varanus_komodoensis
they call me Varanus
Hey everyone! I need a little help with my competitive team. Right now, on the Rating Battles, I have a win/lose ratio of exactly 50/50.
What I need help with the most is finding a replacement for Xerneas, who is my current Special Sweeper. He has great synergy with all of my team members, can take hits, and can sweep through an entire team after a Geomancy. But, he isn't allowed in Rating Battles, and I just cannot find a replacement for him. I like him because of his pure Fairy typing and that he learns Moonblast and Thunderbolt, which saves me many times. So help is greatly appreciated.
Here's who I have so far. All Pokemon are flawless and shiny except Xerneas (a lot of work went into this). I also use this team for both Singles and Doubles. Gliscor doesn't see a whole lot of Doubles action because he needs to set up, so a Doubles replacement for him would be nice. In Doubles, I usually have either Sableye/Tentacruel or Sableye/Xerneas out first, depending on the opposition. Gliscor and Tentacruel work great together, too, however.
LEAD: Sableye, "Jewel", @Focus Sash
252 HP/120 Def/136 SpDef
Calm
Prankster
Recover
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Foul Play
Despite her awful stats, Sableye is freaking AMAZING. She never lets me down. Prankster gives her priority to burn an opponent, preventing her and her teammates from being hurt by physical attackers. Taunt prevents the opponent from setting up. After everything has been taunted or burned, she has literally swept through entire physical sets with Foul Play and get back health with priority Recover. She is a great lead and you would be surprised how many hits she can take.
Tentacruel, "Kraken", @Black Sludge
248 HP/244 Def/16 Spe
Timid
Rain Dish (Clear Body might have been better, but this is what he hatched with)
Protect
Toxic Spikes
Rapid Spin
Scald
Tentacruel is my Rapid Spinner and Toxic Spiker. I have considered getting rid of Scald for Sludge Bomb since Sableye also spreads burns, but Scald has been incredibly useful against Talonflames and other Fire-types, so I'm torn on what to do with it. I also don't want to get rid of Toxic Spikes because Poison has been very useful against the Special Attackers that burns don't phase. Tentacruel doesn't hit hard, but he takes hits well and frustrates opponents with Protect when Gliscor uses Earthquake.
Dragonite @Lum Berry
/252 Atk/4SpDef/252 Spe
Adamant
Multiscale
Dragon Dance
Fire Punch
Outrage
Extremespeed
Dragonite has proved to be a great late-game sweeper. Multiscale gives her a guaranteed Dragon Dance boost, and once all the fairies are gone, she can rip through teams twice with an Outrage. Fire Punch has been useful against Steel-types, particularly Lucario, that threaten my fairies as well as Ferrothorn if I absolutely have to, because most people don't expect it and so they don't switch out on Dragonite. However, I do wonder if I should replace it with something else sometimes.
Talonflame@ Weakness Policy
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant
Gale Wings
Brave Bird
Flare Blitz
Roost
Swords Dance
Talonflame comes in handy sometimes even though he's frail. If I look at a team preview and I know I'll need priority to win, I go for Talonflame. Swords Dance is almost necessary because Talonflame often can't Brave-Bird sweep a team unless he has a boost. However, setting up is sometimes problematic if I predict wrong, because Talonflame is frail and will die easily. With two recoil moves, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, I need Roost to heal. However, Dragonite also has a Fire move, but unless it's 6v6, I might not use both together. I have the Weakness Policy because should Talonflame survive a hit, he can sacrifice himself with a super powerful Brave Bird. He doesn't have Leftovers because Sylveon has it, but sometimes I do switch the item to Leftovers.
Now here's where my biggest problem lies. Xerneas really holds this team together, and I need a replacement for him in Rating Battles. Any suggestions are welcome.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
4HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Modest
Fairy Aura
Geomancy
Moonblast
Thunderbolt
Psyshock
Xerneas can take hits and dole them out. He's bulky enough to take a hit while he sets up Geomancy with Power Herb, and then his speed is so fast that even if he has very little HP left, he can sweep a team with Moonblast and Thunderbolt. He also has great typing, being pure Fairy-type. I can switch him into an Outrage with no problems. I really need that Electric move, too, and I'm just not sure what to replace him with because he's so good.
