Intro: I have been trying to make teams that have solid defense and counter as much as possible, but there are just too many threats out there this generation, so I decided to try out an offensive team. I pieced a team together and tried it out on the ladder in Pokemon Online, and won my first eight games or so, and I won most of them pretty handily. Then I started to lose a few games, so I replaced a few pokemon, and now my team is a lot better. It's currently at 1259. It still could use some work though.
At a Glance:
Building Process: I started off with Sazandora, because it has great typing, great stats, and a terrific movepool. It looked like a pokemon that could do some real damage, and help me win games.
Then I had to choose a pokemon that had good synergy with Sazandora. I chose Metagross, because I already had a special attacker, and needed a physical attacker.
I didn't really know where to go next, so I decided to pick a lead pokemon. A lead Machamp had recently torn apart one of my other teams, so I picked him to see how he would fair.
Ever since I started playing 5th generation, I have used Shandera in most of my teams, and I have loved it. I needed a ghost pokemon to absorb fighting attacks on my Sazandora, who my team is built around, and Shandera seems the best at that. Shandera evens out the team with two special attackers and two physical threats.
Now I wanted a grass type because of all the rain teams out there. My initial thought was Breloom, but since I already had a fighting type, I decided to give Jarooda a try.
So I had just one spot left, and I thought, what is this team weak to? Doryuuzu of course! Mach punch has been my favorite way with dealing with Doryuuzu. I didn't really need a Breloom, and Roobushin didn't seem like he would help my team that much, so I picked Infernape.
Even with an Adamant nature, Swords Dance, and the Iron Fist ability, Infernape just wasn't powerful enough to get the job done. Jarooda wasn't too fantastic either. I thought, since I have a grass and a fighting type pokemon that I don't like, I might as well combine them into one, a Breloom, and that would open up another space for my team. With that space, I wanted a pokemon that could switch into attacks, because I didn't really have many pokes on my team that could take any real big hits. I thought Porygon2 would fit that role well.
I kept dying from stat boosters, mainly inconsistent users, and this one guy with a weird strategy where he would give my Shandera the ability Truant, switch in his Shandera, and Acid Armor/Calm Mind every other turn, and protect every time I attacked. He continued on to sweep my team. Porygon2 wasn't really all that amazing a contribution to my team, so I traded it out for Ditto.
The team:
The Lead
Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
Evs: 240 HP / 248 Atk / 16 SpD / 4 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Dynamic Punch
-Payback
-Stone Edge
-Bullet Punch
Machamp is mah champion (pun intended). This team is strictly offense, and so Machamp is good to get the battle started in my momentum. I know that I am sacrificing not having Stealth Rocks, but Machamp kills a pokemon almost every game, and that works for me. Machamp really makes the other player pay for setting up rocks, with his decent coverage and powerful attacks.
Against other leads: Machamp does very well against the majority of leads out there today. He still has a trouble with a few leads however. Against Deoxys, depending on which form, I even switch to Sazandora or Metagross if it is Speed, or if it is Defense Form, I will go to Shandera. I don't have much problem with Azelfs, because the evs are specifically designed to take a Psychic from it, and then kill it with Payback / Bullet Punch. I attack Crobats, Gyradoses, Aerodactlys, and other flying leads with Stone Edge. They only other lead worth mentioning that I can think of is Hitmonlee, which has been KOing my Machamp with a Fake Out / High Jump Kick combination. So when I see him, I just switch to Metagross. I can't use Shandera because of Sucker Punch. That's all I can think of for this guy.
The Trapper
Shandera @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Modest (+SpA, - Atk)
-Flamethrower
-Shadow Ball
-Psychic
-Hidden Power Ice
I know I already have Ditto as a revenge killer, but this thing checks so many things. My team would fall apart without this guy. The reason I don't have Overheat, is because I'm tired of it missing, and Flamethrower is enough to kill most of the time. HP Ice is superior to HP Fighting IMO, because there's so many Dragons out there which I can kill as long as they don't have a speed boost, and it also gets rid of Gliscor. I do get trapped and killed by Tyranitar's Pursuit quite often, but HP Fighting wouldn't help me that much because since I'm scarfed, it's not like I can change moves, and I rarely finish off pokemon using HP Fighting. I used to have Energy Ball, but I never used it ever, and I found Psychic a lot more useful because of all those fighting types out there.
