route I get three layers. To destroy Deoxys by the second turn, it must use Draco Meteor, which then allows Groudon to set up SR without too much of a threat. On certain occasions when I feel trollish I can Trick as it Thunder Waves. Lum Berry will cure me of paralysis and Dialga's left choiced, allowing for easy Spikes set up.
Darkrai: I would just Spikes, and then take the Dark Void. I usually then go to Jirachi to scout for whatever they have. Deoxys-S will also survive a Dark Pulse so it can get two layers down. Signal Beam may come in handy once in a while
Mew: Yeah it’ll probably use U-turn so I’ll use Spikes. Scizor will probably come in after (or Giratina-O), and I’ll try to handle them by double switching etc (read later)
Scizor: Spikes, then try to predict between Bullet Punch and Pursuit in order to get that second Spikes. If it Pursuits Deoxys-S correctly Groudon comes in and sets up SR so I’m not at a huge loss.
Giratina-O: See Scizor, except I can’t send in Groudon (Heatran is sent in instead). However, Giratina-O doesn’t have Pursuit, which makes it easier to preserve Deoxys-S. On some occasions I catch it on the double switch as it uses Earthquake, sacrificing Deoxys-S’ life to reveal their surprise. Shadow Sneak crits are extremely annoying, though.
Rayquaza: Not too bad. I would just stay in against those who use Life orb leadrays, getting two layers of Spikes if they opt for Fire Blast + ES. If they Draco Meteor I'll probably survive and switch into Groudon while I set up Stealth Rock. Focus Sash LeadRay is handled in the same way, I guess
Shaymin-S: One of the prime targets for Scarf Deoxys-S - it will most likely Air Slash and cause the team's demise as Deoxys-S effortlessly manages three layers of Spikes against it. It can 2HKO Deoxys-S with Seed Flare, though.
Forretress: Trick severely cripples Forretress. They often Payback on the first turn which easily nets me two layers of Spikes. Then, Groudon can set up SR as it is forced to switch out. If they use Toxic Spikes I'll just spam Spikes while if they use Spikes I'll probably Taunt and set up Spikes of my own. If Forretress uses Rapid Spin it loses since Leftovers outheals the damage lol.
Possible Replacements:
I am considering Forretress over Deoxys-S, whose ability to stop most other Deoxys-S leads better and being able to lay down Toxic Spikes help this team quite a bit, slowing down sweepers and torturing Blissey. Oh and being a third Steel type helps. However, this means I have less control over the early game (which you can see in the Deoxys-S vs leads section - most notably against Rayquaza lead). Also, Forretress lead mirrormatches are stupid -_-, and I can't really lead with Groudon since I don't want to risk the possibility of them having Deoxys-S + Giratina-O. I would have to use Gyro Ball though, because the thought of Darkrai Nasty Plotting on Forry is scary considering my Scarfer can't even OHKO it. Since Forry often only carries Payback as an attacking move (Rapid Spin does NOT count!), Darkrai could easily set up without having to Dark Void which could put me in a horrid position. However, this would unfortunately force me to use Shed Shell to avoid Wobbuffet (this is significant as Deoxys-S can Taunt Forry and then Wobbuffet gets sent in, and if I happen to use Rapid Spin at that time Wobb could Encore and then proceed to Counter me to death!). Another option is to use Bug Bite which means I wouldn't have to lower Speed and therefore I can use Leftovers without fearing Wobb, but it does pathetic damage to Giratina-O (which then forces me to treat Forry as sacrifice against EQ variants, though I'd get a lot of hazards in the process). Bug Bite also has the added bonus of dealing tons of damage to lead Mew thanks to its Lum Berry. But unlike Gyro Ball, Rayquaza laughs at it. Using Gyro Ball with enough Speed to beat Wobb is a terrible idea X_X. The final option is to drop Toxic Spikes for Bug Bite...and I don't want to remove TS because that's the main reason Forretress is here, and I'm certainly not removing Spikes either!
Okay I will admit that after testing Cloyster a bit with a set of Ice Beam / Rapid Spin / Toxic Spikes / Spikes @ Sash, it's not bad. Against slower leads and stall it gets Toxic Spikes + Spikes down easily, while Spinning away at Deoxys-S leads as well as threatening Giratina-O switch ins with Ice Beam. But I dunno - Cloyster is still fairly slow and isn't as versatile as Deoxys-S in terms of leading, and dislikes being put up against Forretress. What this thing can do that Forretress can't is set up both TS and Spikes against lead Kyogre and Dialga (barring fast ones, though). Obviously the main appeal here that it has over Deoxys-S is being able to lay down Toxic Spikes.