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Here are my two problem Pokemon that I use interchangeably with this team:
Gliscor, "Fang", @Toxic Orb
244 HP/40 Def/224 Spe
Impish
Poison Heal
Protect
Substitute
Toxic
Earthquake
This is your standard Toxic Heal Gliscor. He's awesome in singles if you can set up a sub, but not very good in Doubles, since it's hard to keep a sub up against two Pokemon. However, if you can set up, he works great with Tentacruel and Sylveon and they can Toxic-Stall out just about anything. I'm thinking of maybe replacing him with Mandibuzz for Doubles?
Sylveon, "Navi", @Leftovers
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpAtk
Modest
Pixilate
Protect
Wish
Heal Bell
Hyper Voice
Sylveon is a standard Wish passer. She's saved Talonflame and Dragonite from Stealth Rocks before when Tentacruel has died or hasn't been in the battle for some reason. She doesn't hit very hard sometimes, but she can take quite a few hits and be annoying while Toxic kills an opponent. She's no replacement for Xerneas though.
-------
So there's my team, and here's a recap of the issues I have:
1. I need to replace Xerneas for Rating Battles. What is a good replacement for him? It really needs to be a bulky special sweeper.
2. I have a LOT of trouble with Rotom-W. I can usually manage to dispose of them, but I need something that's a good counter.
3. I need to replace Gliscor for Doubles, but I'm not sure what to replace him with.
4. Right now my win/lose ratio in Rating Battles (so no Xerneas) is 50/50. I need suggestions on how to improve this.
I would prefer to play Doubles as it's more interesting, but I like having a dynamic team that can handle singles or doubles since you never know what people will challenge you to. Plus Singles with only 3 Pokemon doesn't involve a lot of strategy and is often just more luck-based.
Thanks to anyone with suggestions!
What I need help with the most is finding a replacement for Xerneas, who is my current Special Sweeper. He has great synergy with all of my team members, can take hits, and can sweep through an entire team after a Geomancy. But, he isn't allowed in Rating Battles, and I just cannot find a replacement for him. I like him because of his pure Fairy typing and that he learns Moonblast and Thunderbolt, which saves me many times. So help is greatly appreciated.
Here's who I have so far. All Pokemon are flawless and shiny except Xerneas (a lot of work went into this). I also use this team for both Singles and Doubles. Gliscor doesn't see a whole lot of Doubles action because he needs to set up, so a Doubles replacement for him would be nice. In Doubles, I usually have either Sableye/Tentacruel or Sableye/Xerneas out first, depending on the opposition. Gliscor and Tentacruel work great together, too, however.
LEAD: Sableye, "Jewel", @Focus Sash
252 HP/120 Def/136 SpDef
Calm
Prankster
Recover
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Foul Play
Despite her awful stats, Sableye is freaking AMAZING. She never lets me down. Prankster gives her priority to burn an opponent, preventing her and her teammates from being hurt by physical attackers. Taunt prevents the opponent from setting up. After everything has been taunted or burned, she has literally swept through entire physical sets with Foul Play and get back health with priority Recover. She is a great lead and you would be surprised how many hits she can take.
Tentacruel, "Kraken", @Black Sludge
248 HP/244 Def/16 Spe
Timid
Rain Dish (Clear Body might have been better, but this is what he hatched with)
Protect
Toxic Spikes
Rapid Spin
Scald
Tentacruel is my Rapid Spinner and Toxic Spiker. I have considered getting rid of Scald for Sludge Bomb since Sableye also spreads burns, but Scald has been incredibly useful against Talonflames and other Fire-types, so I'm torn on what to do with it. I also don't want to get rid of Toxic Spikes because Poison has been very useful against the Special Attackers that burns don't phase. Tentacruel doesn't hit hard, but he takes hits well and frustrates opponents with Protect when Gliscor uses Earthquake.
