Divine Retribution
Conquistador de pan
In preparation for the upcoming release of Sun/Moon and some real life responsibilities this will probably be my last OR/AS team, so let's make it a good one.
This is a team I built around a FairyMag core consisting of Altaria and Magnezone. FairyMag is a very viable team archetype in my opinion, sort of the modern day equivalent of last generation's DragMag teams. I decided to add another element to this though and add a second Fairy, creating a sort of Fairy spam core. Type spam cores shouldn't be anything unfamiliar at this point, whether they be Staraptor and Talonflame's Flying spam shenanigans, or Gengar and Aegislash's Ghost spam cores from the early days of XY OU. Fairy gets excellent neutral coverage, and so it seems a natural choice to me for a type spam core. Stacking types puts much more pressure on those Pokemon's usual checks, and if one of my Fairies can weaken its usual checks enough, the other one can usually push through.
Altaria @ Altarianite
Impish - Natural Cure ---> Pixilate
248 HP, 140 Defence, 92 Sp. Def, 28 Speed
0 Happiness
-Frustration
-Roost
-Dragon Dance
-Heal Bell
DDD Altaria was the starting point of my team, and so far it has yet to let me down. It packs good mono-attacking coverage, great bulk decent power, and the ability to not only remove his own status, but also status on the rest of my team. Return is a strong, reliable STAB attack, which boosted by Dragon Dance and Pixilate, is sure to hurt anything that doesn't resist it (and even many things that DO resist it). Dragon Dance and Roost allow him to set up multiple boosts, especially late game when key checks like Scizor and Ferrothorn have been trapped and removed. Finally, Heal Bell allows him to clear status on my entire team, as well as allowing him to set up on users of Toxic, Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, Scald, etc. and not be crippled by status.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Timid - Magnet Pull
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Volt Switch
Magnezone and Altaria get amazing offensive synergy, with Magnezone trapping and killing Steels like Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, as well as checking opposing Fairies such as Sylveon and Clefable. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB attack, and Flash Cannon, despite being slightly weaker, hits Fairies hard. Hidden Power (Fire) is to ensure the removal of Scizor and Ferrothorn. Volt Switch allows me to pivot to other threats, and forms a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T.
Talonflame @ No Item
Careful - Gale Wings
248 HP, 248 Sp. Def, 12 Speed
-Acrobatics
-Bulk Up
-Roost
-Will-O-Wisp
Sp. Def Talonflame is my favourite Talonflame set, and it fits into this team perfectly, spreading Burns and checking Mega Gardevoir, Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard-Y, as well as providing another win condition and Priority user, albeit a weak one without any boosts. Acrobatics is a solid STAB attack that doesn't induce harsh recoil. Bulk Up boosts both his Attack and Defence, allowing him to set up on Foul Play users and making him much harder to take down (a Burned Landorus-T, for example, fails to OHKO a +1 Talonflame). Roost allows me to heal back HP, and stall certain moves like Stone Edge after a Bulk Up or Will-O-Wisp if necessary. Finally Will-O-Wisp is fantastic for completely screwing over many of his usual checks, such as Tyranitar and Landorus-T.
Landorus-T @ Earth Plate
Adamant - Intimidate
76 HP, 252 Attack, 180 Speed
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Stealth Rock
Landorus-T serves as my mandatory Stealth Rock user, and a check to Heatran, who bodies half my team pretty hard. Earth Plate boosts Earthquake, allowing him to 2HKO standard Clefable, and also allows me to bluff a Scarf set against some teams. Stone Edge gets good coverage with Earthquake and allows me to 1v1 Talonflame if I have to. U-Turn lets me pivot out to other attackers, and deal solid damage to Latis and things like that. Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock.
Latios @ Life Orb
Timid - Levitate
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Surf
-Defog
Latios brings Defog to my team, which is extremely important as Altaria and Talonflame in particular hate hazards. Furthermore, he provides a spammable high base power Draco Meteor that proves very difficult to switch into, alongside Psyshock for muscling past Sylveon and some other special walls. Surf is almost entirely to stop Heatran from hard walling me (credit to MetalSonic for suggesting it, originally I was running Memento), but that alone proves to be invaluable when Heatran hard walls two of my wincons. Finally Defog lets me clear away Stealth Rock and Spikes.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Adamant - Huge Power
92 HP, 252 Attack, 164 Speed
-Aqua Jet
-Play Rough
-Superpower
-Belly Drum
Azumarill forms a Fairy-spam core with Altaria, luring out many of Altaria's common checks like Skarmory and Ferrothorn and slamming them with a +6 Superpower, leaving them weakened or outright KO'd and opening a hole for a potental Mega Altaria sweep. Aqua Jet is a good Priority attack, and great for cleaning up weakened or frail teams late game. Play Rough is his best Fairy STAB, and Belly Drum lets me take advantage of switches in order to instantly boost his Attack to +6, turning him into a terrifying threat.
Well, that's it. There are a couple threats I noticed this team struggles with. Sword's Dance Talonflame can pose a bit of an issue if it's played properly, as Landorus-T needs to be at full health to beat it and it will usually have an opportunity to get at least one KO or two if it sets up at the wrong time, and offensive Starmie gets super effective coverage on 5/6ths of my team, and can KO Magnezone with a LO boosted Hydro Pump. Fortunately offensive Starmie seems to be fairly uncommon in the current meta, and Talonflame is usually easy enough to play around, but in the hands of a skilled player they could both pose serious issues. Tornadus-T also causes me some problems cause I don't have a reliable switchin (although Altaria can usually set up on and beat most sets, they can get past him with a bit of hax). In general, there seems to be a good handful of threats that I can't reliably switch in on, so I rely on offensive pressure to beat. I guess in that way this team ended up being more of a HO team than I originally had planned.