Special Sweeper
Sazandora @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Flamethrower
-Surf
This guy is great. He can switch into so many things, forces switches, and delivers devastating blows that dent anything that doesn't resist it. I know having Draco Meteor contradicts what I said earlier about Shandera's Overheat, but since Sazandora normally attacks while the opponent is switching, it is not like I will die if I miss. The extra power is also worth it in this case. It can OHKO a lot more pokemon, and the things that it doesn't kill in one hit, he can a lot of time follow up with another Draco Meteor to finish them off, because he still has around 261 SpA after a special attack drop. Dragon Pulse is for sweeping late game, when I don't want to have a drop in SpA, and the other two moves are for coverage. I pretty much rely on this guy to rip apart the other team, and he rarely lets me down.
Physical Sweeper
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant: (+Atk, -Spe)
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Explosion
-Zen Headbutt
I decided to give him a band, because I figured AgilityGross wouldn't be as effective with all those Doryuuzu's running around. I love the power this thing has. He really helps me break through stall teams, as he resists Toxic Spikes, has an attack stat over 600, and sometimes gets an attack raise from MM which boosts him to over 900. I've only had to use explosion about twice, to finish off a pokemon at the end of the game, and other than that it hasn't really helped too much. I might want to switch it for Bullet Punch, mainly to knock Doryuuzu off his balloon so my Ditto can come in and Earthquake it. I'm not sure which is the better move, so I'll need some help on that. The elemental punches are also an option, but I can't think of many circumstances I would use them other than for killing Skarmorys and Burungerus. Metagross fits well with this team, because he brings a lot of power, and has great synergy with Sazandora. Sazandora is weak to Ice and Dragon, which Metagross resists, and Sazandora covers up both of Metagross's weaknesses, Ground and Fire. Together they can tear apart teams with their variety of moves and their sheer attacking power.
Annoying Guy
Breloom @ Shed Shell
Ability: Technician
Evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Spore
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
I love Breloom because of his 100% chance of sleep, his priority move, and because he is great at countering Sandstorm and Rain teams. He is really good at coming into a game, and messing things up for the opponent. His set is standard, and there's not much reason to go over the moves. Shed Shell is something to mention though. I know I lose a lot of power by putting on Shed Shell, but I hate getting trapped by Shandera. When a Shandera comes in on my Breloom, I can switch into Sazandora, which resists all the moves that can do harm to Breloom, aside from HP Ice, and then I am set up for a free Draco Meteor. Also, my Breloom lives to see another day, so in my eyes, Shed Shell is worth it.
Revenge Killer / Guy who makes inconsistent a little less worse
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Eccentric
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Transform
Exciting moveset, huh? This guy basically checks a lot of things that would otherwise sweep my team. I can't even tell you how many times this guy has saved me. Earlier today, I was losing a game 2-4. I sent out my Ditto against a Doryuuzu, and used Rock Slide to make him flinch and pop his balloon. It worked, and then I switched out to Shandera who died from EQ. I switched him back in, and swept all four of his pokemon with Earthquake. I just thought I'd share my lucky Ditto story :).
Threats and Problems: Once Breloom is out of the game, it makes it very hard to stop Doryuuzus. I have to either get lucky flinch hax like in my story above, or if Metagross is at full health, he can take an Earthquake from a jolly Dory.
I also have been swept by Garchomps late in the game. I can revenge kill it with Shandera or Ditto if it doesn't have a scarf. I can switch in Metagross if he Outrages, and if he's going to Earthquake, I switch in Sazandora and then switch immediately to Metagross as he Outrages. But if I'm missing Metagross, Garchomp is hard to stop.
Inconsistent users are annoying as ****, and since I don't have a Phazing move, it is hard to stop them from getting about +4 in every stat. I hope this ability gets banned, because raising evasion is cheap.
Kingra in Rain creates difficulties for my team. I have been killed by a few Sunny Day teams too.