Dragonite @Lum Berry
/252 Atk/4SpDef/252 Spe
Adamant
Multiscale
Dragon Dance
Fire Punch
Outrage
Extremespeed
Dragonite has proved to be a great late-game sweeper. Multiscale gives her a guaranteed Dragon Dance boost, and once all the fairies are gone, she can rip through teams twice with an Outrage. Fire Punch has been useful against Steel-types, particularly Lucario, that threaten my fairies as well as Ferrothorn if I absolutely have to, because most people don't expect it and so they don't switch out on Dragonite. However, I do wonder if I should replace it with something else sometimes.
Talonflame@ Weakness Policy
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant
Gale Wings
Brave Bird
Flare Blitz
Roost
Swords Dance
Talonflame comes in handy sometimes even though he's frail. If I look at a team preview and I know I'll need priority to win, I go for Talonflame. Swords Dance is almost necessary because Talonflame often can't Brave-Bird sweep a team unless he has a boost. However, setting up is sometimes problematic if I predict wrong, because Talonflame is frail and will die easily. With two recoil moves, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, I need Roost to heal. However, Dragonite also has a Fire move, but unless it's 6v6, I might not use both together. I have the Weakness Policy because should Talonflame survive a hit, he can sacrifice himself with a super powerful Brave Bird. He doesn't have Leftovers because Sylveon has it, but sometimes I do switch the item to Leftovers.
Now here's where my biggest problem lies. Xerneas really holds this team together, and I need a replacement for him in Rating Battles. Any suggestions are welcome.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
4HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Modest
Fairy Aura
Geomancy
Moonblast
Thunderbolt
Psyshock
Xerneas can take hits and dole them out. He's bulky enough to take a hit while he sets up Geomancy with Power Herb, and then his speed is so fast that even if he has very little HP left, he can sweep a team with Moonblast and Thunderbolt. He also has great typing, being pure Fairy-type. I can switch him into an Outrage with no problems. I really need that Electric move, too, and I'm just not sure what to replace him with because he's so good.
-----
Here are my two problem Pokemon that I use interchangeably with this team:
Gliscor, "Fang", @Toxic Orb
244 HP/40 Def/224 Spe
Impish
Poison Heal
Protect
Substitute
Toxic
Earthquake
This is your standard Toxic Heal Gliscor. He's awesome in singles if you can set up a sub, but not very good in Doubles, since it's hard to keep a sub up against two Pokemon. However, if you can set up, he works great with Tentacruel and Sylveon and they can Toxic-Stall out just about anything. I'm thinking of maybe replacing him with Mandibuzz for Doubles?
Sylveon, "Navi", @Leftovers
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpAtk
Modest
Pixilate
Protect
Wish
Heal Bell
Hyper Voice
Sylveon is a standard Wish passer. She's saved Talonflame and Dragonite from Stealth Rocks before when Tentacruel has died or hasn't been in the battle for some reason. She doesn't hit very hard sometimes, but she can take quite a few hits and be annoying while Toxic kills an opponent. She's no replacement for Xerneas though.
-------
So there's my team, and here's a recap of the issues I have:
1. I need to replace Xerneas for Rating Battles. What is a good replacement for him? It really needs to be a bulky special sweeper.
2. I have a LOT of trouble with Rotom-W. I can usually manage to dispose of them, but I need something that's a good counter.
3. I need to replace Gliscor for Doubles, but I'm not sure what to replace him with.
4. Right now my win/lose ratio in Rating Battles (so no Xerneas) is 50/50. I need suggestions on how to improve this.
I would prefer to play Doubles as it's more interesting, but I like having a dynamic team that can handle singles or doubles since you never know what people will challenge you to. Plus Singles with only 3 Pokemon doesn't involve a lot of strategy and is often just more luck-based.
Thanks to anyone with suggestions!
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