This Deoxys-S used to be a lead with 144 Atk / 252 Speed / 112 SAtk, Naive, Fire Punch / Spikes / Taunt / Signal Beam. However, ScarfDeoxys-S' ability to outrun Scarfrai and Scarfmin-S eventually gave the Sashlead the bootout from the team. Still, it performed its job exceptionally well while it was on the team. If for any reason Scarf Deoxys-S fails me, I can return back to this lead.
Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP/56 Def/40 Spd/162 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
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General info
For a team that focuses on Heatran, Groudon is pretty darn important. It sets up sunlight, and of course, Stealth Rock. After this Groudon’s only job left to complete is checking random physical attackers and absorbing Electric-type moves such as Thunder Wave and Thunder. Nothing else to describe in this short section eh?
EV explanation
The EV spread is quite different from the standard – instead of focusing solely on physical defense, some special defense are thrown in. This spread, in particular, allows it to survive Life Orb +2 Darkrai’s Dark Pulse after Stealth Rock damage. Although it’s unreliable, it can help in pinch situations. Groudon can also beat Scarf Palkia one on one (if Palkia has taken entry hazard damage). The Speed EVs seem excessive, but they outrun most Ho-oh in the game, which is essential as the team does not enjoy facing Ho-oh. It will also help against the slow base 90s.
Moveset Explanation
Earthquake is self explanatory, while Stone Edge smashes Ho-oh and Rayquaza. As for the last moveslot, I’ve had Rest before, because Blissey isn’t friendly to the team. However, I think Roar is better overall, despite having another phazer. This allows me to escape the wrath of Double Dance Groudon once, and allows Latias to use Thunder instead of Grass Knot.
The EV spread is quite different from the standard – instead of focusing solely on physical defense, some special defense are thrown in. This spread, in particular, allows it to survive Life Orb +2 Darkrai’s Dark Pulse after Stealth Rock damage. Although it’s unreliable, it can help in pinch situations. Groudon can also beat Scarf Palkia one on one (if Palkia has taken entry hazard damage). The Speed EVs seem excessive, but they outrun most Ho-oh in the game, which is essential as the team does not enjoy facing Ho-oh. It will also help against the slow base 90s.
Moveset Explanation
Earthquake is self explanatory, while Stone Edge smashes Ho-oh and Rayquaza. As for the last moveslot, I’ve had Rest before, because Blissey isn’t friendly to the team. However, I think Roar is better overall, despite having another phazer. This allows me to escape the wrath of Double Dance Groudon once, and allows Latias to use Thunder instead of Grass Knot.
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 Atk/200 Spd/60 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Earthquake
- Shadow Sneak
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Claw
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General info
Well obviously I’m not going to go without a spinblocker, right? Despite having Fire Punch on Deoxys-S, I still would like to prevent Forretress from Spinning away all of the hard work I went to get them up (read: it’s not hard, but if Deoxys-S dies I’d rather not see its effort wasted). Giratina-O also provides the team with the ever so useful Fighting and Ground immunities (well, Latias already has Ground immunity, but this helps, no?) Also helps beat down Rock Polish Groudon. And Mewtwo. And Adamant Lucario. And helps tremendously against Stall. And even helps absorb Explosions/Selfdestructs, Etc. You get it, right? By these reasons you should understand why Giratina-O is picked over Giratina-A, or any other Spinblocker really (because they’re either pretty darn frail (Gengar, Rotom-A), silly (Dusknoir, Spiritomb), doesn’t have Levitate (a lot of them), and they don’t work as great vs Stall or Mewtwo).
Moveset Explanation
Hidden Power Fire is for the obvious “getting rid of Forretress” theme which has been recurring in this team, but I am considering Earthquake because it allows me to outrun all other Giratina-O (due to having max Speed IV - and this would mean I need to move EVs into Speed, obviously) and of course, to get rid of Heatran, but I'm scared of enemy Skarmory and Bronzong who shrugs off everything. Shadow Sneak is pretty self explanatory as it helps clean up soo much stuff it’s not even funny. Draco Meteor crushes Rock Polish Groudon and deals massive damage in general. Lastly, Dragon Claw is reliable and can allow me to hit Blisseys who might switch into it (trust me they sometimes do, probably to lock you into Outrage or something…whatever). The reason Outrage isn’t needed here is because I have Latias, who can tear up Kyogre anyways. Ho-oh is a slight issue though, but I can switch to Groudon during the Roost and tear it apart with Stone Edge.