That's all I can think of for now, if I run into more threats, I'll just edit my post. I put a lot of time into this, so please rate, comment, and subscribe! (Just kidding about the subscribe part, but do rate and comment on it!)
At a Glance:
Building Process: I started off with Sazandora, because it has great typing, great stats, and a terrific movepool. It looked like a pokemon that could do some real damage, and help me win games.
Then I had to choose a pokemon that had good synergy with Sazandora. I chose Metagross, because I already had a special attacker, and needed a physical attacker.
I didn't really know where to go next, so I decided to pick a lead pokemon. A lead Machamp had recently torn apart one of my other teams, so I picked him to see how he would fair.
Ever since I started playing 5th generation, I have used Shandera in most of my teams, and I have loved it. I needed a ghost pokemon to absorb fighting attacks on my Sazandora, who my team is built around, and Shandera seems the best at that. Shandera evens out the team with two special attackers and two physical threats.
Now I wanted a grass type because of all the rain teams out there. My initial thought was Breloom, but since I already had a fighting type, I decided to give Jarooda a try.
So I had just one spot left, and I thought, what is this team weak to? Doryuuzu of course! Mach punch has been my favorite way with dealing with Doryuuzu. I didn't really need a Breloom, and Roobushin didn't seem like he would help my team that much, so I picked Infernape.
Even with an Adamant nature, Swords Dance, and the Iron Fist ability, Infernape just wasn't powerful enough to get the job done. Jarooda wasn't too fantastic either. I thought, since I have a grass and a fighting type pokemon that I don't like, I might as well combine them into one, a Breloom, and that would open up another space for my team. With that space, I wanted a pokemon that could switch into attacks, because I didn't really have many pokes on my team that could take any real big hits. I thought Porygon2 would fit that role well.
I kept dying from stat boosters, mainly inconsistent users, and this one guy with a weird strategy where he would give my Shandera the ability Truant, switch in his Shandera, and Acid Armor/Calm Mind every other turn, and protect every time I attacked. He continued on to sweep my team. Porygon2 wasn't really all that amazing a contribution to my team, so I traded it out for Ditto.
The team:
The Lead
Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
Evs: 240 HP / 248 Atk / 16 SpD / 4 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Dynamic Punch
-Payback
-Stone Edge
-Bullet Punch
Machamp is mah champion (pun intended). This team is strictly offense, and so Machamp is good to get the battle started in my momentum. I know that I am sacrificing not having Stealth Rocks, but Machamp kills a pokemon almost every game, and that works for me. Machamp really makes the other player pay for setting up rocks, with his decent coverage and powerful attacks.
Against other leads: Machamp does very well against the majority of leads out there today. He still has a trouble with a few leads however. Against Deoxys, depending on which form, I even switch to Sazandora or Metagross if it is Speed, or if it is Defense Form, I will go to Shandera. I don't have much problem with Azelfs, because the evs are specifically designed to take a Psychic from it, and then kill it with Payback / Bullet Punch. I attack Crobats, Gyradoses, Aerodactlys, and other flying leads with Stone Edge. They only other lead worth mentioning that I can think of is Hitmonlee, which has been KOing my Machamp with a Fake Out / High Jump Kick combination. So when I see him, I just switch to Metagross. I can't use Shandera because of Sucker Punch. That's all I can think of for this guy.
The Trapper
Shandera @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Modest (+SpA, - Atk)
-Flamethrower
-Shadow Ball
-Psychic
-Hidden Power Ice
I know I already have Ditto as a revenge killer, but this thing checks so many things. My team would fall apart without this guy. The reason I don't have Overheat, is because I'm tired of it missing, and Flamethrower is enough to kill most of the time. HP Ice is superior to HP Fighting IMO, because there's so many Dragons out there which I can kill as long as they don't have a speed boost, and it also gets rid of Gliscor. I do get trapped and killed by Tyranitar's Pursuit quite often, but HP Fighting wouldn't help me that much because since I'm scarfed, it's not like I can change moves, and I rarely finish off pokemon using HP Fighting. I used to have Energy Ball, but I never used it ever, and I found Psychic a lot more useful because of all those fighting types out there.
