MotherRussia
ERMAHGERD, MERGIKERP
Alrighty then, here's my first 6th gen RMT. I've never based a team around a defensive core before, so this is my first try at it. Usually I build teams to support underrated mons or to help someone clean up. This team was built around a new core I found that I will certainly be using in OU a lot, EmpoLand. As you can see, I'm still trying to find a viable name for it...anyways, here's the team!
EMPEROR CORE
Empress (Empoleon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off/Ice Beam/Roar
- Defog
The first half of the EmpoLand core, Empoleon sports a whopping 9 resistances and 1 immunity. This gives the regal penguin ample opportunities to come in and clear out hazards. I chose the specially defensive set due to its superb special bulk. Scald deals with the myriad of physical attackers that will try coming in on it. Spreading burns in general is a big deal, as nothing bar Magic Guard, Guts, and Quick Feet users will particularly like a burn. Those EVs max out it's special bulk while throwing the last EV into SpAtk. I know it may seem odd to run Stealth Rock and Defog on the same pokemon, but it is actually an invaluable trait. To be able to clear the opponent's hazards off your side of the field and immediately set your own is amazing, especially when the only way someone can stop your hazard-removing is by KOing you (GL with that) or by taunting you. Knock Off is ran to cripple pokemon who rely on their item, Ice Beam deals with dragons such as Salamence and Chomp coming in on the switch, and Roar stops set up sweepers and racks up residual damage. Out of those three options I choose Knock Off, as crippling things that depend on LO or choice items for damage is a huge advantage, and pokemon who have no reliable recovery outside of lefties (the irony) are also crippled and can now be weathered down with ease. Just to show you how good this is, I'll pit it against regular and Mega Gengar.
252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 115-136 (30.9 - 36.5%) (3HKO)
Now, let's see how it fares against me.
0- Atk Empoleon Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gengar: 90-108 (34.3 - 41.2%)
Now vs LO Gengar.
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 244-289 (65.5 - 77.6%)
I have two options here: Torrent-boosted STAB Scald or SE Knock Off.
4 SpA Torrent Empoleon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar: 180-213 (68.7 - 81.2%)
0- Atk Empoleon Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 112-134 (42.7 - 51.1%)
Providing Gengar has attacked once before, it puts him in KO range with scald or I weaken its attacks with Knock Off and take a huge chunk of his HP. If he's still alive I simply A) switch into a resisted attack with another part of my much larger four-mon core and let him die by his own recoil (if I opted for Scald) or B) switch to a mon that can easily handle a non LO Gengar and KO.
That's just Gengar, one of the most threatening special attackers in the current metagame. Yeah. I know.
Royal Defense (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Atk / 196 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
What? Dude, ANOTHER SR setter? Yeah, another. Landy-T makes up the second half of smaller EmpoLand core. His ability, Intimidate, is absolutely perfect as he will be switching into a lot of Empoleon's threats, who are physical. Not only that, but Landy-T resists all of the moves that are SE to Empoleon and vice versa. Landy-T forces a lot of switches, meaning ample opportunities to set up SR. Not only that, but more often than not Empoleon will have just finished clearing the field and then a physical attacker comes in, ready to stop the pesky little penguin. Landy-T switches in, forcing them to switch out, and gets up SR with ease. This is taking a page from BW's Offensive Pivot set, with some more defensively oriented tweaks. I run Impish over Naive to improve his defensive bulk as Landy-T will be taking repeated hits. 248 Speed/196 Def gives him solid defensive bulk and 64 atk gives me a little more offensive presence. I previously ran 88 speed and then later 64 speed but either way I didn't see what relevant threats I was outrunning that I should stay in on anyways. Earthquake is his strong STAB, Stone Edge completes the EdgeQuake combo and U-Turn is for gaining momentum and wearing down the opponent.
Princess (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
With useful resistances, decent stats across the board, and an amazing support movepool, Celebi comes into play. Seeing as Empoleon is busy burning things, and Landorus-T is Intimidating others, I wouldn't need a Defensive Celebi as much as I would a Specially Defensive one. I was right. Celebi provides great support, crippling opponents with paralysis whilst curing the rest of the team from status. The EVs maximize its special walling capabilities. Her Attack IV of Zero is to ensure I take minimum damage from things like Swagger+Foul Play Klefki. Recover is a stable as it gives me reliable recovery, Giga Drain further increases my longevity, Heal Bell cures the team of all the status (cough, burn, cough) flying around, and Thunder Wave cripples scarf users and other fast threats. This brings some useful resistances to the table, and all of its weaknesses are resisted by either Landy-T, Empoleon, or our last member, Physically Defensive Rotom-W.