EV Explanation
The EVs are pretty much the same as in the analysis, with extra Speed to outrun most other Giratina-O. It’s focused on Attack because I want to hurt Blissey with Dragon Claw, and increase my chances of 2HKOing Mewtwo with Shadow Sneak. That doesn’t mean Draco Meteor won’t hurt, though – STABed 140 BP *1.2 move is still pretty devastating in its own right
Final Words
Giratina-O’s typing allows it to be a tremendous partner to Heatran and Jirachi. Jirachi + Giratina-O can smack down Psychic types effectively while Heatran + Giratina-O is plain annoying to face =). Just ask tito!
Hidden Power Fire is for the obvious “getting rid of Forretress” theme which has been recurring in this team, but I am considering Earthquake because it allows me to outrun all other Giratina-O (due to having max Speed IV - and this would mean I need to move EVs into Speed, obviously) and of course, to get rid of Heatran, but I'm scared of enemy Skarmory and Bronzong who shrugs off everything. Shadow Sneak is pretty self explanatory as it helps clean up soo much stuff it’s not even funny. Draco Meteor crushes Rock Polish Groudon and deals massive damage in general. Lastly, Dragon Claw is reliable and can allow me to hit Blisseys who might switch into it (trust me they sometimes do, probably to lock you into Outrage or something…whatever). The reason Outrage isn’t needed here is because I have Latias, who can tear up Kyogre anyways. Ho-oh is a slight issue though, but I can switch to Groudon during the Roost and tear it apart with Stone Edge.
EV Explanation
The EVs are pretty much the same as in the analysis, with extra Speed to outrun most other Giratina-O. It’s focused on Attack because I want to hurt Blissey with Dragon Claw, and increase my chances of 2HKOing Mewtwo with Shadow Sneak. That doesn’t mean Draco Meteor won’t hurt, though – STABed 140 BP *1.2 move is still pretty devastating in its own right
Final Words
Giratina-O’s typing allows it to be a tremendous partner to Heatran and Jirachi. Jirachi + Giratina-O can smack down Psychic types effectively while Heatran + Giratina-O is plain annoying to face =). Just ask tito!
<awesome sprite by klnothincomin>
The Team Focus(es)
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP/152 Spd/106 SDef
Calm nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Roar
- Dragon Pulse / Toxic
- Flamethrower
General Info
Quite an underrated mon. It’s slowly rising in usage though. Heatran is an excellent Pokemon in the Uber metagame due to its resistance to Dragon and Fire and immunity to Toxic Spikes, and in this team it full well takes advantage of that trait. As I said before, with the metagame focusing on Fire + Dragon, this stuff is useful. And it can actually hurt stuff besides walling them too. Heatran sort of suffers from having no recovery, however.
Moveset Explanation
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the Heatran thread in the Ubers subforum, Roar can give a lot of headaches as their Heatran counters are sent in, take loads of entry hazard damage, and are promptly forced back out. Since Heatran handles many Pokemon, it might just drag out a Pokemon it normally scares off. And it has the option to stay in and probably die, or switch out and risk Roar. As you see, Heatran is an excellent phazer, and I’m sure you’d probably agree. Taunt harasses Stall teams to the extreme – it means Blissey can’t recover, then I can roar it out and add more entry hazard damage. Furthermore, I can Taunt Blissey and switch into Giratina-O, which decimates Blissey. Taunt also messes up Lugia, Giratina-A, and Lugia =). So yeah, this is my second weapon against stall. By messing around with their head, Heatran and the rest of the team prey on the opponent’s deteriorating composure.
Flamethrower is chosen for reliability, and the power is generally preferred over the burn from Lava Plume. I am no way using Fire Blast or Overheat, they suck -_-. Fire Blast has imperfect accuracy and terrible PP, and where Pressure is flying about AND the fact that it’s supposed to be a defensive Pokemon makes it a terrible choice. Overheat is worse due to the -2 Special Attack, which means Taunt / WoW Mewtwo outstalls me =(. Dragon Pulse is for immediate damage to Dragons (unless they’re Latias or Dialga). I am considering Toxic in this spot, though, because it helps a lot against Latias and Lugia, and does wonders if I didn't get enough entry hazards when this is sent out.