Special Sweeper
Sazandora @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Flamethrower
-Surf
This guy is great. He can switch into so many things, forces switches, and delivers devastating blows that dent anything that doesn't resist it. I know having Draco Meteor contradicts what I said earlier about Shandera's Overheat, but since Sazandora normally attacks while the opponent is switching, it is not like I will die if I miss. The extra power is also worth it in this case. It can OHKO a lot more pokemon, and the things that it doesn't kill in one hit, he can a lot of time follow up with another Draco Meteor to finish them off, because he still has around 261 SpA after a special attack drop. Dragon Pulse is for sweeping late game, when I don't want to have a drop in SpA, and the other two moves are for coverage. I pretty much rely on this guy to rip apart the other team, and he rarely lets me down.
Physical Sweeper
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Nature: Adamant: (+Atk, -Spe)
-Meteor Mash
-Earthquake
-Explosion
-Zen Headbutt
I decided to give him a band, because I figured AgilityGross wouldn't be as effective with all those Doryuuzu's running around. I love the power this thing has. He really helps me break through stall teams, as he resists Toxic Spikes, has an attack stat over 600, and sometimes gets an attack raise from MM which boosts him to over 900. I've only had to use explosion about twice, to finish off a pokemon at the end of the game, and other than that it hasn't really helped too much. I might want to switch it for Bullet Punch, mainly to knock Doryuuzu off his balloon so my Ditto can come in and Earthquake it. I'm not sure which is the better move, so I'll need some help on that. The elemental punches are also an option, but I can't think of many circumstances I would use them other than for killing Skarmorys and Burungerus. Metagross fits well with this team, because he brings a lot of power, and has great synergy with Sazandora. Sazandora is weak to Ice and Dragon, which Metagross resists, and Sazandora covers up both of Metagross's weaknesses, Ground and Fire. Together they can tear apart teams with their variety of moves and their sheer attacking power.
Annoying Guy
Breloom @ Shed Shell
Ability: Technician
Evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
-Spore
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
I love Breloom because of his 100% chance of sleep, his priority move, and because he is great at countering Sandstorm and Rain teams. He is really good at coming into a game, and messing things up for the opponent. His set is standard, and there's not much reason to go over the moves. Shed Shell is something to mention though. I know I lose a lot of power by putting on Shed Shell, but I hate getting trapped by Shandera. When a Shandera comes in on my Breloom, I can switch into Sazandora, which resists all the moves that can do harm to Breloom, aside from HP Ice, and then I am set up for a free Draco Meteor. Also, my Breloom lives to see another day, so in my eyes, Shed Shell is worth it.
Revenge Killer / Guy who makes inconsistent a little less worse
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Eccentric
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
-Transform
Exciting moveset, huh? This guy basically checks a lot of things that would otherwise sweep my team. I can't even tell you how many times this guy has saved me. Earlier today, I was losing a game 2-4. I sent out my Ditto against a Doryuuzu, and used Rock Slide to make him flinch and pop his balloon. It worked, and then I switched out to Shandera who died from EQ. I switched him back in, and swept all four of his pokemon with Earthquake. I just thought I'd share my lucky Ditto story :).
Threats and Problems: Once Breloom is out of the game, it makes it very hard to stop Doryuuzus. I have to either get lucky flinch hax like in my story above, or if Metagross is at full health, he can take an Earthquake from a jolly Dory.
I also have been swept by Garchomps late in the game. I can revenge kill it with Shandera or Ditto if it doesn't have a scarf. I can switch in Metagross if he Outrages, and if he's going to Earthquake, I switch in Sazandora and then switch immediately to Metagross as he Outrages. But if I'm missing Metagross, Garchomp is hard to stop.
Inconsistent users are annoying as ****, and since I don't have a Phazing move, it is hard to stop them from getting about +4 in every stat. I hope this ability gets banned, because raising evasion is cheap.
Kingra in Rain creates difficulties for my team. I have been killed by a few Sunny Day teams too.
That's all I can think of for now, if I run into more threats, I'll just edit my post. I put a lot of time into this, so please rate, comment, and subscribe! (Just kidding about the subscribe part, but do rate and comment on it!)