Royal Advisor (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
I noticed something very quickly: Talonflame could blow right through my defensive core, especially if Landy-T is weakened enough to pick him off. That didn't sit well with me. My go-to Talon counter, Rotom-W, came to the rescue. I also noticed that Rotom-W rounded out the 4-mon core very nicely, with it's only weakness being handled by Celebi and also taking some of Celebi and Landy-T's weaknesses with ease. Again, I maxed out the defensive aspect of my beloved Rotom-W so it can take Brave Birds all day. Hydro Pump is a powerful STAB that hits hard even when uninvested. Volt Switch gains momentum and forms a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T. Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers like it's nothing and laughs at their pitiful attack. Pain Split is for semi-reliable recovery, which has proved very useful against wearing down pokemon that had been paralyzed by Celebi.
Royal Guard (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Wow. This guy is seriously underrated. Taking a break from the defensive strategies, Manectric comes in running. Already at decent 105/105 offenses, Manectric has switch in opportunities in the form of Lightningrod in his regular form via Electric attacks aimed at Empoleon. After he gets to +1 and Mega Evolves, not much wants to switch into STAB Thunderbolt. Heck, not much wants to switch in on that anyways. Overheat is an AMAZING coverage move that hits steels (Notably Ferrothorn) and grass types hard. HP Ice is for pesky dragons like Garchomp and Salamence who think they can just take my STAB with ease. Volt Switch keeps my momentum, and with M-Manectric's Intimidate, I am now double intimidating while also keeping momentum. Not only that, but Rotom-W is in on the fun too. Now, with all of this crippling, residual damage from hazards, and VoltTurning, the opponent's team is significantly weakened. This is where my final player comes in: Talonflame.
Knight (Talonflame) @ Leftovers/Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 HP / 144 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
Talonflame wipes up the mess I've made. An excellent cleaner/late game sweeper, my team has done what it's supposed to and crippled the opposing team enough to ensure Talonflame receives the clean finish it deserves. 144 speed EVs with a Jolly nature allows me to outspeed Mega Lucario by one point, which is crucial if I'm in BP range and his priority outspeeds. Swords Dance boosts my attack to menacing levels, while Roost helps me mitigate recoil. Flare Blitz is a strong STAB that hits steels that would normally wall flying types for SE damages. Brave Bird is my strong priority and in many cases my main STAB, letting me outspeed and KO with 2+ Brave Bird. Sitrus Berry could be used to help restore HP when your KO puts you below 50% health, but Leftovers gives you passive recovery throughout the game. Talonflame is a menace and when given the right opportunity, as my team has, can absolutely wreck.
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Notable Threats:
Mega-Garchomp: Mega Garchomp's wall breaking ability is devastating. The best I can hope for is a burn on the switch or a revenge kill from M-Manectric with HP Ice, which only 2HKOs 252 HP variants.
252 SpA Mega Manectric Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Garchomp: 284-336 (67.6 - 80%)
Mega-Kangaskhan: This might be an exception- Mega Kang destroys just about everything. Honestly I'm not even going to try with him; my best bet is to burn him on the switch in or keep double intimidating, which would most likely result in the death of M-Manectric. I'd have to restructure my entire team JUST for him. It's not worth it, IMO.
Reuniclus: The one Reuniclus I faced had no problem taking my attacks. U-Turn only did around 30% and it could easily just recover the damage off. I couldn't stop that little cell with arms. However, 2+ Talon takes it out no problem, so I guess that could save me.
(*These are only off the top of my head. I will add more threats as people begin to rate.)
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Thanks for looking at my team. I've done pretty well with it on the ladder (apparently this team annoys a lot of people; people ragequitted against me four times in a row!) and I love to use the EmpoLand core. Looking forward to any advice that could be given!