EV Explanation
The EVs give it enough speed to outrun most Ho-oh (see: Groudon). Rest are just dumped into HP and SDef for overall bulk. With no recovery in hand, Heatran must tread carefully against powerful NVE attacks such as Dialga’s Choice Specs Draco Meteor or Ho-oh’s Brave Bird. For this reason, I carry Jirachi as a secondary Steel to absorb hits when I feel that I must preserve Heatran.
Final Words
Heatran holds the team against Scarf Dialga / Scarf Palkia (in the sun), Earthquakeless Ho-oh, Taunt / WoW Mewtwo, Lugia, Earthquakeless Giratina-O, TormentTran, and much, much more….the list is quite endless.
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the Heatran thread in the Ubers subforum, Roar can give a lot of headaches as their Heatran counters are sent in, take loads of entry hazard damage, and are promptly forced back out. Since Heatran handles many Pokemon, it might just drag out a Pokemon it normally scares off. And it has the option to stay in and probably die, or switch out and risk Roar. As you see, Heatran is an excellent phazer, and I’m sure you’d probably agree. Taunt harasses Stall teams to the extreme – it means Blissey can’t recover, then I can roar it out and add more entry hazard damage. Furthermore, I can Taunt Blissey and switch into Giratina-O, which decimates Blissey. Taunt also messes up Lugia, Giratina-A, and Lugia =). So yeah, this is my second weapon against stall. By messing around with their head, Heatran and the rest of the team prey on the opponent’s deteriorating composure.
Flamethrower is chosen for reliability, and the power is generally preferred over the burn from Lava Plume. I am no way using Fire Blast or Overheat, they suck -_-. Fire Blast has imperfect accuracy and terrible PP, and where Pressure is flying about AND the fact that it’s supposed to be a defensive Pokemon makes it a terrible choice. Overheat is worse due to the -2 Special Attack, which means Taunt / WoW Mewtwo outstalls me =(. Dragon Pulse is for immediate damage to Dragons (unless they’re Latias or Dialga). I am considering Toxic in this spot, though, because it helps a lot against Latias and Lugia, and does wonders if I didn't get enough entry hazards when this is sent out.
EV Explanation
The EVs give it enough speed to outrun most Ho-oh (see: Groudon). Rest are just dumped into HP and SDef for overall bulk. With no recovery in hand, Heatran must tread carefully against powerful NVE attacks such as Dialga’s Choice Specs Draco Meteor or Ho-oh’s Brave Bird. For this reason, I carry Jirachi as a secondary Steel to absorb hits when I feel that I must preserve Heatran.
Final Words
Heatran holds the team against Scarf Dialga / Scarf Palkia (in the sun), Earthquakeless Ho-oh, Taunt / WoW Mewtwo, Lugia, Earthquakeless Giratina-O, TormentTran, and much, much more….the list is quite endless.
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Latias (F) @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 160 HP/252 Spd/96 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Dragon Pulse
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Thunder
General Info
Yeah uhhm so apparently her usage declined. I mean, what IS this?
| 20 | Latias | 2261 | 9.27 |
(January stats)
| 22 | Latias | 3394 | 10.45 |
(April stats)
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. This is unacceptable! :RAGE:
Anyways, I consider Latias to be an anti metagame Pokemon at this point. It appeared that people forgot her existence and thus many teams are weak to her. Latias is probably the best partner to Heatran in the game because not only do they counter each other’s weaknesses, they are pretty destructive to sun (Heatran), and rain (Latias) teams. Furthermore, being one of the best counters to Kyogre in the game, Latias secures the team’s purpose of abusing Heatran.
What makes Latias so dangerous? She has no Uber counters, and thus you’re left with Scizor/Jirachi/Tyranitar/Blissey/Registeel as your best bets to stop her. Scizor gets 2HKOed by Thunder and is mauled by the entry hazards in the team, Jirachi doesn’t like Thunder either, Tyranitar is sort of rare, and Registeel is even rarer. Which leaves Blissey, really. This means Latias will very, very often snag a kill in the game, and may even sweep.
