So this is the first team I've built in years, and I can already tell I'm rusty lol. This team consists of two cores, one being defensive, one being offensive. toxapex and Celesteela defend, while Hoopa and Mawile attack. the other two are both stealth rock setters, with metagross setting and exploding, and Landorus setting then pivoting, typically to toxapex.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt
Hoopa is my first attacker, whos very adept at cleaning up the physical walls that typically could stop anything I threw at it otherwise. It has a stab Psychic and Dark pulse to dish out some good damage, and HP fire and thunder for coverage. specifically, He's seen a lot of use of that thunder, as for some reason I've seen a bit of an upsurge in rain teams. I will say he has problems with Alakazam killing him before he can take them out.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze
The first half of my defensive core, this guy can seriously tank. he can typically take a few neutral hits before needing to recover, and can survive super effective hits for the most part. I originally had toxic spikes on him so he could also set up on them while they attempted to whittle away at him, but he ended up being setup fodder for a few too many pokemon, so I switched it out for Haze.
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
My fast paced second half of my attack core. I've personally just always loved these swords dance +priority combo, and its a lot of fun to watch this guy set up on a switch to counter him then just sweep a team. On top of that, he covers my other sweeper's two weaknesses, which gave me an excuse to put him on here. he does bring my amount of steel types up a bit high, but I'd change out any other pokemon before Mawile.
Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Explosion
My first setup. pretty simple build, and surprisingly bulky. the idea behind him is to set up a stealth rock, endure their hit, then explode and take out the opponents pokemon, preferably a sweeper they switch to after setting a stealth rock. He has Meteor Mash mostly so he can do STAB and not be a one trick pony. His bullet punch can also serve to clean up pokemon with low health, with a possible second going down as well depending on who they switch to.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
the second half of my defensive core, this Celesteela is a decent stall with type coverage. on top of that, it can set up a leech seed and switch to Toxapex to make it basically impossible for the opponents pokemon to kill Toxapex. the flamethrower really helps taking down the steel and grass types that like to mess with Toxapex, and if its taking a hit it can protect and heal a bit before it switches to Toxapex.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
My other set up pokemon. He's a nice lead, with a stealth rock and U turn to safely pivot into any of my other strategies. He also provides some type coverage with Stone edge and can stop a heatran that would otherwise put a big dent in my team right in its tracks. However, I've noticed that Heatran often can counter him with a hidden power, so if there was a better pokemon to cover that I'd be willing to lose the U turn pivot.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt
Hoopa is my first attacker, whos very adept at cleaning up the physical walls that typically could stop anything I threw at it otherwise. It has a stab Psychic and Dark pulse to dish out some good damage, and HP fire and thunder for coverage. specifically, He's seen a lot of use of that thunder, as for some reason I've seen a bit of an upsurge in rain teams. I will say he has problems with Alakazam killing him before he can take them out.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze
The first half of my defensive core, this guy can seriously tank. he can typically take a few neutral hits before needing to recover, and can survive super effective hits for the most part. I originally had toxic spikes on him so he could also set up on them while they attempted to whittle away at him, but he ended up being setup fodder for a few too many pokemon, so I switched it out for Haze.
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
My fast paced second half of my attack core. I've personally just always loved these swords dance +priority combo, and its a lot of fun to watch this guy set up on a switch to counter him then just sweep a team. On top of that, he covers my other sweeper's two weaknesses, which gave me an excuse to put him on here. he does bring my amount of steel types up a bit high, but I'd change out any other pokemon before Mawile.
Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Explosion
My first setup. pretty simple build, and surprisingly bulky. the idea behind him is to set up a stealth rock, endure their hit, then explode and take out the opponents pokemon, preferably a sweeper they switch to after setting a stealth rock. He has Meteor Mash mostly so he can do STAB and not be a one trick pony. His bullet punch can also serve to clean up pokemon with low health, with a possible second going down as well depending on who they switch to.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
the second half of my defensive core, this Celesteela is a decent stall with type coverage. on top of that, it can set up a leech seed and switch to Toxapex to make it basically impossible for the opponents pokemon to kill Toxapex. the flamethrower really helps taking down the steel and grass types that like to mess with Toxapex, and if its taking a hit it can protect and heal a bit before it switches to Toxapex.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
My other set up pokemon. He's a nice lead, with a stealth rock and U turn to safely pivot into any of my other strategies. He also provides some type coverage with Stone edge and can stop a heatran that would otherwise put a big dent in my team right in its tracks. However, I've noticed that Heatran often can counter him with a hidden power, so if there was a better pokemon to cover that I'd be willing to lose the U turn pivot.