Hi there!
I originally built a prototype team with Xard and Swagger Fini, and Scarf Chomp to revenge kill things. Went over my team with someone on Showdown, made some significant changes (Mence for Xard, Lando for Chomp), and had a few battles with it last night, bar not being able to OKHO Trick Room setters and me making bad plays, this seemed like a pretty competent team.
Let me know what holes you see in it though, and what else I should keep in mind for future teambuilding efforts!
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
- Roost
Mega Salamence isn't really hard to explain -- this thing is a total nuke. Send it out onto a field and it becomes akin to a terrifying bomber, jetting past team threats and landing insane Double-Edge hits. That being said, it's not the perfect Pokemon -- its role in this team is to hit things very very hard, and leave the rest of the team to clean up. It can also sweep quite easily, with Roost and Protect to let me scout out turns, effectively utilize Intimidate, and attain some longevity.
Tapu Fini @ Figy Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
Heatran is there for the simple reason that it takes on Steel-type threats. Inferno Overdrive OHKOs Celesteela, and Heat Wave is a good way to score a burn outside of Misty Terrain. Flash Cannon to murder fairies a little more. Earth Power for opposing Heatran, which we outspeed outside of TR.
Soak Tapu Fini with Misty Seed Zapdos is just a fun little gimmick, but in general the idea behind this defensive core is to set up Tailwind against faster teams. I lead with Celesteela if I see a TR coming up, as that generally lets me survive through the initial TR and get rid of the setter.
Zapdos and Fini also deal with rain pretty easily, being so bulky and hitting pretty hard. Most rain leads don't really scare Fini + Dos, including Ludicolo with Giga Drain, giving Fini the opportunity to get a CM. Scarf Lando is a great answer to a lot of flying types, fire types, and it's a monster in general.
Tran lets me hit steel types harder, wall fairies better, and gives me a switch-in for ice types since I've got 4 flying types on this team. Mence over Xard since Mence plays nice with Fini (no burns, no dragon moves) and hits ridiculously hard. After Tailwind, the DD isn't even necessary for Double-Edge to OHKO most things. Roost and Protect for a little survivability. It only really needs one attack. Z-Move on the Tran to OHKO defensive Celesteela. Salamence and Lando both having Intimidate lets me neuter things, and gives me a reason not to immediately hit Mega if I see something dangerous potentially hanging around the back.
Again, I'm pretty new -- just looking for some advice on what I definitely need to change, or what I should just watch out for.
I originally built a prototype team with Xard and Swagger Fini, and Scarf Chomp to revenge kill things. Went over my team with someone on Showdown, made some significant changes (Mence for Xard, Lando for Chomp), and had a few battles with it last night, bar not being able to OKHO Trick Room setters and me making bad plays, this seemed like a pretty competent team.
Let me know what holes you see in it though, and what else I should keep in mind for future teambuilding efforts!
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
- Roost
Mega Salamence isn't really hard to explain -- this thing is a total nuke. Send it out onto a field and it becomes akin to a terrifying bomber, jetting past team threats and landing insane Double-Edge hits. That being said, it's not the perfect Pokemon -- its role in this team is to hit things very very hard, and leave the rest of the team to clean up. It can also sweep quite easily, with Roost and Protect to let me scout out turns, effectively utilize Intimidate, and attain some longevity.
Tapu Fini @ Figy Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Hydro Pump
- Soak
Opted for a more defensive set at first, when this team was still sporting Mega Charizard X, then switched to CM offense. Soak over Protect/Defog because it synergizes well with the Zapdos lead, and allows me to relatively often get rid of something.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Celesteela is bulk. That's about all there is to say about this thing -- leech seed is an aggressive form of recovery, and the spread + flamethrower lets it take on opposing Celesteela. It walls fairies and generally is a good bulky option to choose when I'm not sure what my best offensive option is.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower
Scarf Lando cleans up, taking care of anything that doesn't resist its moves. Superpower allows me to break through any imposing Ice-types bar Ninetales, U-turn for momentum, EQ for STAB and Rock Slide for all the pesky birbs the meta.
Zapdos @ Misty Seed
Ability: Static
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Def / 80 SpD / 48 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
My main birb, and an extremely useful mon on this team. This thing loves Fini, provides Tailwind support, is bulky AF the second it switches in for the first time, and Soak + T-Bolt can be a nice ace up the sleeve. HP Ice is for Lando, which it OHKO's unless we're facing a defensive variant.
Heatran @ Firium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Timid Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Hydro Pump
- Soak
Opted for a more defensive set at first, when this team was still sporting Mega Charizard X, then switched to CM offense. Soak over Protect/Defog because it synergizes well with the Zapdos lead, and allows me to relatively often get rid of something.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Celesteela is bulk. That's about all there is to say about this thing -- leech seed is an aggressive form of recovery, and the spread + flamethrower lets it take on opposing Celesteela. It walls fairies and generally is a good bulky option to choose when I'm not sure what my best offensive option is.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower
Scarf Lando cleans up, taking care of anything that doesn't resist its moves. Superpower allows me to break through any imposing Ice-types bar Ninetales, U-turn for momentum, EQ for STAB and Rock Slide for all the pesky birbs the meta.
Zapdos @ Misty Seed
Ability: Static
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Def / 80 SpD / 48 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Roost
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
My main birb, and an extremely useful mon on this team. This thing loves Fini, provides Tailwind support, is bulky AF the second it switches in for the first time, and Soak + T-Bolt can be a nice ace up the sleeve. HP Ice is for Lando, which it OHKO's unless we're facing a defensive variant.
Heatran @ Firium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Timid Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect
Heatran is there for the simple reason that it takes on Steel-type threats. Inferno Overdrive OHKOs Celesteela, and Heat Wave is a good way to score a burn outside of Misty Terrain. Flash Cannon to murder fairies a little more. Earth Power for opposing Heatran, which we outspeed outside of TR.
Soak Tapu Fini with Misty Seed Zapdos is just a fun little gimmick, but in general the idea behind this defensive core is to set up Tailwind against faster teams. I lead with Celesteela if I see a TR coming up, as that generally lets me survive through the initial TR and get rid of the setter.
Zapdos and Fini also deal with rain pretty easily, being so bulky and hitting pretty hard. Most rain leads don't really scare Fini + Dos, including Ludicolo with Giga Drain, giving Fini the opportunity to get a CM. Scarf Lando is a great answer to a lot of flying types, fire types, and it's a monster in general.
Tran lets me hit steel types harder, wall fairies better, and gives me a switch-in for ice types since I've got 4 flying types on this team. Mence over Xard since Mence plays nice with Fini (no burns, no dragon moves) and hits ridiculously hard. After Tailwind, the DD isn't even necessary for Double-Edge to OHKO most things. Roost and Protect for a little survivability. It only really needs one attack. Z-Move on the Tran to OHKO defensive Celesteela. Salamence and Lando both having Intimidate lets me neuter things, and gives me a reason not to immediately hit Mega if I see something dangerous potentially hanging around the back.
Again, I'm pretty new -- just looking for some advice on what I definitely need to change, or what I should just watch out for.
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