Moveset Explanation
I picked the Calm Mind set as it is the most effective way to decimate Kyogre. Ice Beams don’t hurt her a whole lot and is easily recoverable, unless they have Life Orb (where they just put themselves into Thunder kill range). Speaking of Thunder, I picked it to hit Steels and Lugia. Despite sunlight, Kyogre is common enough to make up for that.
Choice Explanation
Latias is chosen over Palkia here because of her ability to Calm Mind, Recover, and because she is faster. Palkia struggles to fight off Calm Mind Kyogre and the inability to Recover (and being hit by the grounded entry hazards…) make it quite unreliable. She holds the team against Mixed Palkia as well, which apparently is something the rest of the Kyogre checks struggle to do. Being faster than Garchomp is invaluable as well.
Latias is picked over Latios for her better bulk. This is important because it allows her to hold against Kyogre easier as they may pack Ice Beam. I mean seriously, Latios gets 2HKOed by Specs Ogre’s Surf with SR, as well as 2HKOed by Scarfed Water Spout. Furthermore, her extra defense allows her to survive priority moves better – she can survive a +2 Life Orb ExtremeSpeed from Jolly Lucario after two Stealth Rock damages (unless it rolls max damage or something).
I picked the Calm Mind set as it is the most effective way to decimate Kyogre. Ice Beams don’t hurt her a whole lot and is easily recoverable, unless they have Life Orb (where they just put themselves into Thunder kill range). Speaking of Thunder, I picked it to hit Steels and Lugia. Despite sunlight, Kyogre is common enough to make up for that.
Choice Explanation
Latias is chosen over Palkia here because of her ability to Calm Mind, Recover, and because she is faster. Palkia struggles to fight off Calm Mind Kyogre and the inability to Recover (and being hit by the grounded entry hazards…) make it quite unreliable. She holds the team against Mixed Palkia as well, which apparently is something the rest of the Kyogre checks struggle to do. Being faster than Garchomp is invaluable as well.
Latias is picked over Latios for her better bulk. This is important because it allows her to hold against Kyogre easier as they may pack Ice Beam. I mean seriously, Latios gets 2HKOed by Specs Ogre’s Surf with SR, as well as 2HKOed by Scarfed Water Spout. Furthermore, her extra defense allows her to survive priority moves better – she can survive a +2 Life Orb ExtremeSpeed from Jolly Lucario after two Stealth Rock damages (unless it rolls max damage or something).
The Revenger
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
- Trick
General Info
The glue…kind of I guess. I don’t really like to Scarf Jirachi, since it has a lot of potential on doing other things, but due to the presence of Darkrai, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Lati@s, I am obligated to Scarf this. Turns out, Jirachi is a pretty good Scarfer. Scarfrachi’s huge drawback is still the fact that it doesn’t do a lot of damage due to its average Attack stat and fairly weak attacks, and thus often relies on super effective hits or the extremely cheap Ironflinch to deal good damage. However, its Steel/Psychic typing, reasonable bulk, and somewhat precise moveset more than makes up for this setback. Following the theme of this team, Jirachi is somewhat rare as well.
Moveset Explanation
Iron Head is for the extremely cheap Ironflinch “technique” thanks to Serene Grace. Although it is by no means reliable, it’s a decent weapon when I’m desperate, and Jirachi can often pull through (while probably aggravating the opponent >=)). Ice Punch nails Rayquaza and Garchomp – Jirachi is one of the best Rayquaza checks in the game by outrunning both DD and SDRay and resisting ExtremeSpeed and Dragon Claw. It can also 2HKO the Lati@s and has a 20% chance to freeze (which is unfortunately cancelled out by Groudon’s sunlight…). U-turn is interesting for mind games, dents stuff like Mewtwo and MOST IMPORTANTLY DARKRAI, and abuses the entry hazards if I predict that they will switch out. Trick is mostly a desperation or endgame situation sort of thing – it punishes BP Mew pretty badly if I can predict it. What sets Jirachi apart from other Scarfers is that unless Wobbuffet comes into Ice Punch, Jirachi can break free of its grasps.
Darkrai
I will mention Darkrai once more because it’s an annoying Pokemon. It resists Shadow Sneak and has STAB Dark Pulse which limits my revenging capabilities. To defeat Darkrai, I usually have a Pokemon sent to sleep, switch in Jirachi, U-turn out to the Sleeping Pokemon and let it die to Darkrai, then send Jirachi back in to pick off the remaining HP (unless it’s so low that Shadow Sneak can pick it off, which happens if Darkrai has Life Orb). Entry hazards prevent Darkrai from coming back in the second time around to Sleep another mon. I will only attempt an Ironflinch in desperate situations or when I know it will put Darkrai’s HP into Shadow Sneak kill range.