This is a team I built around a FairyMag core consisting of Altaria and Magnezone. FairyMag is a very viable team archetype in my opinion, sort of the modern day equivalent of last generation's DragMag teams. I decided to add another element to this though and add a second Fairy, creating a sort of Fairy spam core. Type spam cores shouldn't be anything unfamiliar at this point, whether they be Staraptor and Talonflame's Flying spam shenanigans, or Gengar and Aegislash's Ghost spam cores from the early days of XY OU. Fairy gets excellent neutral coverage, and so it seems a natural choice to me for a type spam core. Stacking types puts much more pressure on those Pokemon's usual checks, and if one of my Fairies can weaken its usual checks enough, the other one can usually push through.
Altaria @ Altarianite
Impish - Natural Cure ---> Pixilate
248 HP, 140 Defence, 92 Sp. Def, 28 Speed
0 Happiness
-Frustration
-Roost
-Dragon Dance
-Heal Bell
DDD Altaria was the starting point of my team, and so far it has yet to let me down. It packs good mono-attacking coverage, great bulk decent power, and the ability to not only remove his own status, but also status on the rest of my team. Return is a strong, reliable STAB attack, which boosted by Dragon Dance and Pixilate, is sure to hurt anything that doesn't resist it (and even many things that DO resist it). Dragon Dance and Roost allow him to set up multiple boosts, especially late game when key checks like Scizor and Ferrothorn have been trapped and removed. Finally, Heal Bell allows him to clear status on my entire team, as well as allowing him to set up on users of Toxic, Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, Scald, etc. and not be crippled by status.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Timid - Magnet Pull
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Volt Switch
Magnezone and Altaria get amazing offensive synergy, with Magnezone trapping and killing Steels like Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory, as well as checking opposing Fairies such as Sylveon and Clefable. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB attack, and Flash Cannon, despite being slightly weaker, hits Fairies hard. Hidden Power (Fire) is to ensure the removal of Scizor and Ferrothorn. Volt Switch allows me to pivot to other threats, and forms a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T.
Talonflame @ No Item
Careful - Gale Wings
248 HP, 248 Sp. Def, 12 Speed
-Acrobatics
-Bulk Up
-Roost
-Will-O-Wisp
Sp. Def Talonflame is my favourite Talonflame set, and it fits into this team perfectly, spreading Burns and checking Mega Gardevoir, Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard-Y, as well as providing another win condition and Priority user, albeit a weak one without any boosts. Acrobatics is a solid STAB attack that doesn't induce harsh recoil. Bulk Up boosts both his Attack and Defence, allowing him to set up on Foul Play users and making him much harder to take down (a Burned Landorus-T, for example, fails to OHKO a +1 Talonflame). Roost allows me to heal back HP, and stall certain moves like Stone Edge after a Bulk Up or Will-O-Wisp if necessary. Finally Will-O-Wisp is fantastic for completely screwing over many of his usual checks, such as Tyranitar and Landorus-T.
Landorus-T @ Earth Plate
Adamant - Intimidate
76 HP, 252 Attack, 180 Speed
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-Turn
-Stealth Rock
Landorus-T serves as my mandatory Stealth Rock user, and a check to Heatran, who bodies half my team pretty hard. Earth Plate boosts Earthquake, allowing him to 2HKO standard Clefable, and also allows me to bluff a Scarf set against some teams. Stone Edge gets good coverage with Earthquake and allows me to 1v1 Talonflame if I have to. U-Turn lets me pivot out to other attackers, and deal solid damage to Latis and things like that. Stealth Rock is Stealth Rock.
Latios @ Life Orb
Timid - Levitate
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Surf
-Defog
Latios brings Defog to my team, which is extremely important as Altaria and Talonflame in particular hate hazards. Furthermore, he provides a spammable high base power Draco Meteor that proves very difficult to switch into, alongside Psyshock for muscling past Sylveon and some other special walls. Surf is almost entirely to stop Heatran from hard walling me (credit to MetalSonic for suggesting it, originally I was running Memento), but that alone proves to be invaluable when Heatran hard walls two of my wincons. Finally Defog lets me clear away Stealth Rock and Spikes.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Adamant - Huge Power
92 HP, 252 Attack, 164 Speed
-Aqua Jet
-Play Rough
-Superpower
-Belly Drum
Azumarill forms a Fairy-spam core with Altaria, luring out many of Altaria's common checks like Skarmory and Ferrothorn and slamming them with a +6 Superpower, leaving them weakened or outright KO'd and opening a hole for a potental Mega Altaria sweep. Aqua Jet is a good Priority attack, and great for cleaning up weakened or frail teams late game. Play Rough is his best Fairy STAB, and Belly Drum lets me take advantage of switches in order to instantly boost his Attack to +6, turning him into a terrifying threat.
Well, that's it. There are a couple threats I noticed this team struggles with. Sword's Dance Talonflame can pose a bit of an issue if it's played properly, as Landorus-T needs to be at full health to beat it and it will usually have an opportunity to get at least one KO or two if it sets up at the wrong time, and offensive Starmie gets super effective coverage on 5/6ths of my team, and can KO Magnezone with a LO boosted Hydro Pump. Fortunately offensive Starmie seems to be fairly uncommon in the current meta, and Talonflame is usually easy enough to play around, but in the hands of a skilled player they could both pose serious issues. Tornadus-T also causes me some problems cause I don't have a reliable switchin (although Altaria can usually set up on and beat most sets, they can get past him with a bit of hax). In general, there seems to be a good handful of threats that I can't reliably switch in on, so I rely on offensive pressure to beat. I guess in that way this team ended up being more of a HO team than I originally had planned.
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