EMPEROR CORE
Empress (Empoleon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off/Ice Beam/Roar
- Defog
The first half of the EmpoLand core, Empoleon sports a whopping 9 resistances and 1 immunity. This gives the regal penguin ample opportunities to come in and clear out hazards. I chose the specially defensive set due to its superb special bulk. Scald deals with the myriad of physical attackers that will try coming in on it. Spreading burns in general is a big deal, as nothing bar Magic Guard, Guts, and Quick Feet users will particularly like a burn. Those EVs max out it's special bulk while throwing the last EV into SpAtk. I know it may seem odd to run Stealth Rock and Defog on the same pokemon, but it is actually an invaluable trait. To be able to clear the opponent's hazards off your side of the field and immediately set your own is amazing, especially when the only way someone can stop your hazard-removing is by KOing you (GL with that) or by taunting you. Knock Off is ran to cripple pokemon who rely on their item, Ice Beam deals with dragons such as Salamence and Chomp coming in on the switch, and Roar stops set up sweepers and racks up residual damage. Out of those three options I choose Knock Off, as crippling things that depend on LO or choice items for damage is a huge advantage, and pokemon who have no reliable recovery outside of lefties (the irony) are also crippled and can now be weathered down with ease. Just to show you how good this is, I'll pit it against regular and Mega Gengar.
252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 115-136 (30.9 - 36.5%) (3HKO)
Now, let's see how it fares against me.
0- Atk Empoleon Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gengar: 90-108 (34.3 - 41.2%)
Now vs LO Gengar.
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 244-289 (65.5 - 77.6%)
I have two options here: Torrent-boosted STAB Scald or SE Knock Off.
4 SpA Torrent Empoleon Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar: 180-213 (68.7 - 81.2%)
0- Atk Empoleon Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 112-134 (42.7 - 51.1%)
Providing Gengar has attacked once before, it puts him in KO range with scald or I weaken its attacks with Knock Off and take a huge chunk of his HP. If he's still alive I simply A) switch into a resisted attack with another part of my much larger four-mon core and let him die by his own recoil (if I opted for Scald) or B) switch to a mon that can easily handle a non LO Gengar and KO.
That's just Gengar, one of the most threatening special attackers in the current metagame. Yeah. I know.
Royal Defense (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Atk / 196 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
What? Dude, ANOTHER SR setter? Yeah, another. Landy-T makes up the second half of smaller EmpoLand core. His ability, Intimidate, is absolutely perfect as he will be switching into a lot of Empoleon's threats, who are physical. Not only that, but Landy-T resists all of the moves that are SE to Empoleon and vice versa. Landy-T forces a lot of switches, meaning ample opportunities to set up SR. Not only that, but more often than not Empoleon will have just finished clearing the field and then a physical attacker comes in, ready to stop the pesky little penguin. Landy-T switches in, forcing them to switch out, and gets up SR with ease. This is taking a page from BW's Offensive Pivot set, with some more defensively oriented tweaks. I run Impish over Naive to improve his defensive bulk as Landy-T will be taking repeated hits. 248 Speed/196 Def gives him solid defensive bulk and 64 atk gives me a little more offensive presence. I previously ran 88 speed and then later 64 speed but either way I didn't see what relevant threats I was outrunning that I should stay in on anyways. Earthquake is his strong STAB, Stone Edge completes the EdgeQuake combo and U-Turn is for gaining momentum and wearing down the opponent.
Princess (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
With useful resistances, decent stats across the board, and an amazing support movepool, Celebi comes into play. Seeing as Empoleon is busy burning things, and Landorus-T is Intimidating others, I wouldn't need a Defensive Celebi as much as I would a Specially Defensive one. I was right. Celebi provides great support, crippling opponents with paralysis whilst curing the rest of the team from status. The EVs maximize its special walling capabilities. Her Attack IV of Zero is to ensure I take minimum damage from things like Swagger+Foul Play Klefki. Recover is a stable as it gives me reliable recovery, Giga Drain further increases my longevity, Heal Bell cures the team of all the status (cough, burn, cough) flying around, and Thunder Wave cripples scarf users and other fast threats. This brings some useful resistances to the table, and all of its weaknesses are resisted by either Landy-T, Empoleon, or our last member, Physically Defensive Rotom-W.