You know, ScarfKitsunoh would fit so well over Scarf Jirachi here……
Iron Head is for the extremely cheap Ironflinch “technique” thanks to Serene Grace. Although it is by no means reliable, it’s a decent weapon when I’m desperate, and Jirachi can often pull through (while probably aggravating the opponent >=)). Ice Punch nails Rayquaza and Garchomp – Jirachi is one of the best Rayquaza checks in the game by outrunning both DD and SDRay and resisting ExtremeSpeed and Dragon Claw. It can also 2HKO the Lati@s and has a 20% chance to freeze (which is unfortunately cancelled out by Groudon’s sunlight…). U-turn is interesting for mind games, dents stuff like Mewtwo and MOST IMPORTANTLY DARKRAI, and abuses the entry hazards if I predict that they will switch out. Trick is mostly a desperation or endgame situation sort of thing – it punishes BP Mew pretty badly if I can predict it. What sets Jirachi apart from other Scarfers is that unless Wobbuffet comes into Ice Punch, Jirachi can break free of its grasps.
Darkrai
I will mention Darkrai once more because it’s an annoying Pokemon. It resists Shadow Sneak and has STAB Dark Pulse which limits my revenging capabilities. To defeat Darkrai, I usually have a Pokemon sent to sleep, switch in Jirachi, U-turn out to the Sleeping Pokemon and let it die to Darkrai, then send Jirachi back in to pick off the remaining HP (unless it’s so low that Shadow Sneak can pick it off, which happens if Darkrai has Life Orb). Entry hazards prevent Darkrai from coming back in the second time around to Sleep another mon. I will only attempt an Ironflinch in desperate situations or when I know it will put Darkrai’s HP into Shadow Sneak kill range.
You know, ScarfKitsunoh would fit so well over Scarf Jirachi here……
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Team Building Process
This is slightly different from the other Team Building processes as the team is built as a result of previous teams. As you see, I’m not a fan of making teams from scratch, especially at this point of the metagame where thousands of teams have been created, with many being successful.[Groudon] [Kyogre] [Scarf Palkia] [Forretress] [Blissey] [Giratina-O]
First, I take out my stall team. But then, HGSS came along, and added Brave bird onto Ho-oh. I wanted to try that out so….
[Groudon] [Ho-oh] [Scarf Palkia] [Forretress] [Blissey] [Giratina-O]
Excellent. This version of the team successfully snagged me a 1919 on the Uber Leaderboard, but then people began to prepare for Ho-oh a lot…when Mixed Giratina-O came out it sealed the deal for this team because it made it extremely difficult for the team to Spin. I gave up stalling because I thought it would be impossible, and this playstyle shift couldn’t have come at a worse time – it was during the BotW against mind!
[Deoxys-S] [Wobbuffet] [Palkia/Latios] [Mewtwo] [Giratina-O] [Lucario]
Yeah, I used august’s team henry at this time period, and saw how devastating Latios is. I often swapped between Latios and Palkia here to test which one is better. I think Latios is better though because it is faster than Mixed Palkia. Regardless, this team is great, but is extremely unstable IMO. Darkrai and TauntCM Mewtwo weren’t friendly to this team, and lead Giratina-O messed up the team because I can’t play around it by double switching due to the immense ghost weakness in the team. Furthermore, Thunder began to hax me and Dragons weren’t friendly either. However, henry made we want to make and use a team with Latios/Latias. Anyways, I moved back to stall.
I looked around and found only one alternative to Ho-oh – one that can stop both TauntWoW Mewtwo and Mixed Giratina-O at the same time, as well as being able to harass Stall….
[Groudon] [Heatran] [Scarf Palkia] [Forretress] [Blissey] [Giratina-O]
Still to this very day, this is my stall team. A bit Darkrai weak though, because it is almost entirely reliant on Palkia to stop it, but it does well otherwise. However, during this time period I grew bored of stalling things. Luckily, Ace Matador and august were kind enough to give me a team which kept the focus on Heatran =).