Royal Advisor (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
I noticed something very quickly: Talonflame could blow right through my defensive core, especially if Landy-T is weakened enough to pick him off. That didn't sit well with me. My go-to Talon counter, Rotom-W, came to the rescue. I also noticed that Rotom-W rounded out the 4-mon core very nicely, with it's only weakness being handled by Celebi and also taking some of Celebi and Landy-T's weaknesses with ease. Again, I maxed out the defensive aspect of my beloved Rotom-W so it can take Brave Birds all day. Hydro Pump is a powerful STAB that hits hard even when uninvested. Volt Switch gains momentum and forms a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T. Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers like it's nothing and laughs at their pitiful attack. Pain Split is for semi-reliable recovery, which has proved very useful against wearing down pokemon that had been paralyzed by Celebi.
Royal Guard (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Wow. This guy is seriously underrated. Taking a break from the defensive strategies, Manectric comes in running. Already at decent 105/105 offenses, Manectric has switch in opportunities in the form of Lightningrod in his regular form via Electric attacks aimed at Empoleon. After he gets to +1 and Mega Evolves, not much wants to switch into STAB Thunderbolt. Heck, not much wants to switch in on that anyways. Overheat is an AMAZING coverage move that hits steels (Notably Ferrothorn) and grass types hard. HP Ice is for pesky dragons like Garchomp and Salamence who think they can just take my STAB with ease. Volt Switch keeps my momentum, and with M-Manectric's Intimidate, I am now double intimidating while also keeping momentum. Not only that, but Rotom-W is in on the fun too. Now, with all of this crippling, residual damage from hazards, and VoltTurning, the opponent's team is significantly weakened. This is where my final player comes in: Talonflame.
Knight (Talonflame) @ Leftovers/Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 HP / 144 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
Talonflame wipes up the mess I've made. An excellent cleaner/late game sweeper, my team has done what it's supposed to and crippled the opposing team enough to ensure Talonflame receives the clean finish it deserves. 144 speed EVs with a Jolly nature allows me to outspeed Mega Lucario by one point, which is crucial if I'm in BP range and his priority outspeeds. Swords Dance boosts my attack to menacing levels, while Roost helps me mitigate recoil. Flare Blitz is a strong STAB that hits steels that would normally wall flying types for SE damages. Brave Bird is my strong priority and in many cases my main STAB, letting me outspeed and KO with 2+ Brave Bird. Sitrus Berry could be used to help restore HP when your KO puts you below 50% health, but Leftovers gives you passive recovery throughout the game. Talonflame is a menace and when given the right opportunity, as my team has, can absolutely wreck.
--------------------------------------
Notable Threats:
Mega-Garchomp: Mega Garchomp's wall breaking ability is devastating. The best I can hope for is a burn on the switch or a revenge kill from M-Manectric with HP Ice, which only 2HKOs 252 HP variants.
252 SpA Mega Manectric Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Garchomp: 284-336 (67.6 - 80%)
Mega-Kangaskhan: This might be an exception- Mega Kang destroys just about everything. Honestly I'm not even going to try with him; my best bet is to burn him on the switch in or keep double intimidating, which would most likely result in the death of M-Manectric. I'd have to restructure my entire team JUST for him. It's not worth it, IMO.
Reuniclus: The one Reuniclus I faced had no problem taking my attacks. U-Turn only did around 30% and it could easily just recover the damage off. I couldn't stop that little cell with arms. However, 2+ Talon takes it out no problem, so I guess that could save me.
(*These are only off the top of my head. I will add more threats as people begin to rate.)
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Empress (Empoleon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Defog
Royal Defense (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 64 Atk / 248 HP / 196 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Princess (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 SDef / 252 HP / 36 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
Royal Advisor (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Knight (Talonflame) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 HP / 144 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
Royal Guard (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Defog
Royal Defense (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 64 Atk / 248 HP / 196 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Princess (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 220 SDef / 252 HP / 36 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
Royal Advisor (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Knight (Talonflame) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 112 HP / 144 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
Royal Guard (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Thanks for looking at my team. I've done pretty well with it on the ladder (apparently this team annoys a lot of people; people ragequitted against me four times in a row!) and I love to use the EmpoLand core. Looking forward to any advice that could be given!
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