[Deoxys-S] [Groudon] [Scarf Palkia] [Giratina-O] [Heatran] [Scizor]
This team is seriously excellent – I tore up through the leaderboard quite quickly. It had entry hazards, an anti metagame Pokemon, two priority users, and an all purpose checker to things. This team also helped me in tripe’s Smogon Superstars I: Quarterfinals/Semifinals/Finals. Overall, I was very pleased with the team. However, it is not without its flaws…
The team lacked a reliable way to take down Lati@s, and Heatran doesn’t like taking too much abuse with no recovery. Furthermore, reachzero has demonstrated to me more than once that lead Rayquaza decimates the team. Grr….
[Deoxys-S] [Groudon] [Scarf Palkia] [Giratina-O] [Heatran] [Jirachi]
Yes, Jirachi. It covered up Lati@s more reliably and gave Heatran Wish support. However, the Ground weakness is a bit uncomfortable…Not to mention this was when Theorymon started to spam Wobbuffet + Dugtrio on ladder -_-, and even worse, this team is Flygon weak -______________________-.
[Deoxys-S] [Kyogre] [Latios] [Jirachi] [Giratina-O] [Mewtwo]
Yeah uhh….this team was Thunder weak. MOVING ALONG….
[Deoxys-S] [Groudon] [Scarf Palkia] [Giratina-O] [TauntWoW Mewtwo] [Jirachi]
Only used this for a very short amount of time, but without Heatran the team kept on falling apart to powerful attackers. Mewtwo didn’t quite destroy things quickly enough so…
[Deoxys-S] [Groudon] [Scarf Palkia] [Giratina-O] [Darkrai] [Jirachi]
Okay so Darkrai didn’t really cover up the Ground weakness, but it gave the team some Speed and helped against Kyogre to an extent….However I found the team a bit frail and relying on Jirachi to absorb all of your Dragon hits is asking for death….I went back to Heatran
[Deoxys-S] [Groudon] [Scarf Palkia] [Giratina-O] [Heatran] [Jirachi]
…and Kyogre is annoying. August’s Omastar + Forretress + Kyogre team was able to smash through this team because Palkia can not handle Kyogre due to poison damage. Furthermore, since the Kyogre had Ice Beam, Giratina-O struggled against it. Ace Matador also displayed this to me in a completely different match (and I used a different team too), reminding me how devastating toxic spikes + Rest Kyogre is. I decided that I must get a Latias because Palkia is being unreliable and kept getting its butt kicked by Wobbuffet -_-.
So I tried stuffing Latias over Palkia, but then I realized I would need a certain something that could cover up Mewtwo, Rayquaza, opposing Lati@s, and Darkrai at the same time. Scizor can’t do this because it’s slow and relied on Bullet Punch a little too much…and is 4x weak to Fire….ugh. ScarfScizor doesn’t outrun Mewtwo and Darkrai either -_-.
But wait, what if I Scarf Jirachi!??
I immediately realized the Darkrai weakness, but hmm….Jirachi can cover that up with U-turn….
I was pretty reluctant to Scarf Jirachi too, because I’d rather abuse paraflinch and Wish. But meh, this is the only choice I have…
[Deoxys-S] [Heatran] [ Giratina-O] [Scarf Jirachi] [Latias] [Groudon]
And there we go, the final team! It combined my desires of using Heatran and Latias ^_^.
Credits
Ace Matador: For pretty much the same reasons as august. And for supporting me during the tour :D
People on the ladder: for being my test subjects
Theorymon: For attempting to abuse my ground weakness -____-. Also, Theorymon helped me nitpick this RMT
Reachzero: For discovering my leadRay weakness.
Vashta: His “Welcome Home” RMT provided competition, and I ensured that this RMT would be longer than his!! Oh wait, why does that get him in here? GO HOME VASHTA!
GEC: Such a sexy cute boy, putting him in the credits because his Lead Delibird owns my whole team :D
(he put himself in the credits -_-)
Pokesho and klnothincomin for the amazing sprites
Fireburn: For the story ^_^.
locopoke: For finding the Smeargle Studio pics (and in this, credits also go to whoever made then =)). Oh and for suggesting Forretress.
- Nopie: For the Deoxys-S sprite
- danilyu/Scepticallistic: For the Groudon sprite
- thebattleax/Wizwum: For the Latias sprite
Stellar - For inspiring Theorymon to use TrickScarf Deoxys-S, who then inspired me to use it
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